Composer Carlo Domeniconi was born in Cesena, Italy, in 1947 and

studied guitar with Carmen Lenzi Mozzani. He is known as a concert artist

in both the classical and jazz idioms, and has played and taught

throughout Europe. He has become known as a distinctive composer for

the guitar, often showing regional folk influences in his compositions.

Born in Cesena, Italy, Carlo Domeniconi studied music in West Berlin. He

visited Turkey and became enamored with its people and its culture. He

was a professor of guitar in Istanbul, and much of his music shows a

Turkish influence.

In this exclusive interview, Carlo Domeniconi relates the meaning behind

his Turkish-inspired solo guitar composition, "Koyunbaba" (pronounced

with accent on the second syllable), and his astonishment at the enormous

world-wide popularity of his mysterious and hypnotic work.

"Koyunbaba" literally means "sheep-father", or "shepherd", but also refers

to many different things, including: a 13th Century mystical saint-like figure

whose grave is decorated with colored bits of cloth by Turkish villagers

seeking his help with family problems. "Koyunbaba" is also the family

name of his descendants, who still reside in the area. "Koyunbaba" is the

name of a wild, dry area in SouthWest Turkey. Domeniconi relates the

story of how the area is seemingly cursed- numerous people who have

attempted to rent or purchase the land from the Koyunbaba family have

died or been stricken ill. Domeniconi tells of two persons: one was a

German woman who wanted to keep the area in its natural and unspoiled

state, but was soon stricken with cancer. The other was one of three sons

of the Koyunbaba family, who suddenly sold some of the land, but then

hung himself.