[Bobowski, Wojciech] (b Lwów, 1610; d c1675). Ottoman musician of Polish origin. He evidently received a sound classical as well as musical education. He was captured, presumably by raiding Tatars, and taken to Constantinople, where he became a court musician, performing on the santur. He converted to Islam and in later life was active as an official interpreter. He wrote extensively on religious topics, but also produced an account of life in the imperial palace which includes a brief but instructive account of musical activities. More crucially, he compiled for his own purposes three collections of notation: a small group of psalms, and a first draft (müsvedde) and a much enlarged and more finished final version of a collection of instrumental and vocal pieces (Mecmua-yi saz ü söz) which covers much of the music heard at court. It would be difficult to exaggerate the importance of this collection as a historical document, for it provides a unique insight into the nature of the Ottoman tradition, hitherto recorded only in the form of song text collections. Of particular value is that in addition to the instrumental repertory ‘Alī Ufkī included a wide range of vocal forms, religious as well as secular, and covered folksong genres in addition to those of urban art music.
Mecmua-yi saz ü söz [Collection of instrumental and vocal pieces] (MS, F-Pn Turc 292 [müsvedde]; GB-Lbl Sloane 3114); photographic reproduction, Ali Ufkî: hayatı, eserleri ve mecmûa-i sâz ü söz, ed. S. Elçin (Istanbul, 1976)
Mezamir (Ms, F-Pn Suppl. Turc 472); ed. C. Behar, Ali Ufkî ve mezmurlar [‘Alī Ufkī and the psalms] (Istanbul, 1990)
Saray-i enderûn, ed. C. Magni, Quanto di piu curioso (Parma, 1679); ed. R. Martin, Turkish Music Quarterly, iii/4 (1990), 1–3
F. Babinger: ‘Bobowski, Wojciech’, Polski słownik biograficzny [Polish biographical dictionary], ed. W. Knopczynski and others (Kraków, 1935–6)
C. Behar: ‘Wojciech Bobowski (Ali Ufkî) ’nin hayatı ve eserleri hakkında yeni bilgiler’ [New data on ‘Alī Ufkī’s life and works], Tarih ve toplum, xvi (1991), 17–22, 209–14
OWEN WRIGHT