From the recording Saygun: Aria from Yunus Emre Oratorio
Lyrics
"Why art thou mourning, nightingale?" - An excerpt from the Yunus Emre Oratorio by Turkish composer Ahmed Adnan Saygun.
This aria begins with a flute solo reminiscent of Turkish ney playing long associated with Sufi mysticism; the scale is roughly equivalent to the makam Bestenigar. The lyrics are taken from the poetry of 14th century Turkish mystic, Yunus Emre. Probably Saygun's most popular large-scale work, the oratorio demonstrates strategies for melding Turkish and Western musical languages.