Fazil Say and His Musical Identity: Musical Embellishments in
“Black Earth”
Siti Nur Hajarul Aswad Shakeeb Arsalaan Bajunid, and Rizal Ezuan Zulkifly Tony
Faculty of Music and Performing Arts, Sultan Idris Education University, Tanjung Malim, Perak, Malaysia
Faculty of Music, MARA University of Technology, Selangor, Malaysia
Keywords: Embellishments, Modification, Fazil Say, Pianist.
Abstract: The role of a performer in the twenty-first century has progressed tremendously with regards to performance
practices developed from the Renaissance until the present. Many virtuosic performers currently perform
similar solo repertoire but with their own interpretation, which may result in score modifications. An
important question is: how does the performer modify the scores appropriately? This study examines Fazil
Say’s piano work of the Black Earth based on recorded performances. A musical analysis was conducted,
where transcriptions of four recorded live performances by Fazil Say were compared with the corresponding
music scores. This was to identify the melodic and rhythmic embellishment modifications that he made during
his live-recorded performances. These modifications were different in each performance. It is evident that
the role of a performer is not limited to interpreting dynamics, articulations, and pedalling, but also modifying
the score through melodic fragments and rhythmic patterns that can be considered one’s own interpretation
of the composers’ work. However, this may also apply to specific compositional works of contemporary
composers such as Fazil Say who is known as a performer, composer and improviser.
1 INTRODUCTION
Each performer has their own interpretation and
musical identity in their performances, whether
interpreting the classics or modern masterpieces.
With increasing numbers of virtuosic pianists being
trained through conservatories and competitions, it
has become more challenging to craft individual
artistry in order to sound different from the others.
The originality of their approach to sound warrants an
in-depth study, through listening to early and modern
recordings by pianists, then comparing them to
existing music scores.
There is a clear need to be highly imaginative in
interpreting the masterpieces to the best of the
performers’ abilities and skills. It is common for
pianists to modify music scores to accommodate their
interpretation and musicality. The most common
modifications are with dynamics, tempo alterations,
and embellishments, and these are typically found in
many musical studies. For example, Davidović’s case
study on the interpretation of Chopin’s Nocturne
Opus 27, No. 2 by Vladimir de Pachmann based on
three of his recording mediums: piano roll; acoustic
and electric recordings, where differences in tempo
alterations can be found; rhythmic alterations and text
variation; as well as dislocation and unnotated
arpeggiations in each recording medium (Davidović,
2016).
Although music scores are fixed, the musical
feelings and perspectives of each performer vary. The
musical feelings are based on reading the score and
music literature, exploring through practising, and
several performances.
In this paper, we focus on Fazil Say’s piano work
entitled “Black Earth”. Say is a contemporary Turkish
composer, performer and an improviser. We will
specifically discuss the melodic fragments and
rhythmic alterations applied by Say in four of his live-
recorded performances.
2 BACKGROUND
2.1 Fazil Say: Pianist
Fazil Say is a virtuosic pianist who performs
internationally. His work has been widely
acknowledged through several prestigious awards
228
Bajunid, S. and Tony, R.
Fazil Say and His Musical Identity: Musical Embellishments in “Black Earth”.
DOI: 10.5220/0008562502280233
In Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Interdisciplinary Arts and Humanities (ICONARTIES 2019), pages 228-233
ISBN: 978-989-758-450-3
Copyright
c
 2020 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. All rights reserved

such as an Honorary prize at the Zelt-Musik-Festival
in Freiburg, the International Beethoven Award for
Human Rights, Peace, Freedom, Poverty Reduction,
and Inclusion, as well as a Music Award from the City
of Duisburg. He has also won an ECHO Klassik prize
for his complete recording of Wolfgang Amadeus
Mozart's piano sonatas.
His interpretation of classic masterpieces,
including those by Mozart, Beethoven and Chopin, as
well as other works, have received positive reviews
from the media and audiences alike. However, this
highly successful pianist has also received criticism
about his interpretations of the classic masterpieces.
Most of his concerts are sold out prior to the event
based on the evidence from concert venues and also
his social media profiles. He has successfully created
his own interpretations and identity through his
performances that possibly persuade the listeners to
experience his live performances.
2.2 Embellishment
‘Embellishment’ is a well-known term in Western
classical music that refers to adding notes to a melody
and accompaniment lines on the keyboard or
modifying the rhythms to make a composition more
interesting. The Cambridge online dictionary defines
embellishment as, “to make something more beautiful
by adding something to it.” Robert Donington (2001)
defines embellishment in Groove Music Online as a
“decoration that includes both free and specific
ornamentation by adding the notation or using signs
in the notation or left to be improvised by a
performer” (Donington, 2001). The term
embellishments is not limited to a Western classical
approach but also applies those from other cultures in
a composition.
Historically, the practice of adding
embellishments was widely practiced during the
Renaissance. Virtuosic performers were expected to
improvise during the performance of each work.
There are several treatises and manuals for
performers to refer to as guidelines on how to
improvise. One of the first published books was the
“Opera Intitulata Fontegara” by Slyvestro di Ganassi
(1535). Singers during the Renaissance were
renowned for their improvised embellishments, using
the technique of diminution (Horsley, 1951). It is
evident that during this time, performers had the
freedom to apply their own embellishments in
performance.
However, composers of the eighteenth century
began to control the application of embellishments in
their works by notating them, or using a specific
symbol, giving the performer less freedom to apply
their own choices. According to Carl Phillip
Emmanuel Bach in his “Essay on the True Art of
Playing Keyboard Instruments”, a poor choice of
embellishments negatively affect the composers’
work, while too many good embellishments
sometimes create an imbalance in the works (Bach,
1974). Keyboardists were expected to improvise for
a position as an organist and perform for social
events. The practice of improvisation continued from
the Baroque up until the Classical period where
virtuosic musicians were composers, performers and
improvisers, such as J.S. Bach, Handel, Mozart, and
Beethoven.
During the nineteenth century, composers wrote
embellishments specifically for performers and
students of theirs to play as written. However, it was
primarily trained improvisers who were able to
improvise on music scores, and composers such as
Chopin and Liszt often improvised and added
embellishments to their own works and those of
others during performance.
In recent decades, the practice of Western
classical improvisation has been considered
demanding among musicians. There are several
virtuosic pianists who include improvisation as part
of their recital program, such as Gabriela Montero,
Robert Levine, David Dolan, Noam Sivan, among
others. Fazil Say has also improvised based on a
theme given by the audience in Turkey and Tokyo. In
this paper, we focus on Say’s embellishments during
his live-performances.
2.3 Modifying the Score
Hellaby (2009) describes modification as “more or
less to the original” music score, and either formal
(published) or informal (performer controlled).
Modifications that have been made by the performer
are documented in a score and categorised as ‘formal
modifications’. Informal modifications are more
flexible, and not written in a document but based on
the memory of the performer and their choice of what
to embellish in a original score (Hellaby, 2009).
It was common for pianists during the nineteenth
and early twentieth centuries to alter scores
(Hamilton, 2008). There was a period during which
some nineteenth century composers wrote their own
style of cadenza for other composers’ works. One
example is Beethoven’s cadenza on Mozart’s D
minor Concerto No. 20, where the cadenza is not
consistent with Mozart’s own style. Pianists of the
twentieth century, such as Vladimir Horowitz,
modified Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 in C
Fazil Say and His Musical Identity: Musical Embellishments in “Black Earth”
229

sharp minor using challenging playing techniques,
resulting in a cadenza that was more virtuosic than of
Liszt himself. It is evident that modifications of the
score were needed for performers to showcase their
ability and skills as a virtuoso (Hamilton, 2008).
What about the twenty first century pianists? Should
pianists also modify the scores? If so, what types of
modifications or embellishments should they choose
to modify?
2.4 The Piano Work “Black Earth”
Kara Toprak is a well-known song by a Turkish blind
composer and poet, Aşik Veysel (1891-1973). Kara
Toprak inspired Fazil Say to compose his version of
Black Earth, which was written in 1997. Veysel’s
song is about loneliness and loss; the poem laments
the loss of life on earth (Otten, 2011). Say, however,
describes his piece, “Black Earth”, as a lonely journey
of an artist in the twenty-first century (Otten, 2011).
He plays this piano work as part of his program, and
it is also one of his popular encores. Fazil Say has
performed this piece for several years and we assume
that he has explored several interpretations based on
his performances. Therefore, we chose this piece for
this paper to unveil his embellishments in his piano
work and performance
3 DATA COLLECTION
There are four live-recorded performance of Fazil Say
performing “Black Earth” from the years 2007, 2015
and 2017. In 2015, we selected two recordings in
different venues. In 2007, he performed in Tokyo, and
in later years, Frankfurt and Bucharest in 2015, and
again in Frankfurt in 2017. These have been
published as full-length recordings on his official
YouTube channel.
We compared his melodic and rhythmic
modifications with the corresponding scores
published by Schott (2007). We notated the
modifications of each recording through software
known as Tune Transcriber, which can decrease the
tempo without changing the original pitch. Through
this process, we were able to listen in fragments and
notate the differences in the performances.
4 ANALYSIS
Our method was to notate the modifications of
melodic and rhythmic fragments performed by Fazil
Say during live-recorded performances. Melodic and
Rhythmic Modifications. “Black Earth” is a three-
part ballad with microtones, modal phrases, jazz
fragments and prepared keys or extended techniques.
The tempo indication in the introductory section is
Lento (Quasi improvvisazione) with no specific time
signature written. The term (Quasi improvvisazione)
resembles an improvisation. In this work, he applies
an extended technique, an imitation of the Bağlama
effect, a stringed instrument from Turkey, which is
also known as the saz. In the introduction section, Say
begins with a dark colour and soft dynamics. His
repetition of melodic fragments is inconsistent and
different from the music score, played either with
augmentation or diminution. There are five
repetitions of the notes in the melodic fragments
written in the score at Figure 1. This was the original
number of repetitions, whereas the longest was is in
2015 in Frankfurt at Figure 3, with nine repetitions of
the notes. However, in 2017, he shortens the
fragments to eight repetitions shows at Figure 5. The
examples of the augmentation and diminution in
comparison to the music score and his performances
at bar 4 is shown in Figure 1 to 5:
Figure 1: 5 notes repetitions from the Schott Publication
(2007)
Figure 2: 6 notes repetitions in Tokyo (2007)
Figure 3: 9 notes repetitions in Frankfurt (2015)
Figure 4: 8 notes repetitions in Bucharest (2015)
Figure 5: 9 notes repetitions in Frankfurt (2017)
Another example of Say’s modifications of
melodic and rhythmic fragments is in bar 8. The
original melodic fragments in Schott publication have
ICONARTIES 2019 - 1st International Conference on Interdisciplinary Arts and Humanities
230

three repetitions of D, C sharp, D, two of the E notes
shows in Figure 6. He modifies from the written score
and remain the same of 4 notes repetitions in
Bucharest, year of 2015 shows in Figure 9, and in
Frankfurt, year of 2017 shows in Figure 10. He also
modifies the rhythmic pattern from quavers to
syncopated rhythms in two of his performances
(Frankfurt and Bucharest, both in 2015). However, in
Tokyo, he adds a crotchet at the end of the phrase and
sounds slightly longer, that difference from the other
performances.
melodic fragments rhythmic fragments
rhythmic fragments
Figure 6: 3 melodic fragments repetitions and quavers
rhythm fragments in Schott Publication (2007)
melodic fragments rhythmic
rhythmic fragments fragments
Figure 7: 5 melodic fragments repetitions and quavers
rhythmic fragments in Tokyo (2007)
melodic rhythmic
fragments fragments
Figure 8: 5 melodic fragments repetitions and syncopated
rhythmic fragments in Frankfurt (2015)
melodic rhythmic
fragments fragments
Figure 9: 4 melodic fragments repetitions and syncopated
rhythmic fragments in Bucharest (2015)
melodic rhythmic
fragments fragments
Figure 10: 4 melodic fragments repetitions and quavers
rhythmic fragments in Frankfurt (2017)
In the introduction, Say modifies several rhythmic
patterns that are mostly syncopated. He also changes
the triplets from bar 8 to quavers in four of his
performances. His melodic fragments are
inconsistent; he either expands or shortens the
fragments in each of his performances.
After the Quasi improvvisazione in the
introduction section, there are eight bars in the second
section which have a different tempo indication,
marked as Largo doloroso. In bar 11, the rhythm on
the first beat changes to a smaller value. He also
modified the B natural to a C sharp during his
performances in Tokyo, and later in Frankfurt (twice).
An example of each performances of the rhythmic
and note changes in bar 11 are shown in Figure 11 and
12:
Figure 11: The original notations from Schott Publication
(2007)
Figure 12: The rhythmic and pitch modifications in Tokyo
(2015) and both Frankfurt (2015 and 2017) in bar 11.
Another example of modifications is in bar 14.
The melody was played with additional chords rather
than single notes in three of his performances except
in Tokyo. The chord changes were not the same in
each performance. Figure 14 shows the chord
changes but remain the same rhythmic pattern with
the written score. Figure 16 shows that he adds the
chords at the fullest in Frankfurt in year 2017. As the
melody, tempo and dynamics were gradually
increased in the jazz style fragments, the tempo began
to change to a dramatic and energetic mood, which
led him to add those chords. He produced a bigger
sound to prepare for the mood changes. An example
of the additional chords in bar 14 are shown at Figure
14 to Figure 16:
Fazil Say and His Musical Identity: Musical Embellishments in “Black Earth”
231

Figure 13: The original notations from Schott Publication
(2007)
Figure 14: Additional of chords in Frankfurt (2015)
Figure 15: Additional of chords in Bucharest (2015)
Figure 16: Additional of chords in Frankfurt (2017)
In the third section, the tempo changes to Allegro
assai-Drammatico, with syncopated rhythms in the
bass lines to keep the jazz-like pulse steady. There are
no major embellishments or modifications in this fast
tempo section. As this section repeats in a similar
manner to the second section, there is an extension of
the rhythmic fragments and additions of melodic
fragments and arpeggiated chords during these
performances.
5 DISCUSSION
In this study, we analysed the embellishments from a
music score and compared these with those in the four
live-recorded performances by Fazil Say. Our
analysis shows that there were several melodic and
rhythmic modifications that occurred in each
performance. Fazil Say frequently applied the
extension of melodic fragments that were inconsistent
in terms of note repetitions. Some changed and some
were similar in each of his live performances. He
changed the notes which remained the same in three
of his performances. The addition of chords in a
second section of the piece, created a vast sound with
minor changes of harmony in each performance.
There were also several rhythmic modifications
that occurred during the performances that were
similar to each other. In this piece, Say simply played
syncopated rhythms and chose smaller values from
the original. He also changed a group of triplets to
quavers in the introduction section of the score, in
four of his performances, generating a more excited
feel in each of his performances.
It is evident that Say interprets and embellishes
differently in each of his performances. There is a
possibility that he creates the embellishment
spontaneously through inconsistency of fragments
and notations. The consistent fragments are not too
revealing and perhaps he does this intentionally.
“Black Earth” was published 10 years after his
composition and perhaps the publisher might
consider revising the music score.
Say’s embellishments consist of additional notes
and rhythmic modifications. Through our
observations, his embellishments resemble the
Baglama instrument effects especially at the Quasi
improvvisazione. The notes repetitions resemble the
Taksim. According to the Turkish Music Dictionary
website, the definition of Taksim is ‘a free-meter
instrumental improvisation section in Turkish
classical music. The modification in Say’s
performances only happens in a slow tempo. In
comparison with the western classical practice, this
was a common practice during the Baroque period
where embellishments apply in the slow movements
of sonatas (Rowland, 2001). Furthermore, the
composer has indicated the work should be played
Quasi improvvisazione, (like improvisation).
6 CONCLUSIONS
In this paper, we characterized Say’s commonly used
embellishments in “Black Earth”. As the term
embellishment means a ‘decoration’ and ‘to make
something beautiful’, the embellishments can be a
combination of Western and other embellishments
originating from other styles. In this study, we
ICONARTIES 2019 - 1st International Conference on Interdisciplinary Arts and Humanities
232

conclude that Fazil Say’s embellishments
consideration reflects his originality in comparison
through his piano work of the Black Earth.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We thank our institutions, Sultan Idris Education
University, Malaysia, and the MARA University of
Technology, Malaysia for their support of this study.
REFERENCES
Bach, CPE., 1974. Essay on the true art of playing keyboard
instruments. (W. J. Mitchell, Ed., & W. J. Mitchell,
Trans.) London: Ernst Eulenburg Limited.
Davidović, I., 2016. Chopin in Great Britain,1830 to 1930:
Reception, performance, recordings. Doctor of
Philosophy, University of Sheffield, Music
Department, Sheffield.
Donington, R., 2001. January 21. Groove music online.
Retrieved November 18, 2018 from Oxford Music
Online: https://doi.org/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.
article.08 765
Hamilton K., 2008, After the Golden Age:Romantic
Pianism and Modern Performance. New York: Oxford
University Press.
Hamilton, K. (1998). The virtuoso tradition. In D. Rowland,
& D. Rowland (Ed.), The Cambridge Companion to the
Piano (Retrieved from https://www.cambridge.org/
core/books/the-cambridge-companion-to-the
piano/FAFFE64B2A2D7E8C217FEB10B46A86B3
ed., pp. 57-74). Cambridge, United Kingdom:
Cambridge University Press.
Hellaby J., 2009. Modifying the Score.
Music Performance Research, 3, 1-21.
Turkish music dictionary. Retrieved July 27, 2019 from
Turkish music portal: http://www.turkishmusic
portal.org/en/turkish-music- dictionary
Otten J., 2011. Fazil Say: Pianist, Komponist, Welbürger.
Leipzig: Henschel-verlag.
Rowland, D. (2001). Early keyboard instruments; A
practical guide. Cambridge, United Kingdom:
Cambridge University Press.
The Frankfurt Radio Symphony, 2017. Say: Black Earth.
Fazil Say. Available at https://www.youtube.com/
watch ?v=gYtybgToH2Q (Accessed on 16 July 2018)
The Age of Music, 2015, Fazil Say-Black Earth-George
Enescu Festival 2015. Available at:
ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDhckqNAYD0
(Accessed on 24 July 2018)
Формат, 2015, Fazil Say-Black Earth. Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6DRDw8RJfA
(Accessed on 10 July 2018)
Fazil Say, 2007. Fazil Say-Black Earth/Kara Toprak.
Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
KG9wifgWdAQ (Accessed 5 July 2018)
Fazil Say and His Musical Identity: Musical Embellishments in “Black Earth”
233