COMPOSITEURS ET INTERPRÈTES

CİVAN AĞA (LATVACI ZİVANİS)

(? – 1910)

Traditional Turkish music lutanist and songwriter Lavta player, composer . The birth and death dates of this Greek artist are unknown. It is supposed that he was born in the second half of 19th century and died in the first half of 20th century. He was the elder brother of Andon and Hristo. As his eyes were weak, he was called “blind”. He composed very nice pieces: “Kürdî’li Hicâzkâr Sofyân”, “Hüseynî Orta Aksak”, “Hicâzkâr Düyek” and “Rast Düyek”. Civan Ağa was known for playing ud (lute) in a way that interpreted the soul in the pieces of the Köçekçe form. His most well-known piece is the song, beginning with “Dil seni sevmeyeni, sevmede lezzet mi olur”, in the Nihavend mode and Yürük Semaî style. We know 21 of his songs.