The Mehter Music Ensemble, one of Turkey’s oldest military bands, will become part of the Sixteenth Spasskaya Tower International Military Tattoo. All the way from Inegol city, musicians who by the way trace their history back to the Ottoman Empire will bring along unique folk melodies and renowned world classics with some national touch.
Mihtar is the Persian word for great. The very first mehter music ensemble was created back in the 13th century and since then has been regarded as the great grandfather of all the military bands. During the Ottoman Empire janissaries formed the core of a mehter band, whose primary task was to perform martial tunes during military campaigns, support the army’s morale and instill awe in adversaries.
In the 19th century, the traditional mehter band underwent major changes starting to resemble more European classical marching military ensembles. 130 years flew by, and it was only in 1959 that the Inegol city mayor Kemal Ozkan decided to revive the mehter military music tradition. Joining forces with local artisans and entrepreneurs, he created the Mehter Ensemble of Inegol, the first civilian music band that preserves and carries on the Turkish mehteran military traditions. Along its almost half a century history, the Mehter Ensemble of Inegol has performed in more than 50 countries.
Mehter or mehteran, usually associated with the Janissary corps of the Army, is a Turkish military music tradition. A mehter ensemble could not lack such music instruments as zurna, a double reed wind instrument, naqareh, small percussion instrument, and of course various types of drums, with the kos drum being the symbol of a Turkish band. The great kos drum and its majestic sounds left enemies awestruck, removing their audacity.
Mehmet Semiz will be leading the Mehter Ensemble of Inegol during the Spasskaya Tower Festival in Moscow. He started his path in 1977 as a drummer, and in 1981 he was promoted to the band’s master still holding his position.
In 2024, the Sixteenth Spasskaya Tower International Military Tattoo will hit the cobblestones of Red Squares from August 23 to September 1.