Hungarian singer captures essence of Turkish folk music

“On stage, she performed one song from the West and one from the East. Her clothes were colorful, as if every color was representing a different part of my land. She was not like me, but she was perfectly able to represent my values and stories. She was comparable to a Western princess who was able to narrate the story of an Oriental princess.”

The above is an account of a Hungarian woman described with admiration and praise in a local newspaper published in Şanlıurfa. Hannah Berger is a graphologist. In addition to analyzing the character and personality of a person based on their handwriting, she performs Turkish folk songs, mainly songs from Şanlıurfa, as well. You should hear a local Urfa song performed by Berger.

Berger is dedicated to Turkish folk music; to this end, she has learned Turkish. She lives in Budapest, where she is the lead singer in a band she named Dilber. Nowadays, she is looking for a new challenge and is learning how to speak like a local from the Black Sea region in order to sing folk songs from that region authentically. She tries to keep her renditions of local folk songs as close to the traditional versions as possible and pays very close attention to using the regional accent with each song. She is determined to put forth authentic performances.

Recently, Berger visited Şanlıurfa to attend the International Halil Abraham meetings where she performed in a concert. She won the hearts of the people of Şanlıurfa. A local newspaper wrote: “She did not do what our so-called singers and artists have done. She did not expose her body to the audience. She had no caprice, intolerance or a condescending attitude. She was simple; and no matter what, she was one of us.” Şanlıurfa occupies a special place in Berger's heart; she was so impressed by Şanlıurfa that she is now considering settling in the exotic city.

She first explored Rumi and then Aşık Veysel

Berger has been performing Turkish folk songs in Hungary for 13 years. Her interest in Turkish folk music stems from her admiration of Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi. She has been reciting his poems to her friends since childhood. She says, “Hungarians know they are the brothers of Turks.” For this reason, she developed interest not only in Rumi, but also in Turkish culture. Her life was dramatically changed when she decided to visit Konya in 1995. She and her friends liked the hospitality of Turkish people on their trip, during which they visited Bursa, İstanbul and Konya. She started taking Turkish lessons when she got back to Hungary.

 Berger, also able to play piano, has always been interested in music. Before Dilber, she performed in bands featuring ethnic music. Now, her current band Dilber's portfolio also includes Turkish music. The reason she chose Dilber as the name of her band was because it is a word common to Turks, the Azeri, Kurds, Bosnians and people in the Balkans. Dilber's music encompasses all the colors of the Balkans. She also performs Azeri folk songs with an Azeri Turk, Ahdi Pakdel Reza, who currently lives in Hungary. They chose to name the type of music they make together “İlham” (inspiration).

Berger, who loves folk songs, explored the works of Yunus Emre and Aşık Veysel after Rumi. She reads their poems and memorizes their folk songs. She says her life has been changed because of the teachings of these people, who she says explain and promote goodness and peace.

A Hungarian graphologist who performs Turkish folk songs

Hannah Berger lives in Budapest. One of her grandmothers is French and one of her grandfathers is Italian. She also has Turkish ancestry from one of her great great grandmothers. Berger is a graphologist who also teaches courses in her specialty. She derives conclusions about the characters and personalities of people based on their handwriting. Her biggest pleasure is music; she particularly likes Turkish folk music. She listens to Arabic music as well; she is currently taking Arabic music lessons from an Iraqi teacher. She performs Turkish folk songs with her band throughout Europe. During her childhood, she played classical piano for six years. She must regret all the time and energy she devoted to playing classical piano because she says, “It was years ago; but it was not me.”