Ottoman music ( tr, Osmanlı müziği) or Turkish classical music ( tr, Türk sanat müziği) is the tradition of
classical music
Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...
originating in the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
. Developed in the palace, major Ottoman cities, and
Sufi
Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...
lodges, it traditionally features a solo singer with a small to medium-sized instrumental ensemble.
A tradition of music that reached its
golden age
The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the ''Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages of Man, Ages, Gold being the first and the one during ...
around the early 18th century, Ottoman music traces its roots back to the music of the
Hellenic and
Persianate
A Persianate society is a society that is based on or strongly influenced by the Persian language, culture, literature, art and/or identity.
The term "Persianate" is a neologism credited to Marshall Hodgson. In his 1974 book, ''The Venture of Is ...
world, a distinctive feature of which is the usage of a modal melodic system. This system, alternatively called ''
makam
The Turkish makam ( Turkish: ''makam'' pl. ''makamlar''; from the Arabic word ) is a system of melody types used in Turkish classical music and Turkish folk music. It provides a complex set of rules for composing and performance. Each makam spec ...
'', ''
dastgah
Dastgāh ( fa, دستگاه) is the standard musical system in Persian art music, standardised in the 19th century following the transition of Persian music from the Maqam modal system. A consists of a collection of musical melodies, . In a son ...
'' or ''
echos
Echos (Greek: "sound", pl. echoi ; Old Church Slavonic: "voice, sound") is the name in Byzantine music theory for a mode within the eight-mode system ( oktoechos), each of them ruling several melody types, and it is used in the melodic and r ...
'', are a large and varied system of melodic material, defining both scales and melodic contour. In Ottoman music alone,
more than 600 makams have been used so far, and out of these, at least 120 makams are in common use and formally defined.
Rhythmically, Ottoman music uses the ''zaman'' and ''usûl'' systems, which determine
time signature
The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...
s and
accents Accent may refer to:
Speech and language
* Accent (sociolinguistics), way of pronunciation particular to a speaker or group of speakers
* Accent (phonetics), prominence given to a particular syllable in a word, or a word in a phrase
** Pitch acce ...
respectively. A wide variety of instruments has been used in Ottoman music, which include the (lute), (end-blown reed flute), (lyra), (violin), (zither), and others.
Until the 19th century, in which
Westernization
Westernization (or Westernisation), also Europeanisation or occidentalization (from the ''Occident''), is a process whereby societies come under or adopt Western culture in areas such as industry, technology, science, education, politics, economi ...
caused
Western classical music
Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...
to replace the native Ottoman tradition, Ottoman music remained the dominant form of music in the empire, and therefore evolved into a diverse form of art music, with forms such as the
peşrev
''Peşrev'' (pronounced in Turkish), ''Pişrev'' (), ''peshrev,'' or ''pishrev;'' called ''bashraf'' بشرف in Arabic; is an instrumental form in Turkish classical music. It is the name of the first piece of music played during a group performa ...
,
kâr and
saz semaî evolving drastically over the course of the empire's history, as the Ottomans' classical tradition also found its place outside of the court. By the end of the 18th century, Ottoman music had incorporated a diverse repertoire of secular and religious music of a wide variety of musicians, including post-
Byzantine music
Byzantine music (Greek: Βυζαντινή μουσική) is the music of the Byzantine Empire. Originally it consisted of songs and hymns composed to Greek texts used for courtly ceremonials, during festivals, or as paraliturgical and liturgical ...
,
Sephardic music
Sephardic music is an umbrella term used to refer to the music of the Sephardic Jewish community. Sephardic Jews have a diverse repertoire the origins of which center primarily around the Mediterranean basin. In the secular tradition, material is u ...
and others.
19th century Ottoman elites saw Ottoman music as primitive and underdeveloped in relation to Western music, and stopped its courtly patronage. This resulted in many classical musicians being forced to work in entertainment-related contexts, and gave rise to a much simpler style, named ''gazino.'' After the Ottoman Empire collapsed, the new republican elite tried to suppress Ottoman music further, in an attempt to hasten the process of Westernization. The decline which followed resulted in drastic changes in Ottoman music, and as the new republican elite failed to create an alternative to Ottoman music, the remnants of Ottoman tradition were appropriated and nationalized by the
1980 military regime.
Naming conventions
The naming conventions of the Ottoman's Empire's classical tradition are the cause of significant controversy, as naming schemes proposed by governments often place significant importance on the "nationalization" of music, resulting in contradiction.
It is known that the Ottomans did not often distinguish between different musical traditions, calling them all by the name ''musikî,'' ultimately from
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...
''mousiké.'' This naming convention broke down during the
Westernization of the Ottoman Empire, as
Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
cultural norms and practices were slowly integrated into the empire. The resulting dichotomy between Western and Ottoman classical music was referred to as
''alafranga'' and ''alaturka'' (European and Turkish) by the Ottoman elites. However, as the Ottoman Empire collapsed, new terms were employed for the Ottoman tradition, forming the current naming convention of Ottoman music.
The controversies fueled by these changes are often further aggravated by an uncertainty of periodization; according to researcher on
Middle Eastern music
The various nations of the region include the Arabic-speaking countries of the Middle East, the Iranian traditions of Persia, the Jewish music of Israel and the diaspora, Armenian music, Kurdish music, Azeri Music, the varied traditions of Cypriot ...
Owen Wright, 17th century Ottoman music differed from its predecessors to such an extent that "if the two were juxtaposed, we would need to speak of musical
diglossia
In linguistics, diglossia () is a situation in which two dialects or languages are used (in fairly strict compartmentalization) by a single language community. In addition to the community's everyday or vernacular language variety (labeled " ...
."
Walter Zev Feldman, another researcher on Middle Eastern music, has therefore claimed that Ottoman music emerged as a unique tradition no earlier than the 1600s, and that prior works show characteristics of co-existence, not synthesis, between the somewhat closely related classical traditions common in the Ottoman Empire.
Numerous comparative works done by
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
musicians of the 18th and 19th centuries have also pointed out that "the Greek and Turkish modal systems resemble each other to a very high degree", and that there was a near "one-to one correspondence" in terms of most diatonic and non-diatonic structures, as well as the chords that make up the two traditions' modal structures. These findings have led to the argument that a theory of modal music had existed since Ancient Greece, and that the different strands of art music that formed in the Near and Middle East were merely a "cultural chain" of music theory, which then developed into separate traditions.
History
Early Ottoman music
![Süleymanname ottoman ensemble (1530)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/S%C3%BCleymanname_ottoman_ensemble_%281530%29.JPG)
While it is well established that Ottoman music is closely related to its geographical neighbors, namely
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
,
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
and
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
music,
early histories of Ottoman classical music, called "mythologies" by Feldman, emphasize a sense of continuity, as opposed to a synthesis of different musical traditions.
The Ottomans, as a
Persianate
A Persianate society is a society that is based on or strongly influenced by the Persian language, culture, literature, art and/or identity.
The term "Persianate" is a neologism credited to Marshall Hodgson. In his 1974 book, ''The Venture of Is ...
empire, had assumed "an unbroken continuity from medieval Greater Iran (i.e. Herat to Istanbul)," while in
republican Turkey, the history of Ottoman classical music was deeply tied to "musical figures of the medieval Islamic civilization, such as
al-Farabi
Abu Nasr Muhammad Al-Farabi ( fa, ابونصر محمد فارابی), ( ar, أبو نصر محمد الفارابي), known in the Western world, West as Alpharabius; (c. 872 – between 14 December, 950 and 12 January, 951)PDF version was a reno ...
,
Ibn Sina
Ibn Sina ( fa, ابن سینا; 980 – June 1037 CE), commonly known in the West as Avicenna (), was a Persian polymath who is regarded as one of the most significant physicians, astronomers, philosophers, and writers of the Islamic G ...
, and
Maraghi with the Ottomans."
Despite this, existing sources can be consulted to create a musical history with both continuity and "radical breaks".
Most of the musical vocabulary that makes up Ottoman tradition is either Arabic or Persian,
as until the ''Edvar'' of Hızır bin Abdullah, there had not been any notable music theory treatises written in Turkish; Turkic empires relied on works written in Persian to compose their own music.
Therefore, early Ottoman music was not significantly different from those of earlier Near and Middle Eastern societies;
modal,
heterophonic
In music, heterophony is a type of texture characterized by the simultaneous variation of a single melodic line. Such a texture can be regarded as a kind of complex monophony in which there is only one basic melody, but realized at the same time ...
music with a richly developed melodic line and complex rhythmic structures.
The Ottomans, until the 15th century, tried to imitate the
Timurid Renaissance
The Timurid Renaissance was a historical period in Asian and Islamic history spanning the late 14th, the 15th, and the early 16th centuries. Following the gradual downturn of the Islamic Golden Age, the Timurid Empire, based in Central Asia rule ...
; the "musical creativity taking place in the Timurid courts of Eastern Iran and Central Asia" was viewed to be of legendary status.
This resulted in a variety of new musical works that were composed in the 15th century, with a loosening of the traditional ''nawba'' cycle and the gradual adoption of various styles along with a court-patronized, vivid musical scene, which was referred to as the "first Ottoman romanticism" by Wittek and later, musician and musicologist
Çinuçen Tanrıkorur.
Classical Age
![Acem](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ea/Acem.jpg)
While the classical age of the Ottoman Empire is often viewed as an age when Ottoman hegemony over Europe had reached a peak, Tanrıkorur argues that "the evolution of the Ottoman music did not always follow a parallel to the stages of the evolution of the Empire, in terms of her political and economic dimensions."
In fact, because of the sudden decline of Persian classical music which, according to Feldman, "prevented the entire musical system of the previous era to be preserved and transmitted", the largely
Persianate
A Persianate society is a society that is based on or strongly influenced by the Persian language, culture, literature, art and/or identity.
The term "Persianate" is a neologism credited to Marshall Hodgson. In his 1974 book, ''The Venture of Is ...
music of the courts witnessed a gradual return to folk styles, with a particular emphasis placed on the murabba form.
While many peşrevs and semais, which were tightly integrated into Ottoman society, were widely enjoyed by the upper classes, these were often simplified, with a notable absence of long and complex rhythmic cycles.
Anthologies indicate that by the 16th century, the sophisticated rhythmic cycles of 15th century Persianate music had been neglected by a large majority of the Persianate world.
In fact, many 15th century works had their rhythmic cycles changed in the newer anthologies, which suggests that virtually no original works from the 15th were being played in their unaltered form in the 16th century.
The ''nawba'', or an early long-form performance, had also been lost, and would be replaced by the ''fasıl'' about a hundred years later.
16th century records, compared to 15th century ones, feature many more pieces attributed to composers of the 14th century and earlier. This, according to Wright, was not a natural expansion of repertoire from older composers, but rather "attests to the emergence of pseudo-graphia — spurious works falsely attributed to much earlier and prestigious composers — precisely at the time when the actual works by these musicians were falling into oblivion."
Feldman further argues that this may have had two reasons: that the complicated forms of early Ottoman music made the older repertoire harder to consistently play without patronage of the court; or that the breakdown of transmission made it considerably more difficult for new performers to gain access to old works, creating a need for an older, more prestigious "great tradition" from which 17th century Ottoman music would emerge.
However, the classical age is not exclusively a period of decline for Ottoman classical music, as the first signs of a multicultural musical tradition started to appear in the Ottoman Empire. Cristaldi emphasizes that this era marked the beginning of contacts between Persian and Byzantine traditions, which would later fuse to form a recognizably Ottoman style.
Synagogal chants were also adapted to the makam system during this era, fueling what would later become the "new synthesis" of Ottoman music.
Israel ben Moses Najara
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
, who is sometimes called "the father of Ottoman-Jewish music", and Shlomo Mazal Tov, compiler of the ''Sefer shirim u-zemirot ve tishbahot'' (The book of songs, 17 hymns and songs of praise)'','' were very influential in this process, as they, along with many other non-Muslim musicians, started to attend
Mevlevi ceremonies in which religious music was played; this fusion would be the driving force behind 17th century Ottoman music.
The "New Synthesis"
![Tanbûr from the book Kitâb-i ‘Ilmü’l Mûsîkî ala Vechi’l-Hurûfat by Dimitrie Cantemir](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/Tanb%C3%BBr_from_the_book_Kit%C3%A2b-i_%E2%80%98Ilm%C3%BC%E2%80%99l_M%C3%BBs%C3%AEk%C3%AE_ala_Vechi%E2%80%99l-Hur%C3%BBfat_by_Dimitrie_Cantemir.jpg)
The "new synthesis" of Ottoman music, which occurred in the second half of the 17th century, is often described as a form of "local modernity" and a "musical renaissance", where the complexity of 15th century Near and Middle Eastern court music was regained and expanded upon. This musical revival was largely the work of "aristocratic Muslims and Mevlevi dervish musicians", and resulted in a renewed sense of musical progress, which had broken down during the Ottomans' classical age.
One of the most notable composers of "new synthesis" Ottoman classical music is Kasımpaşalı Osman Effendi, whose focus, along with his students, was on reviving the tradition of complex rhythmic cycles, which he had correctly identified as lost, unlike many court musicologists of his time.
These new rhythmic cycles were later used by his student
Hafız Post
Hafız Post (Tanburi Mehmet) (c.1630–1694) was a composer and performer of Turkish music during Ottoman Empire era in İstanbul.
Biography
His father was an imam. He was trained well in literature, music and foreign languages such as Per ...
to fit the more folkloric, popular poetry form ''murabba'', bridging the gap between older Persian classical works and newer Anatolian ones, created after the decline of Persian music in the 16th century.
Meanwhile, other students of Osman Effendi, such as Mustafa Itri, sought out the conventions of Byzantine music, incorporating the concepts of the Orthodox tradition into his works as well as his treatises. This significantly bolstered the exchange between Byzantine and Ottoman music, and the resulting era featured a number of Greek composers, most notably
Peter Peloponnesios, Hanende Zacharia and Tanburi Angeli.
Increasingly, modal structures between the two traditions began to converge as well, as manuscripts often recorded both ''
echoi'' and ''
makams'' of composed pieces. A piece during this time might have been recorded as ''"Segâh makam, usûl muhammes, echos IV legetos''", noting similarities and equivalences between the two systems.
The influence of Osman Effendi had effects beyond his immediate students and into well-known Eastern European intellectual
Dimitrie Cantemir
Dimitrie or Demetrius Cantemir (, russian: Дмитрий Кантемир; 26 October 1673 – 21 August 1723), also known by other spellings, was a Romanian prince, statesman, and man of letters, regarded as one of the most significant e ...
's understanding of music history, as he elucidates on multiple occasions the rapid decline and renaissance Ottoman music had experienced of the 16th and 17th century, stating that:
Despite the acknowledgement of a break in the Ottomans' musical tradition,
Cantemir asserts the supremacy of many aspects of Ottoman music over that of
Western music at numerous points during his ''Edvâr''.
While this may or may not have been representative of the consensus among Ottoman composers at the time, it was not necessarily surprising, according to Leezenberg, as Western ideas of cultural supremacy were not widespread in Europe until the end of the 18th century, although critiques of the "confused" (microtonal) intervals of Ottoman music were.
![Ali Ufki nekriz](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/01/Ali_Ufki_nekriz.jpg)
Cantemir's ''Edvâr'', possibly the most influential musical treatise written in the Ottoman Empire, is also often hailed as a paradigm shift in the Ottoman understanding of music theory. The lack of a poetic style, as well as an empirical and practical focus, is said to set Cantemir's Edvar apart from earlier works, and would influence the treatises of later theorists.
Secular art music and religious music were rarely intertwined in the Ottoman Empire, however, their traditions were often closely related to each other; this resulted in the gradual introduction of Mevlevi elements to Ottoman classical music.
Two
dervish
Dervish, Darvesh, or Darwīsh (from fa, درویش, ''Darvīsh'') in Islam can refer broadly to members of a Sufi fraternity
A fraternity (from Latin language, Latin ''wiktionary:frater, frater'': "brother (Christian), brother"; whence, ...
es (
Muslim mystics
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the ve ...
) in particular, Çengi Yusuf Dede and
Köçek
The ''köçek'' (plural in Turkish) was typically a very handsome young male slave or a Romani dancer (''rakkas''), who usually cross-dressed in feminine attire, and was employed as an entertainer.
Roots
The Persian word ''kuchak'' der ...
Mustafa Dede, are notable for their usage of complex rhythmic cycles and techniques, as well as integrating much slower tempos and more intricate ''seyirs'' into the Ottoman repertoire, which would leave a lasting impact on Ottoman classical tradition.
This new synthesis had a wide range of implications for Ottoman music. While earlier Persianate music had a tendency to leave old forms and create new ones in times of societal instability, by the early 1700s, a new synthesis of Ottoman classical music had resulted in a relatively stable musical canon and a broad understanding of advanced music theory, which incorporated Byzantine and older Persian elements.
According to Feldman, this new period in Ottoman music had led to many distinguishable features of Ottoman classical tradition, including the "sophistication of the system of rhythmic cycles", "fine distinctions in intonation" and ''fasıl'' structure. This phenomenon has been compared to the sense of musical progress that had been taking place in the West during the 17th and 18th century, a process that has been called “locally generated modernity.”
Decline
![Hammâmizâde İsmâîl Dede Efendi](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9c/Hamm%C3%A2miz%C3%A2de_%C4%B0sm%C3%A2%C3%AEl_Dede_Efendi_.jpg)
Starting from the turn of the 19th century,
Western classical music
Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...
found much greater patronage in court, chiefly after the death of the progressive
Mahmud II
Mahmud II ( ota, محمود ثانى, Maḥmûd-u s̠ânî, tr, II. Mahmud; 20 July 1785 – 1 July 1839) was the 30th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1808 until his death in 1839.
His reign is recognized for the extensive administrative, ...
. While Mahmud II continued the patronage of a native musical tradition, the following sultans, namely the Western-oriented
Abdulmejid I
Abdulmejid I ( ota, عبد المجيد اول, ʿAbdü'l-Mecîd-i evvel, tr, I. Abdülmecid; 25 April 182325 June 1861) was the 31st Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and succeeded his father Mahmud II on 2 July 1839. His reign was notable for the r ...
and the conservative
Abdul Hamid II
Abdülhamid or Abdul Hamid II ( ota, عبد الحميد ثانی, Abd ül-Hamid-i Sani; tr, II. Abdülhamid; 21 September 1842 10 February 1918) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 31 August 1876 to 27 April 1909, and the last sultan to ...
were enthusiastic in their support for Western classical music.
Many composers of
Western classical music
Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...
, such as
Donizetti Pasha, were held in high esteem in the Ottoman court, while Ottoman music suffered official neglect. This caused many prominent Ottoman composers, including
Ismail Dede Efendi, who had previously been called "the greatest composer of the 19th century" by the Ottomans, to leave the court, spurring Ottoman music to a state of adaptation.
As the courtly Ottoman tradition declined in the mid 19th century, a popular "middle-brow" style was created and called ''gazino,''
which all but completely abandoned the old rhythmic complexity of Ottoman classical music, replacing it with danceable, simple rhythms and embellished melodies.
According to O'Connell, this newer music was also significantly influenced by Western motifs, particularly "in the realms of musical techniques, performance styles, and ensemble practice."
While many in
Sufi Muslim,
Orthodox Christian
Orthodoxy (from Greek: ) is adherence to correct or accepted creeds, especially in religion.
Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical councils in Antiquity, but different Churche ...
and
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
''Maftirim'' traditions opposed this, and continued transferring the old style in their respective communities, official neglect made it very difficult for the system to function.
Therefore, many musicians, such as Şevki Bey and
Tanburi Cemil Bey
Tanburi Cemil Bey (1873, Istanbul – July 28, 1916, Istanbul) was an Ottoman tanbur, Turkish tambur, yaylı tambur, kemençe, and lavta virtuoso and composer, who has greatly contributed to the ''taksim'' (improvisation on a makam/maqam) ...
, avoided the court altogether, constituting the end of Ottoman classical music as the "official"
art music
Art music (alternatively called classical music, cultivated music, serious music, and canonic music) is music considered to be of high phonoaesthetic value. It typically implies advanced structural and theoretical considerationsJacques Siron, ...
of the empire.
Persecution and revival
![Ziya Gykalp Malta 1920 1921](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/Ziya_Gykalp_Malta_1920_1921.jpg)
As the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
collapsed, and was succeeded by the
Republic of Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
, the Westernized elite regarded Ottoman classical tradition with a growing amount of disdain.
Ziya Gökalp
Mehmet Ziya Gökalp (23 March 1876 – 25 October 1924) was a Turkish sociologist, writer, poet, and politician. After the 1908 Young Turk Revolution that reinstated constitutionalism in the Ottoman Empire, he adopted the pen name Gökalp ("cel ...
, a prominent
nationalist
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...
thinker, thought of "Eastern music" as inferior to both
Western classical
Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...
and
Turkish folk music
Turkish folk music (''Türk Halk Müziği'') is the traditional music of Turkish people living in Turkey influenced by the cultures of Anatolia and former territories in Europe and Asia. Its unique structure includes regional differences under ...
, advocating the replacement of Ottoman tradition with a synthesis of these two traditions.
The reason of this 'inferiority', according to John O'Connell, is that the multicultural, "chaotic" nature of Ottoman art music was not "high culture" by its 20th century Western conception, creating a clash where Ottoman traditions were classified by the new Westernized elite to fit the notions of a more 'primitive' music than its Western counterparts, and therefore Western music was equated with
progressivism
Progressivism holds that it is possible to improve human societies through political action. As a political movement, progressivism seeks to advance the human condition through social reform based on purported advancements in science, tec ...
, while Ottoman music was equated with an outmoded
conservatism
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...
.
Many members of the republican elite also viewed Ottoman classical music as 'degenerate' – promoting sexual promiscuity, alcoholism and many other perceived ills of old Ottoman society – while
Turkish commas were perceived as 'vulgar'.
An extensive debate followed on the merits of Ottoman classical music, where musicians of the tradition denigrated certain aspects of Ottoman music, while showing appreciation for others, indicating that support for Ottoman music had been waning, even among musicians of Ottoman tradition.
The government had responded to these changes by reducing financial support for Ottoman music, facilitating its decline.
The reforms on Turkish music strengthened from 1926 onward, when ''
tekkes
A khanqah ( fa, خانقاه) or khangah ( fa, خانگاه; also transliterated as ''khankah'', ''khaneqa'', ''khanegah'' or ''khaneqah''; also Arabized ''hanegah'', ''hanikah'', ''hanekah'', ''khankan''), also known as a ribat (), is a buildin ...
'' (
Sufi
Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...
lodges) were closed down, as a response to the ostensibly anti-
Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
, and thereby
counter-revolutionary
A counter-revolutionary or an anti-revolutionary is anyone who opposes or resists a revolution, particularly one who acts after a revolution in order to try to overturn it or reverse its course, in full or in part. The adjective "counter-revoluti ...
aspects of
Sufism
Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, r ...
.
This meant, with the absence of state support, that neither secular nor religious Ottoman music would survive. Further action was also taken to prevent Ottoman musicians from transmitting their knowledge to newer generations, as a "complete ban" was placed on Ottoman-style music education in 1927. The next year,
Mustafa Kemal
Mustafa ( ar, مصطفى
, Muṣṭafā) is one of the names of Prophet Muhammad, and the name means "chosen, selected, appointed, preferred", used as an Arabic given name and surname. Mustafa is a common name in the Muslim world.
Given name ...
made his comments on the matter, stating that:
According to Tekelioğlu, Mustafa Kemal managed to blame Ottoman intellectuals for the supposed inferiority of "Eastern" music with this rhetoric, and therefore separated "Turkishness" from the "soporific, Eastern" traditions of the Ottomans.
However, while the republican elite, including Mustafa Kemal, were steadfast in their support for Western music, the general public were hesitant, even preferring Arabic stations which played a related tradition of music over that of native ones, which played Western music.
What followed was further radicalization of policy in the 1930s, as music magazines that claimed to resist the revolution of Turkish music were coerced to self-censor, flooded with negative coverage, and later forced to close down.
This was followed by a ban of Ottoman music on radio, instituted in 1935. This was defended by poet and cultural figure Ercüment Behzat Lav, who argued that:
While the ban could last no more than a few years, systematic censorship of the types of Turkish music that could be played continued for at least half a century. Tekelioğlu has argued that a major reason of this censorship is the republican elites' unwavering belief in absolute truths and a unified notion of "civilization", in which the technologically advanced West were superior in all of their traditions, including that of music, which in turn justified the policy "for the people's sake".
![Zeki Müren Sanat Müzesi 12](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/75/Zeki_M%C3%BCren_Sanat_M%C3%BCzesi_12.jpg)
Ottoman music traditions would emerge from around a half-century of persecution around the 1970s and 80s, with the condition that this music was to be nationalized and to no longer feature themes of unattainable love and sorrow, making a "more cheerful" art music than before.
In the pursuit of this goal, Ottoman music, which was "the common inheritance of all the peoples who made up the Ottoman societies", was Turkified in a cultural "cleanse".
Many Ottoman composers' names were Turkified to give the impression that they had converted and assimilated into
Turko-Islamic culture, or otherwise demoted to a position of an outside influence helping the development of a Turkish music. Well-known ''
neyzen''
Kudsi Erguner
Kudsi Ergüner (born 4 February 1952 in Diyarbakır, Turkey) is a Turkish musician. He is considered a master of traditional Mevlevi Sufi music and is one of the best-known players of the Turkish ney flute.
Biography
As a boy, Erguner s ...
therefore argues that "in this way the origin of the art was reconnected to a given nation: the Turks are its owners and the artists of other origins are its servants."
The final result of this effort was a genre of music known in
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
as ''Türk sanat musikisi'', or Turkish art music.
While many were supportive of this new style, as it achieved widespread popularity, some musicians, including
Erguner, have criticized it, arguing that the songs' lyrics lacked their traditional meaning and that its melodies were 'insipid'.
A popular offshoot, influenced by 19th century Ottoman practice, formed in the 1970s, and was promptly named ''
arabesk'' by commentators''.'' O'Connell argues that the name ''arabesk'' was a reiteration of an older
orientalist dualism "to envisage a
Turkish-
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
polarity", instead of a East-West one, and to define "aberrant
usical and culturalpractices with taxonomic efficiency".
O'Connell further argues that arabesk served as a link to older, Ottoman-era norms, which, according to him, partly explains the preference against ''arabesk'' in elite circles, who had previously categorized these as 'degenerate' and 'promiscuous'.
While older Ottoman-style musicians, such as
Zeki Müren
Zeki Müren (; 6 December 1931 – 24 September 1996) was a Turkish singer, composer, songwriter, actor and poet. Known by the nicknames "The Sun of Art" and "Pasha", he was one of the prominent figures of the Ottoman classical music, Turkish cla ...
and
Bülent Ersoy
Bülent Ersoy (; born 9 June 1952) is a Turkish singer and actress. She is known as one of the most popular singers of Turkish music, nicknamed Diva by her fans. Ersoy has many famous hits such as "Ümit Hırsızı" ''(Hope Thief)'', "Geceler" '' ...
did deviate from republican gender norms, the ones exclusively associated with the more rural strand of ''arabesk'', such as
Kurdish
Kurdish may refer to:
*Kurds or Kurdish people
*Kurdish languages
*Kurdish alphabets
*Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes:
**Southern Kurdistan
**Eastern Kurdistan
**Northern Kurdistan
**Western Kurdistan
See also
* Kurd (dis ...
vocalist
İbrahim Tatlıses
İbrahim Tatlıses (born İbrahim Tatlı in 1952) is a Turkish folk singer and former actor. Since the 1970s he has been one of the best-known and most successful singers of the pop '' Arabesk'' style. Tatlıses has recorded 42 albums, including ...
, presented a masculinity that, according to O'Connell, stressed both "swarthy machismo" and "profligate mannerisms", adopting the
melismatic
Melisma ( grc-gre, μέλισμα, , ; from grc, , melos, song, melody, label=none, plural: ''melismata'') is the singing of a single syllable of text while moving between several different notes in succession. Music sung in this style is referr ...
melodic contours of Ottoman singers, judged as effeminate and uncivilized by the earlier republican elite.
Characteristics
![Comma Line](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/Comma_Line.gif)
While Ottoman music does have characteristics in common with Western classical music, to which it is often compared, Ottoman music theory is largely dependent on two systems separate from that of common practice Western tradition, a system of modal melodic material called ''makam'', and a system of rhythmic cycles called ''usûl''.
The theoretical basis of this "melodic material" is a tuning system that divides the octave into
53 tones or ''perde''s, and prescribes
heterophonic
In music, heterophony is a type of texture characterized by the simultaneous variation of a single melodic line. Such a texture can be regarded as a kind of complex monophony in which there is only one basic melody, but realized at the same time ...
"pathways" of melodic development, called ''seyir,'' to create pieces.
If said melodic material is used in its "purest" form, the resulting composition is called a ''taksim'', or a locally-rhythmic improvisational piece. Composed pieces, however, also utilize usûl, a complex system of meters and accents, which structure the piece.
Ottoman music is played in ensembles similar in size to a
chamber orchestra
Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numbe ...
, and
Çinuçen Tanrıkorur lists 18 instruments as being common in classical circles; these include the ''
ney
The ''ney'' ( fa, Ney/نی, ar, Al-Nāy/الناي), is an end-blown flute that figures prominently in Persian music and Arabic music. In some of these musical traditions, it is the only wind instrument used. The ney has been played continually ...
'', ''
tambur
The ''tambur'' (spelled in keeping with TDK conventions) is a fretted string instrument of Turkey and the former lands of the Ottoman Empire. Like the ney, the armudi (lit. pear-shaped) kemençe and the kudüm, it constitutes one of the fou ...
'',
violin
The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...
, ''
oud
, image=File:oud2.jpg
, image_capt=Syrian oud made by Abdo Nahat in 1921
, background=
, classification=
* String instruments
*Necked bowl lutes
, hornbostel_sachs=321.321-6
, hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded with a plectrum
, ...
'', and ''
qanun'' among others, although less well-known instruments, like the ''
yaylı tambur,
rebab
The ''rebab'' ( ar, ربابة, ''rabāba'', variously spelled ''rebap'', ''rubob'', ''rebeb'', ''rababa'', ''rabeba'', ''robab'', ''rubab'', ''rebob'', etc) is the name of several related string instruments that independently spread via I ...
'' and ''
mıskal'', also exist.
Despite this, instrumentation in Ottoman classical tradition shows signs of drastic change throughout the centuries. While certain instruments, like the qanun, ney, and the tambur, remained in use for the majority of the empire's history, others were less stable.
Çeng
The ''çeng'' is a Turkish harp. It was a popular Ottoman instrument until the last quarter of the 17th century.
The ancestor of the Ottoman harp is thought to be an instrument seen in ancient Assyrian tablets. While a similar instrument als ...
, a type of harp, fell out of use in classical repertoire, and the oud had its scope significantly reduced. Some classical instruments were also replaced by folk instruments following Ottoman music's decline during the 19th century; the
rebab
The ''rebab'' ( ar, ربابة, ''rabāba'', variously spelled ''rebap'', ''rubob'', ''rebeb'', ''rababa'', ''rabeba'', ''robab'', ''rubab'', ''rebob'', etc) is the name of several related string instruments that independently spread via I ...
was replaced by the folk-oriented
classical kemençe
The classical ''kemenche'' ( tr, Klasik kemençe), ('pear-shaped kemenche') or ( el, πολίτικη λύρα, 'Constantinopolitan lyre') is a pear-shaped bowed instrument that derived from the medieval Greek byzantine lyre.
It was mainly u ...
(also called ''politiki lyra''), and the oud made its return to classical repertoire.
Makam
![Rastmakam-2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/Rastmakam-2.jpg)
''Makam'' (or ''maqam'') is broadly defined as the "melodic material of the Near East, Middle East and Anatolian traditional musics."
While it is one of the fundamental parts of Near and Middle Eastern music theory, its definition and classifications have been long debated by music theorists, who belonged to numerous schools of music within Near and Middle Eastern tradition. ''Makams'' are often further classified into ''basit'' (lit. basic), ''şed'' (transposed) and ''mürekkep'' (compound). ''Basit'' and ''şed'' makams can mostly be defined as a scale in the Western sense, while ''mürekkep'' ones can not.
''Makams'' are constructed by attaching ''cins'' together''. Cins'' are defined as either
trichord
In music theory, a trichord () is a group of three different pitch classes found within a larger group. A trichord is a contiguous three-note set from a musical scale or a twelve-tone row.
In musical set theory there are twelve trichords give ...
s,
tetrachord
In music theory, a tetrachord ( el, τετράχορδoν; lat, tetrachordum) is a series of four notes separated by three intervals. In traditional music theory, a tetrachord always spanned the interval of a perfect fourth, a 4:3 frequency propo ...
s or
pentachord
A pentachord in music theory may be either of two things. In pitch-class set theory, a pentachord is defined as any five pitch classes, regarded as an unordered collection . In other contexts, a pentachord may be any consecutive five-note section ...
s, which modal entities (although not melodic direction) are derived from.
This connects most makams together as basic ''cins'' are used to define most of them, and provides ample space for continuity and modulation.
''Makam'' is most often used as a synonym of
mode
Mode ( la, modus meaning "manner, tune, measure, due measure, rhythm, melody") may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* '' MO''D''E (magazine)'', a defunct U.S. women's fashion magazine
* ''Mode'' magazine, a fictional fashion magazine which is ...
, however, Yöre has argued that most makams (in particular ''mürekkep'' ones) are modes performed in certain conventions and characteristics. Therefore, two makams might share all their notes, but might not share the same ''seyir'' (conventional melodic progression), or vice versa. This creates a
very large variety of makams, which are first broken down into families and then into individual makams, which are distinguished most clearly by their ''seyir''.
Makams also constitute a hierarchy of pitches, where the "nucleus" of the makam creates its essentials, while other pitches are "secondary" and therefore "mutable".
Beken and Signell argue that most makams can be better described in terms of a "broad tonal movement", similar to the purpose of a
chord progression
In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from the common practice ...
in Western music, compounded with the general purpose of a scale.
''Seyir'' is the concept of melodic progression in Ottoman music, disputed among theorists on its characteristics and classifications, and is still an often-researched topic. While there is a popular classification of ''seyirs'', made by the Arel-Ezgi-Üzdilek system, which claims that makams can develop and resolve in ascending and descending fashions, this designation has faced criticism from Yöre among others, who has proposed a definition related to melodic contour.
A related term called ''terkib'' exists, and refers to fragmentary phenomena inside a ''makam'' that have its own modal qualities.
However, this term has been largely out of use since the early 18th century, and its purpose has largely been replaced by the concept of ''seyir'' and ''çeşni,'' the former of which 'implied' the use of ''terkibs'' by associating conventionalized melodic progressions with ''makams,'' and the latter of which described fragmentary modal entities that implied a different ''makam''.
Modulation
According to Powers and Feldman, modulation is usually defined within Ottoman music in three different ways: as
transposition, change of melodic structure or progression, and change of a modal "nucleus" (the non-mutable part of a scale); all of these constitute a change in
makam
The Turkish makam ( Turkish: ''makam'' pl. ''makamlar''; from the Arabic word ) is a system of melody types used in Turkish classical music and Turkish folk music. It provides a complex set of rules for composing and performance. Each makam spec ...
.
These inter-related definitions have provided ample space for the development of complex modal structures called ''mürekkep'' makams, in which simpler makams combine to create more complicated ones that evolve and change through time.
However, Feldman further argues that outside of taksims, modulations and ''mürekkep'' makams were uncommon until the late 18th century, and that until that point, makams were only based on basic and secondary scale degrees found in earlier Ottoman music.
The shift away from this old system has been attributed to the emergence of the standard ''4-hâne'' instrumental structure, and the ''zemin-miyan'' system, which allowed more modulations during pieces by providing a theoretical basis for relationships between makams. By the 19th century, this had led to the "wandering makam" phenomenon, where modulations are in periods shorter than what is necessary to "show" the makam.
Usûl
''Usûls'' refer to a cyclical system of rhythmic structure, and, similarly to time signatures in Western music, these act as a vehicle to the composition of music.
The main difference between usûls and time signatures are that usûls also indicate
accents Accent may refer to:
Speech and language
* Accent (sociolinguistics), way of pronunciation particular to a speaker or group of speakers
* Accent (phonetics), prominence given to a particular syllable in a word, or a word in a phrase
** Pitch acce ...
, and a related term ''zaman'' is sometimes used to denote an equivalent to Western time signatures. For example, the usûls ''Çenber'' and ''Nimsakil'' can both be transcribed as and are both "24 ''zamanlı"'', despite the fact that they differ in their internal divisions. This system of internal division allows for the creation of complex usûls that can only be learned by rote, as
Cantemir had pointed out: “because these
sûlsare so intricate, those who do not know the meter cannot play the songs at all, even though they were to hear that song a thousand times.”
Usûls are often further broken down into two categories; short and long usûls. Short usûls, generally dance oriented rhythmic cycles including ''sofyan'' and ''semaî'', feature heavy correspondence with melodic lines and ''
aruz'' meters.
A notable exception to this is the ''aksak semaî'' usûl, which does not show correspondence with neither melodic lines, nor meters.
Long usûls, on the other hand, completely eschew correspondence with ''
aruz'', and "function along very different principles from the short ones", according to Feldman,
and while this system could describe usûl structures until the 18th century, Feldman argues that in later pieces, "the melodic gestures
f the pieces
F, or f, is the sixth Letter (alphabet), letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is English alphabet#Let ...
frequently overwhelmed the ostensible usûl structures that theoretically supported them."
Notation
Like most Islamicate musical traditions, the Ottomans used no standardized notation system until the 19th century. While a variety of notation systems were utilized, including Byzantine,
staff and ''
abjad
An abjad (, ar, أبجد; also abgad) is a writing system in which only consonants are represented, leaving vowel sounds to be inferred by the reader. This contrasts with other alphabets, which provide graphemes for both consonants and vowels ...
'' notation, these were used largely for archiving and theoretical purposes and read from sparsely.
In fact, the Ottomans preferred a system of institutional oral transmission, called ''
meşk.
'' This system was not due to a lack of an understanding of written repertoire as a concept, but a lack of interest in standardization, because of a conception of music that "equalized" the roles of performer and composer. Jäger argues that the conception of a composer in the Ottoman style is vastly different from that of the Western one, the former of which relates to an "
opus
''Opus'' (pl. ''opera'') is a Latin word meaning "work". Italian equivalents are ''opera'' (singular) and ''opere'' (pl.).
Opus or OPUS may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music
* Opus number, (abbr. Op.) specifying order of (usually) publicatio ...
-cluster"; the totality of the work that person has seen, taught and composed, rather than an individual work of art:
![Hamparsum](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/Hamparsum.JPG)
This meant that while the central melody and usûl would be laid down by the composer, the performer would add their personal style and accompaniment to the composition.
Despite this, attempts were made to standardize certain types of notation, starting from the 15th century, when Byzantine musicians introduced their own notation to the Ottoman tradition. During the 17th century,
Dimitrie Cantemir
Dimitrie or Demetrius Cantemir (, russian: Дмитрий Кантемир; 26 October 1673 – 21 August 1723), also known by other spellings, was a Romanian prince, statesman, and man of letters, regarded as one of the most significant e ...
modified an old Islamic method called ''abjad'' serialization, where every pitch and note length were assigned Arabic letters and numerals respectively, to create his own influential system.
Others, like ''
Tanburî Petras'', developed complicated and unorthodox systems that resembled neither Middle Eastern nor Western notation.
However, no notation system was as widespread and close to being standardized as Hampartsoum notation; developed by
Hampartsoum Limondjian
Hampartsoum Limondjian ( hy, Համբարձում Լիմոնճեան; 1768 – 29 June 1839) was an Ottoman Armenian composer of Armenian church and classical music, as well as Ottoman classical music, and musical theorist who developed the "H ...
during the 19th century decline of Ottoman music.''
'' While Hampartsoum notation has been eclipsed by modified staff notation in the Republic of Turkey, it enjoys widespread usage in the
Armenian Apostolic Church
, native_name_lang = hy
, icon = Armenian Apostolic Church logo.svg
, icon_width = 100px
, icon_alt =
, image = Էջմիածնի_Մայր_Տաճար.jpg
, imagewidth = 250px
, a ...
to this day.''
''
Forms
Almost all classical music in the Ottoman style is performed in a long-form performance called ''fasıl''. ''Fasıls'' include various movements, which have to be ordered in a specific way: ''taksim'', ''peşrev'', ''kâr(ı-natık), kârçe, beste, ağır semâi, şarkı, yürük semâi'' and ''saz semâi.''
A fasıl is led by a ''serhânende,'' who is responsible for indicating usûls, and the remaining musicians are called ''sazende'' (instrumentalist) or ''hânende'' (vocalist).
Taksim
''
Taksim'' () is an instrumental, improvised movement of a ''
fasıl
The ''fasıl'' is a suite in Ottoman classical music. It is similar to the Arabic '' nawba'' and '' waslah''.
A classical ''fasıl'' generally includes movements such as '' taksim'', '' peşrev'', '' kâr'', '' beste'', '' ağır semâ'î'', '' y ...
'', played in locally-metrical rhythmic patterns. Performed by a single performer or a small part of the ensemble, taksims can be played in the beginning of a fasıl, or act as an interlude between two movements of a fasıl with different usuls or makams.
As one of the most recognizable forms of Ottoman music, it has significantly influenced musical practice in all parts of the post-Ottoman world.
However, the forms associated with taksim change drastically from one region to the next.
All ''taksims'' rely on codified melodic progressions called ''seyir'', which systematize possibilities in melodic development in these pieces.
''Taksims'' also heavily rely on
modal modulation, as a ''taksim'' made in a single makam would have been "of little aesthetic value" to the Ottomans. However, Feldman argues that the tradition of modulating in ''taksims'' started no earlier than the 17th century.
Furthermore, taksims are often used to demonstrate abstract modal relationships, differences and similarities between makams. This tradition began with
Dimitrie Cantemir
Dimitrie or Demetrius Cantemir (, russian: Дмитрий Кантемир; 26 October 1673 – 21 August 1723), also known by other spellings, was a Romanian prince, statesman, and man of letters, regarded as one of the most significant e ...
, his ''Nağme-i Külliyat-i Makamat'' (), features 36 modal modulations in total.
Gazel
''
Gazel
''Gazel'' is a form of Turkish music that has almost died out. While in other parts of West Asia, ''gazel'' is synonymous with '' ghazal'', in Turkey it denotes an improvised form of solo singing that is sometimes accompanied by the '' ney'', '' ud ...
s'' are vocal versions of ''taksim''. These are accompanied with the poetry form
of the same name, Islamicate love poetry that is usually directed to a younger male beloved.
Originally simply called ''taksim'', the word ''gazel'' seems to have replaced the former word when referring to vocal improvisation, sometime around the 18th century.
While instrumental taksims are usually unaccompanied, gazels are accompanied either by droning the ''durak (''tonic, first note of the scale), güçlü and other consonances, or by more traditional accompaniment, where a more simplified version of the main melody is played by the other instruments.
Peşrev
''Peşrevs'' are performed after the introductory taksim in a classical ''fasıl''. Peşrevs are rhythmically complex, featuring protracted usuls that do not translate well into Western staff notation.
They are typically made up of four hânes and one mülazime, which repeats after every hâne,
and its melodic structure relies on alternating between neighboring makams in these ''hânes''.
Peşrevs, in addition to serving as preludes for long-form performances, also have a very comprehensive history in their usage as military marches, and therefore, has had a considerable influence on Western classical music.
Melodically complex ''peşrevs'' with numerous modal modulations are called ''Fihrist peşrevs'', or ''Küll-i Külliyat''.
Kâr, Kârçe and Beste
''Kârs'''', Kârçes'' and
''Bestes'' are vocal pieces performed after the ''peşrev'' in the classical ''fasıl'', these pieces are slow, rhythmically complex, and include ''terennüm,'' syllables that represent certain aspects of meter in Ottoman poetry.
Similar to ''fihrist peşrevs,'' melodically complex pieces of these types are called ''kar-ı natıks''. In some versions of these pieces, every modal modulation is signaled by a pun with the makam's name, this is regarded as a poetic and pedagogical exercise.
Semaî
''Semai'', an umbrella term for both instrumental and vocal styles, is often the longest movement of a ''fasıl''. It consists of 4 to 6 hânes and one mülazime, which typically repeats after every hâne.
''Ağır semais'' are slow vocal pieces which are composed in the "usuls of Aksak Semâî (
), Ağır Aksak Semâî (
) or Ağır Sengin Semâî (
)", and are often played after a kar or beste in a classical fasıl.
''Yürük semais'' are faster vocal pieces, composed in the usul of the same name (
or
), and are also played after the ağır semai in a classical fasıl.
''
Saz semai
The ''saz semai'' (also spelled in Turkish as ''saz sema'i'', ''saz sema-i'', ''saz sema i'', ''saz semaī'', ''saz semâ'î'', ''sazsemai'', ''saz semaisi'', or ''sazsemaisi'' and in the Arab world as ''samâi'') is an instrumental form in Ot ...
'' are common instrumental pieces, played after the yürük semai in a classical fasıl, with very little variation in form, as "their first 3 hânes must be composed using the usul of Aksaksemâî (
), and the fourth hâne is in various small usuls (mostly Yürüksemâî,
or
)." Despite this, they are played with numerous embellishments, or "enjambents", that offset the usul in various ways, creating more complex time signatures.
Semi-classical forms
Two main genres of semi-classical work exists, these are the ''
şarkı
A ''şarkı'' is an art song in Ottoman classical music which forms one of the movements of a ''fasıl
The ''fasıl'' is a suite in Ottoman classical music. It is similar to the Arabic '' nawba'' and '' waslah''.
A classical ''fasıl'' general ...
'' and the ''oyun havası''. ''
Şarkı
A ''şarkı'' is an art song in Ottoman classical music which forms one of the movements of a ''fasıl
The ''fasıl'' is a suite in Ottoman classical music. It is similar to the Arabic '' nawba'' and '' waslah''.
A classical ''fasıl'' genera ...
'' is a general name for urban songs which have been included in classical repertoire, principally after the 19th century, when the ''gazino'' style was created to counter the decline of Ottoman music.
Urban dances or
airs (
Turkish: ) are various dances which are sometimes included in classical repertoire, although only rarely in
''fasıls''. Example styles of this form include the ''
sirto,
longa,
hasapiko
The hasapiko ( el, χασάπικο, , meaning “the butcher's ance) is a Greek folk dance from Constantinople. The dance originated in the Middle Ages as a battle mime with swords performed by the Greek butchers' guild, which adopted it fr ...
,
zeybek, tavşanca,
köçekçe'', among others.
References
External links
An exhibition and concert honoring the Ottoman composer, Dimitrie CantemirSymbTr, a symbolic data collection of Ottoman classical musicA taksim and gazel (mixed instrumental and vocal improvisation), in the style of 18th century composer Hânende ZachariaA peşrev (prelude), by 18th century composer Dimitrie CantemirA kâr (second movement), attributed to 15th century composer Abd-al Qadir MaraghiA semaî, by 17th century composer Buhurizade Mustafa Itrî{{Ottoman Empire topics
Ottoman classical music
Ottoman culture
Middle Eastern music
Classical and art music traditions
Turkish music
Greek music
Persian music