TRNC Presidential Symphony Orchestra and Baran Yildiz on Handpan

By Heidi Trautmann….

21st International North Cyprus Music Festival – 15 Sep – 06 Nov 2023  here: TRNC Presidential Symphony Orchestra and Baran Yildiz on Handpan

This year we have been rather spoilt with events around Girne, however, our Bellapais Music Festivals are still something very special to look forward to, with its fine selection of musical events and highly qualified musicians. It is not only that, it is the magical atmosphere of the place we have come to love.

This year’s festival started with the Presidential Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Ali Hoca, introducing to us the soloist Baran Yildiz with his music which captivated us entirely for 1 ½ hours. Baran Yildiz is a Sydney-based multi-instrumentalist and renowned as one of Australia’s most talented handpan players. Baran’s music combines melodies and rhythms of the Anatolia, the Middle East, and Africa with a modern touch on the hand pan, piano, and various percussion instruments. Originally trained in classical piano and jazz drums, Baran has gradually become a contemporary world music composer. His first album ‘Interbeing’, released in September 2019, blends various modern world and neo-classical music elements and presents enchanting instrumental soundscapes. His anticipated new album, Bridging Worlds, will be released in October 2023.

I found one link where his piece ‘Rain and Raindrops’ comes close to the programme of the evening. His music reminds me strongly of a weekend I and my sons spent in an African village where our arrival had been celebrated with drum music and dance.

In some pieces, Baran Yildiz simultaneously used a didgeridoo. The didgeridoo is a wind instrument made from hollow wood. The first didgeridoos, played by aboriginal peoples in northern Australia an estimated 40,000 years ago, were made from fallen eucalyptus branches that had been naturally hollowed out by termites. It is also known that the Mayan people of Central America had a similar instrument made of yucca or agave and today referred to as “la trompeta maya” (the Mayan trumpet).

He used three different handpans, sometimes all three together. He was barefoot and was wearing small bells around his one ankle, which were heard when he stomped his foot. A sort of one-man band.

The orchestra joined in very sensitively, fully, or with a solo accompaniment. The music of the evening will soon be available on his next album, I read.

A beautiful evening and a big thank you to the organiser and his team.

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