The Origin of Music
BANU MUSTAN DÖNMEZ
The concept of the origin of music involves many questions, problems, and answers, such as the etymology and definition of the word ‘music,’ what are musical elements, the birth of music, its ontology, its contexts, its functions, its relationship with instruments, its presence in Western and non-Western cultures, its development in the context of evolution, its physical and acoustic foundations, and its relationship with culture.
Throat Singing
ZEHRA YILMAZ
The yodel, which is voiced using a special larynx technique, is performed by a community living in the Alps conducting animal husbandry and is akin to striking the throat. According to Barre Toelken, yodeling is a method developed by people who breed livestock in mountainous regions for guiding the animals long distances. The need is not difficult to understand considering the intense mountainous layout of the Alps…
The ‘Sound of the Naqur’ or the ‘Blowing of the Trumpet’
Israfil is depicted in the Islamic micro-tradition in the way that occurs in Jewish sources, and these generally resemble one another. One wing in the east, one wing in the west, one wing in the seventh heaven, and one wing to both sides of the head. Two wings are for flying, one is for covering, and one is for on the shoulders. Both feet are below the seventh heaven. The head reaches up to the pillars. The body is covered with feathers, mouths, and tongues.
Shamanism and Music
ŞÜKRÜ BURBAR
Shamans, who stand out in terms of being healers, are at the same time dancers, singers, actors, poets, and musicians. Some shamans attribute disease to the work of evil spirits and try to cure diseases by chasing away the evil spirits by way of music. For Chulym Turks, the shamans prefer to wear iron-clad shoes because they believe the sound made by striking the shoes on the ground will chase away the evil spirits. According to the legends of Yaqut shamans, the sounds drums make draw helpful spirits to the drum and scare away evil spirits.
Children’s music in company
Aside from the songs performed with games, children’s songs appear in three different categories: the Turk art music style, the Turk folk music style, and the anonymous melodies. Melodic tones appropriate for children are used in these songs with lyrics such as teacher, mother, father, village and love, fun, similar sounds and rhymes as well as prayers and moral virtues.
History’s Oldest Musical Instrument: Castanets in the HPM Collection
HALÛK PERK
Castanets located in Merzifon Hacıgümüşköy are made from bronze using the cast, forge, and scrape technique. They consist of a conical handle that tapers upward on a flat circular body. The inside of the handle is hollow. The body is slightly convex. The holes found in the top of the handle should be made for threading organic string such as linen.
A Brief History of Musical Notation
ONUR KARABİBER
The first example giving more descriptive information on the performance of music belongs to a cuneiform drawing found in the Ugarit region of Mesopotamia… This relic, also known as The Hurrian Hymn, has the notations we are familiar with from the Sumerian script. Despite the tablet being damaged and the difficulties in deciphering the script, scientists have been successful at transcribing this hymn and even producing sound recordings.
The Guidonian Hand
Staff notes enabled sounds to be recognized as an element of graphic design in being able to correctly express the pitch of a note. The pitch and intonation of sounds became evident and definable. Guido identified this discovery for the first time by drawing voice intonations on the hand as a map for practical use. Thus passing to the literature as the “Guidonian Hand,” this form of notation is known as the first systematic application in music history.
Music in Ancient Egypt
RICHARD DUMBRILL
Plato wrote in his Laws that long ago the Ancient Egyptians had already had strict rules for playing music in respect to the positions of players in temples and in the open-air, and they were not allowed to introduce innovative forms that diverged from tradition. Laws were written regarding almost everything about obedience to the strictest musical traditions.
Prophet David and Music
More than half of Psalms is about King David’s music and poetry. Because he was a shepherd as a child, young David was influenced by the beauty of natural music, such as the baa of the lamb, the flow of the babbling streams, and the prairies of Bethlehem where the sheep grazed; he gave thanks to his Creator accompanied by the melodies he played on the lyre.
The Music and Musical Instruments of the Hittites
GÜLGÜNEY MASALCI ŞAHİN
Embossed vases and vase pieces, wall reliefs, and engraved seals can be counted among the archeological documents that allow all the musical instruments, musicians, and ceremonies recorded on cuneiform tablets to come to life to a certain extent before our eyes. The “İnandık Vase” found in Çankırı, the Hüseyindede vases found in Çorum Sungurlu, and the rock reliefs of Çorum Alacahöyük are important archeological finds regarding Hittite music.
The Music of Ancient Greece
FÜSUN DENİZ ÖZDEN
An important competition in music is between the cithara (lute) and aulos (double reed instrument), the respective instruments of Apollo and Marsyas. A painting by Andrea Sacchi from 1641 has Apollo holding the cithara in one hand and a laurel wreath in the other while Marc’Antonio Pasqualini is playing a rare instrument resembling the harpsichord. In the back, Marsyas’ hands are tied with his aulos on the ground.
Weights of the Ancient City of Colophon in the HPM Collection
HALÛK PERK
In the ancient cities of the Hellenistic period, symbols chosen for the purpose of identifying the city were used on coins and weights. For example, Ephesus chose the bee; Lysimachia, the lion; and Cyzicus, the tuna fish and torch as their symbols. The ancient city of Colofon adopted the lyre, a musical instrument. The lyre symbolizes divine harmony and musical and poetic inspiration.
The Representational Power of the Lyre
HULUSİ ÖZBAY
One of three of the most famous stringed instruments of Ancient Greece, the lyre is seen through its respected shape in many civilizations. In the Hittite and Egyptian civilizations as well a musical instrument possessing the same forms is available. However, the lyre of Ancient Greece sees much more respect compared to other civilizations. In the wake of this situation and the lyre becoming a power symbol of stringed instruments, the lyre has had a great role in the interest in Ancient Greece and the resulting interests.
‘Old Turks’ Musical Understanding With Respect to Chinese Sources
SELCEN ÖZYURT ULUTAŞ
Valuable data can be detected about what music means for Turks in the sources where Chinese tell of the Turks’ political and military situations. The first matter that attracts attention is the political meaning that Turks place on musical instruments. This is probably not the case for any other community in the world. And the religious meaning Turks place on music has meant the formation of a deeper and more elaborate culture.
The 12 Tonal Scales (Makam) of the Uighurs
ALİMCAN İNAYET
The term makam, which is pronounced mukam in Uighur Turkish, expresses the large volume of musical works that have been systematized within the framework of specific tunings and rules in musicology. In this context, the 12 Uighur Makam is the general name of the 12 scales that have been systemized according to a specific arrangement and tuning. Musical instruments such as the tabor, timpani, kudüm, clarion, reed pipe, ney, dutar (2-stringed lute), Jew’s harp, tanbur (long-necked lute), violin, zither, and cymbal are used in performing these makam.
Echoes of Millenia: Guqin and Chinese Literati Music
TENG CHEN AND PATRICK HUANG
Nie Zheng, whose father had been killed by the king, was determined to get revenge, so he lived in seclusion for decades and practiced Guqin until his performance became highly famous. Then he finally assassinated the king during a royal concert. Doubtlessly, as a rare piece possessing a feverish powerful style, ‘Guanglingsan’ is therefore highly valuable with its rich historical and artistic value.
‘Elegant Music’: The Heritage in Japanese Court
PATRİCK HUANG
Within an unprecedented historical context, the Chinese-Japanese relationship had been fairly close; Japan actively participated in this cultural exchange by learning all sorts of cultural, technological, and even political systems. After the consolidation of Japan’s central power following the Taika Reform, Japan ‘imported’ a continental music system in order to construct their own music for ritual purposes. The later issuance of Taihō Code and establishment of Utaryo symbolize the formal governing of Gagaku (literally meaning ‘elegant 0 m music’), the standardized use of court music.
Indonesian Music: Gamelan and Angklung
THORALF HANSTEIN AND ESIE HANSTEIN
The historical origins of Gamelan are mythically transfigured in Indonesia. The oldest illustration of Gamelan players with their instruments is said to be on a relief at the Borobodur Temple Compounds in Central Java, which date back to the 8th century. Many instruments can be seen there, which also contains a Gamelan orchestra; however, the characteristic gongs in particular are unfortunately not visible.
Music from the Sources Nourishing Islamic Literature
İSMAİL GÜLEÇ
Understanding Islamic literature is not possible without knowing Islamic history, philosophy, and thought; or should I say it does not object to being prepared in this way. Arabic, Persian, and Turkish literature must be counted at the top as the basic elements of this literature. Let me try to explain an ode from Sheikh al-Islam, even a couplet from this ode, to show level music progressed in the literary sources.
“The Planets’ Movements are as the Melody of the Oud”. Music in the Brethren of Purity (Ikhwan al-Safa)
YALÇIN ÇETİNKAYA
Members of the Brethren of Purity, who lived in Basra in the 10th century and are accepted as the world’s first encyclopedists with the 52 treatises they had written, put forth amazing views in their treaty on music. These views are not just amazing; when considering the information and technological opportunities of the century in which the members of the Brethren of Purity lived, their views are at the same time quite exciting.
The Music and Musicians in Baburnama
HARUN KORKMAZ
The second volume of the translation of Baburnama contains information about the musical life of the period and about musical terms; data about musicians and composers can also be found. While narrating events that occur from 1504-1520, musical events that occurred at this time are also mentioned; musical assemblies are also depicted.
Caucasian Music
Circassian music, which had been performed with stringed and wind instruments until the 1850s, fell into silence with the exile, migration, and epidemics until the settlement periods in various places of Anatolia. Afterward, Circassian music resurfaced with the diatonic accordion known as the Circassian harmonica.
Radif in Iranian Music
YASER ATAR
Radif has been compared to a miniature art. It may seem trivial from a distance, but when looked at closely, valuable details appear. At fırst glance, radif may seem like a cluster of the same repetitions, but the repetitions have different meanings in practice. Some are longer, while some provide the transition to other works. While handling repetitions, they need to not just have melodic structures but also the works it belongs to must be considered as well as their usages in the work.
Muwashshah Art in Aleppo
İBRAHİM MÜSLİMANÎ
Muwashshah, a form of poetry that emerged in Andalusia, derives its understanding from ‘symmetrical choker; ornate cummerbund,’ and means ‘poetry with two basic artistic elements.’ These poems, which emerged in Andalusia in the second half of the 9th century and are formed of long consecutive couplets and short clauses, are mostly written as lyrics to folk songs accompanied by instruments.
The Dengbêj Tradition in Kurdish Music
EMÎN ASLAN
Dengbêj means the one who conveys facts or events. Dengbêjs, who undertake the mission of preserving culture and history, form a transmission mechanism for having the collective memory of Kurdish society reach the following generations. In their folk songs, they address the subject of social themes such as war, love, dirges, heroism, and ethnic relations; the situations encountered in daily life, legends, fairy tales and stories, and events and social criticisms that have shaken the society deeply.
The Music of the Yazidis
BÜŞRA ERSOY
According to the Yazidis, music has been by our side since life began. In Yazidi belief, music can also be mentioned as having a deep-rooted history. Yazidi religious texts are of two types, kavl and beyt, which are performed in worship orally and visually. As detailed in their two holy texts, Mushaf-ı Reş and Kitabü’l-Cilve, kavl and beyt have an important position in the holy months, and their performance is considered obligatory.
The Family of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan in the Modernization of Qawwali Music
CEVHER SARIGÜL
In 1983 Peter Gabriel introduced Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and hence Qawwali music, to the West, and Qawwali music was performed throughout the world. While instruments such as harmoniums, tablas, and hand clapping are used in classical Qawwali songs, after being introduced to the West, electronic music and instruments also joined the group.
Traditional Hindu Music
RAUF KERİMOV
Aesthetic and religious thought are indistinguishable from one another in Hindu music because of their religious origin. Performed studies have revealed Hindu knowledge from ancient times about amplifying musical sound, its strength, volume, duration, and the seven-tone scale. However, due to the lack of a notation system in Hindu music, this music tradition has been passed down for years among the public from mouth to mouth without recordings, and for this reason the vast majority of its early music heritage has been irreversibly lost.
The Universe of African Music
HASAN NİYAZİ TURA
If saying so is not an exaggeration, perhaps African music has equivalence to human history. Archaeological evidence is available that shows music and dance in prehistoric times to have occurred in African people’s lives. Standing out among this evidence is the rock artwork located on the Tassili n’Ajjer plateau: hunters who lived almost 8,000 years ago have been suggested as having a music and dance culture like their descendants living on the same land today.
Music, Language and the Preservation of Native Identity: The Case of the Cherokee Nation
FEDERICA NARDELLA
Music once again emerges as an identity-shaping force which, specifically with songs; it reminds listeners of their identities. It takes on the task of protecting and preserving the heritage it carries by promoting particular words and phrases, while also inviting outsiders to discover the beauty of a very complex and sophisticated language, such as with the Cherokee.
The Music of Andalusia
CUMHUR ERSİN ADIGÜZEL
Cordova, which became the capital city of Andalusia shortly after being taken under Islamic command, was a center for science, culture, and also art. Another important center in Andalusia was the city of Ishbiliya (now known as Seville). The quote, “If a scholar dies in Ishbiliya, his books are sold in Cordova, and if a musician dies in Cordova, his instruments are sold in Ishbiliya,” which occurs in Andalusian sources and is attributed to Averroes, indicates that Ishbiliya was a music center in the 12th century.
Church Music: Is Believing Possible Through Music?
TACEDDİN KUTAY
Music is a secondary means used by almost all belief systems including Eastern Christianity for providing harmony in the prayers and praise offered to God. Contrary to this, the theological transformation experienced within Western Christianity in the Middle Ages carried church music beyond being a secondary actor and auxiliary element on the point of faith and worship; church music was perceived as a means of belief, as the primary actor and essential element.
The Transformation Experienced in Medieval Church Music
JOSEPH SMITS VAN WAESBERGHE
The transformation of basic logic experienced in Rome on behalf of church music began with the emergence of the Doctrine of Sanctification. This mental transformation gradually saw acceptance among the period’s educated and intellectual populace. Previously chaos was found. For example, Pope Gregory’s letter to the missionary Augustine, who was performing missionary activity in Britain, included the command, “Choose and implement from among the liturgy and church music that is applied in the various parts of Europe what is most appropriate to your region.”
The Tradition of the Wandering Minstrel in Medieval Europe
ENİS GÜMÜŞ
The early wandering minstrels, although appearing to have a higher status than clowns and instrumentalists, did not have a social status much higher than theirs. The typecasting of the wandering minstrel/troubadour showing development in the West had reached a higher social status and was not akin to a beggar anymore; he’d begun being seen as a valuable person who was seated as an honored guest and performed his art at the palaces to which he went.
Instrumental Music in Medieval Europe
DONATELLA MELINI
Instrumental music in the 15th century had a different status with respect to the vocal repertoire that manuscripts focus on. Countless documents testify to the application of instrumental or vocal-instrumental music. Investigative works dedicated to the typologies of various instruments gradually emerged more during this period; ‘real’ instruments are seen consistently being depicted in branches of art, especially in paintings.
Music of the British Isles
MARTIN STOKES
The ties of migration between the British Isles and North America, the important military alliances during World Wars I and II, and, of course, commonality of language all meant that American rock and roll, blues, R & B, jazz, country music, and much else quickly found an audience in the British Isles and produced some distinct local voices within these genres, such as Van Morrison, Tom Jones, Eric Clapton, The Bee Gees, and Bonnie Tyler.
The Classical Era in Western Music: Haydn - Mozart - Beethoven
AYDIN BÜKE
A new road began to emerge in the world of music in Europe with the approach of the 1750s. The composition method of the Baroque Period had seen the old mode of counterpoint, and the dominance of melody had come to the fore; the Classical Period was about to begin. The three important names of this period, Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Ludwig van Beethoven, known as the First Viennese School, spent a significant part of their lives in Vienna and composed their important pieces in this city.
Nature and Music Throughout History
EVİN İLYASOĞLU
Vivaldi’s violin concerto “Seasons” contains all the events of nature in the four seasons. First he depicts the awakening of spring, of birds singing, springs gushing, and a thundering storm. Then he portrays rural events in the other seasons: a shepherd, the peasants’ dance, entering the hunt, the barking of dogs, and so on. In contrast to the comfort of summer, he reflects the teeth-chattering cold winds, frost, ice, and slippery feeling in winter.
The Castrato, Farinelli
The voice of Carlo Broschi, whose stage name was Farinelli and who is known as the most powerful castrato in history, had a soprano timbre that was rich, strong, lively, and well-tuned; his voice ranged from A3 to D6. Over time it broadened toward the lower register on small notes, but he never lost any high note. One opera aria was written expressly for him to voice.
Orientalism in Western Music
GÜLPER REFİĞ
West-Eastern Diwan, which Goethe, the great genius and contemporary of Mozart, completed in 1819 and inspired by the collection of lyrical poems by Hāfez-e Shīrāzī, was a spring that nourished German orientalism in the fields of literature and music. At least a few couplets exist that many German composers in the 19th century had composed from Goethe’s work.
Turkish Instruments in Bonanni Woodcuttings
ALİ ÖMER YURDDAŞ
Bonanni benefitted from various books and notes from travelers and diplomats while preparing his works. The woodcuttings are rather surreal. Some of these obviously were taken from forms that had been etched by printing pictures Jean-Baptiste Vanmour had drawn in Istanbul in the early 18th century. The situations these woodcuttings reflect are not quite compatible with reality.
Main Instruments in Classical Turkish Music
The main instruments in classical Turkish music are ney as a wind instrument; tanbur and rebab as stringed instruments and daire and kudüm as percussion instruments.
Woodworking, Geometry, Design, Acoustic: Rosette
Stringed instruments like bağlama, tanbur, lavta, ud and gitar have an acoustic hole, soundhole or ‘rosette’ on their soundboard as a volume booster and also for an aesthetic appearance.
The Musical Instruments Crafted in Süleymaniye and Present in the HPM Collection
HALÛK PERK
Süleymaniye metal workers make products in two-story workshops. Until 1970, a wide variety of goods had been produced in workshops that had maintained their presence in Süleymaniye and Mercan. Musical instruments being made from brass or bronze are a feature specific to the Süleymaniye foundry. Reed pipes and neys being produced from brass is not a feature encountered or known among wind instruments.
The Musical World of Evliya Çelebi
SEYİT ALİ KAHRAMAN
Evliya Çelebi, who possessed a beautiful voice, gave broad information to an extent found nowhere else regarding the musical life of his era due to the good musical education he had received. Sultan Murad IV wanted Evliya Çelebi to read the Qur’an front to back when he was ready at Hagia Sophia Mosque on one Ramadan day. He had been called by the Sultan, who enjoyed his voice, and taken to the Palace.
Musical Chapter to Patients and Mads in Bayezid II Hospital
While explaining Edirne in his Seyahatname (Book of Travel) to the ill and mentally unstable at the Hospital of Bayezid II, the Moroccan musician Evliya Çelebi talked about the hospital. “Food for the soul is found in all instruments and melodic tones.”
Teaching Music and the System of Transmission: Exercises
CEM BEHAR
Musical exercises (meşk) are in fact an extremely simply method to apply. The master of the work to be transmitted is written for the student or the master benefits from a body of work. The tempo for transmitting the work is clear. If there is need to remember, this tempo is emphasized a few times before beginning the work. Then the piece is played by the teacher –hitting all the tempos– and the student repeats it. The teacher has the student play the work part by part several times until the student has sufficiently memorized the piece as a whole (the body, refrain, bridges, and vocals, if any); the student repeats this until all hesitations and mistakes disappear.
Dede Efendi, the Composer Raised in the Mawlawi Lodge of Yenikapı
RAUF YEKTA BEY
Dede Efendi created many unparalleled works, and these works spread through his students at the Mawlawi lodge in musical gatherings that had been very colorful at that point in Istanbul’s history. Particularly famous among the Turkish Hejaz scale, his composition of “Naksh,” which begins with the line, “Ey çeşm-i âhû hicr ile tenhâlara saldın beni [Oh eyes of my gazelle, you put me in such solitude]” was perceived as a huge event by the Istanbul music world; every music lover showed had a great urge to acquire this new work of art.
Mawlawi Music and the Mawlawi Ayin-i Sharif
HARUN KORKMAZ
Mawlawi rituals, which last on average one hour, are all a monument to art. From the 17th century to 1925 in Ottoman history, over 100 Mawlawiritual music ceremonies had been composed; only 50 of these have survived to the present. The element that creates the Mawlawiceremony is obviously seen to be music. The ability to perform a ritual is only possible by performing works that have specific compositions. These works, known as the ‘Mawlawi Ayin-i Sharif’ are the noblest examples of classical Ottoman Turkish music, together with forming the backbone of Mawlawi music.
The Mawlawi Order’s Nevbes
MUSTAFA BATUHAN BOZKURT AND ISSA GOLITZEN FARAJAJE
Nevbes, which had been conducted over a large area from the Balkans to Syria, were performed at Istanbul Mawlawi lodges on qandil nights, the name given to feast days and holy nights in Islam. Nevertheless, a nevbe would also occur on special events, such as a wedding or circumcision ceremony of the sheikh family, but the procedure being performed would be much simpler.
The Music of Mosques and Muezzins in 20th-Century İstanbul
HALÛK DURSUN
Within the Ottoman ‘imperial culture,’ just as the best in every field were found in Istanbul, the muezzins with the most beautiful voices were given their tasks in the mosques of Istanbul. One could also see and listen to the most famous muezzins outside of mosques at the Palace and the mansions to the vizier. Muezzin masters in Istanbul mosques would inevitably become Mawlidkhan if they became famous; they would do their job with a more artistic approach and make it a profession.
Karagöz Music
LEVENT ÇELİK
A Karagöz player’s ability to properly chant songs at a level that allows for the character types and attitudes is proportional to their musical and theatrical abilities. Chanting using the tone of a concert and filing down the characteristics of the cast is not correct. On the other hand, making the song unrecognizable is also wrong. The songs should not be played so long that the flow of the play cools off. For this reason, Karagöz players usually have the custom of chanting one or two verses.
Armenian Musician and Musicologist: Gomidas Vartabed
BETÜL BAKIRCI
The music of Gomidas, who said, “Everyone has a path in life. I have always acted with using the voice that is divine. My path is music and it belongs to my God,” is the product of a hybrid culture removed from ethnic roots. According to him, folk songs are common creations transferred from mouth to mouth through their illustration. They do not belong to a single individual but to an entire village, and thus, to the ‘nation.’ He believes in the process of ‘collective creation’ and doesn’t care when, where, or by whom a song was first played.
The Armenian Traces in Our Classical Music from the Ottoman Empire to the Republic
HAMDİ AKYOL
Armenians, who had strengthened their position in the Ottoman Era following the Seljuks, showed up in a wide range of dimensions, extending from architecture to handcrafts and from gilding to miniatures and even calligraphy. As the place they acquired in musical society with their rich church music and traditions expanded, many Armenian musicians became recognized and well-known.
Ottoman Turk Music in Greek Resources
RIDVAN AYDINLI
Resources of 19th-century Byzantine notes often contain the oldest printed versions of dozens of examples of forms of composition, deep Turk folk poetry, sung folk poetry, songs, lyrics, overtures, bağlama poetry, and others. When considering that these are accepted as the summit of the Ottoman Turkish music tradition, the importance of the publications of Byzantine notes covering almost all of the 19th century will be better understood in terms of Ottoman Turkish music research and its repertoire.
The Archcantor of the Patriarchal Church of St. George: Leonidas Asteris
STELYO BERBER
According to general opinion, there are two types of musicians: those who know Western music and those who know makam music. Archon Protopsaltis Leonidas Asteris, who learned both types of music from their sources, proved that these two types of music can be performed at a high level without mixing them together at the same time. He calls the audience to prayer by singing makam melodies during rituals, and enchants audiences with the arias he performs in the opera.
The Music of Ottoman Jews
ALİ ÖMER YURDDAŞ
As Ottoman subjects, Jewish composers composed lyrical and non-religious works using Ottoman Turkish makams, aside from the compositions they made for religious rituals. As with Muslims, religious and non-religious music are intertwined. In fact, when Rauf Yekta Bey went to the synagogue one time, he saw a Hebrew hymn recited in Mawlawi format of Dede Efendi’s prose makam but dressed with Hebrew lyrics.
Composer Sultans
Murad IV, Mahmud I, Selim III, Mahmud II, Abdülaziz, Murad V and Vahideddin are the composer sultans of the Ottoman Dynasty.
The Immortal Works of Dilhayat, Mahmud I’s Concubine
HARUN KORKMAZ
Women composers are also found among the figures in the history of Ottoman music. However, the number of female composers that we can count from the 16th-17th centuries when classical music started to form until the end of the 18th century can be done on the fingers of two hands. Yet having a name among female composers is such that she became famous by appearing on the stage of history. Her works are performed constantly, and some have acquired a prominent place in the repertoire of the scales in which she composed. In fact, the day has come where the fame of this composer’s name has been the reason for other works being attributed to her. The name of this legend is Dilhayat.
Kazasker Mustafa İzzet Efendi: Some Determinations and Findings
AHMED S. BOYNER
I wonder, how many people on this Earth can be both a school owner as a great calligrapher and at the same time be a ney virtuoso? Don’t forget to add his compositions, poetry, and Turkish classical vocalist… The following words said during Kazasker Efendi’s burial expresses him quite well: “Gentlemen, this is a treasure chest of knowledge that we are burying here.” In another sentence the following was said: “A calligrapher among ney players has never appeared like Kazasker Mustafa İzzet, nor has a ney player among calligraphers.”
The Musical Dimension of Ottoman Modernization
EVREN KUTLAY
Watching an opera representation exhibited by a European community at Topkapı Palace, having a wooden theater stage set up in the palace, and having the Armenian musician, Hampartsoum Limondjian, develop the Hamparsum notation system by the order of Sultan Selim III can be counted as examples of the processes where we can define Sultan Selim III as the pioneer of Ottoman Western music in the context of his musical contacts with the West.
“Mehter is the First Military Band”: Walls Built with Social Prejudices
MEHMET ALİ SANLIKOL
I am of the conviction that comparing classical Ottoman Turk music with classical Western music bears unhealthy consequences and causes the formation of conservative attitudes. When considering that Ottoman Turk music is a performance-centered tradition based on improvisation, I believe making this comparison first with jazz music, which has an identity similar to itself, instead of with classical Western music, will bear healthier results.
Hüseyin Sadettin Arel
According to the Arel’s school of thought, the national music of Turkey is Turk music and calling it Alaturka is wrong. Turk music itself is a whole; distinctions such as art music and folk music are nothing more than branches of this whole. The national music is heptatonic, not pentatonic. The tonal system of Turk music is a 24-fret system with unequal intervals within an historical arrangement. With the broad, rich, and valuable resources and materials it possesses, Turk music is more suited than Western music to progressions.
Prosody in Music
H. SADETTİN AREL
I think composers are the most free and imperious people of the world. No one can interfere with their joy as long as the work that is created has artistic value. For this reason, composers have the right to not recognize any rule in proportion to their own genius, aesthetic taste, and moral maturity. This has already been the case as sudden leaps forward in new developments appear because genius composers have broken the rules.
The Exploit of Istiklal March’s Official Composition
HİKMET TOKER
Variations in the composition of the Istiklal March lasted around seven to eight years. Ali Rifat Bey’s composition, which has a makam (Turkish scale) structure, has been charged by many musicians of not representing the philosophy and spirit of the young Republic of Turkey. These people thought that the spirit of the young Republic could only be reflected through Western musical rules, namely by a march written based on tonal music. Osman Zeki Üngör’s composition was given official composition status in order to remove this situation.
The Presidential Musical Committee
RECAİ BAYRAM
The first orchestra of the Republican Period was the Muzıka-i Hümayun (The Imperial Band), which was established during the sultanate period. The Presidential Musical Committee, which preserved its characteristics even if its name had changed, replaced it in the new capital of the Republic in Ankara as an institution inherited from the Ottoman Empire with all its staff and instruments.
Darülelhan Mecmuası, The Musicology and Music Culture Journal
GÖNÜL PAÇACI TUNÇAY
Darülelhan Mecmuası, which entered into service with the phrase “from the place it left off from after 92 years,” is one of the most meaningful works made by the Ottoman Period Musical Application and Research Center (OMAR). The publication of the journal, which was introduced with a big event held at the Aya İrini Concert Hall on the 100th anniversary of the founding of Darülelhan, which means musical conservatory, is a cultural service. Even though it is not peer reviewed, scientific consultants are asked for their approval regarding the articles in every issue. The serious demand coming from all over the country for the journal, whose 12th issue is being prepared these days, makes us all happy; in addition, the number of articles sent by distinguished academicians and intellectuals beyond the field of music is gradually increasing.
İstanbul and its Music from the Historical Perspective
ERSU PEKİN
The tanbur can be stated as an instrument from Istanbul. Perhaps before the tanbur came the shashtar, meaning “six strings” and often played in Anatolia. Perhaps even though the choghur looks like the tanbur, the tanbur is an instrument distinct from others by being played with a hard long plectrum… While until the end of the 17th century theories had been explained over the oud in books, from Kantemiroğlu onward, theories began to be explained over the tanbur. Kantemiroğlu did not learn from within this music; for him we can say “He was the guest of this music…” He learned this music in Istanbul. Whatever was in Istanbul, he learned.
The Kamancheh of İstanbul
DERYA TÜRKAN
Cemil Bey, the most significant performer of the Istanbul kamancheh, on one hand performed folk music works in accordance with their style, while on the other hand he reflected the classic makams and works to the stringed instrument with the memorize-by-heart playing style he had affected and created a brand new tone. Cemil Bey, who passed many phases of his life with difficulty, unfortunately passed away at an early age; he has left us quite enough works and recordings in number and value at hand for this country. These works are a valuable treasure for our nation, just like the Hagia Sophia and Süleymaniye.
Turk Tangos
NESİBE ÖZGÜL TURGAY
In the cultural structuring of the Repubic, Turkish tango balls, which were composed in the first 30 years of the Republic, have a different character than that of Argentinian and European tangos and offer important contributions to modernization studies. These lyrics, which contained no ideological identity, contumacy, or insurrection, expressed topics such as love, sadness, passion, separation, frustration, and longing for the past.
Presenting an Oud Virtuoso New to His Era: Şerif Muhiddin Targan
BİLEN IŞIKTAŞ
Şerif Muhiddin Targan, who earned his identity as a soloist on the oud this century and carried it to the most prestigious stages of the world, beyond being an accompaniment musician, has from past to present continued being a cultural bridge who can connect the East to the West through the high performance and accumulations he’s obtained on the oud and violin. In this context, he’s an artist whose impacts from simultaneously experiencing the East and the West throughout his life are reflected in his works.
A Popular Cultural Hero: Cemal Reşit Rey
EVİN İLYASOĞLU
Yes, one Cemil Reşit Rey passed through our country: He was our composer who made polyphonic recordings of folk melodies for the first time and wrote the first big symphonies, symphonic poems, concertos, chamber music, piano pieces, and stage works… The Pioneer of the Turkish Five… A hero of popular culture with respect to mystic thought who addressed a wide audience… We will get to know him better by listening to orchestras, pianists, and chamber musicians playing his works.
Yahya Kemal’s Views About Our Music
SERMET SAMİ UYSAL
Music has two genera: that which is based upon melody and that which is based upon harmony. Our music is based on melody, and European music is based on harmony. The tremendous distinction of European music in this respect is beyond dispute. The contrast within which today’s generation struggles essentially arises from this. Destiny has led us in time to see a calling in Islamic civilization’s music. We also see this calling superbly. This means that whatever kind of capacity the Turkish genus shows in the Oriental world, from now on it can do a great job again by drawing upon the techniques and methods of Occidental music.
Our Vocal Music
MÜNİR NURETTİN SELÇUK
One of the important saying I always remember is this: “Turk music is the music in your house. You also need to learn this from your home and from the ‘mouth of the muhsin (benefactor)’.” In the religion and outside of the religion, in order to be able to properly learn our music, of which three quarters are vocal works, it’s my opinion that this needs to be absolutely done in the style the elders say; one needs to train and practice from the mouth of those who possess good authority through their tones, their expressions, and all their elegancy.
A Culture Icon in Arab Music: Umm Kulthum
NAMIK SİNAN TURAN
Umm Kulthum preserved the vitality of Arab societies’ collective cultural memory as one of the greatest musical performers of the 20th century. She turned to the future by growing into a legend. She passed away on February 4, 1975, and her death was announced to the public by a reading from the Qur’an, a protocol reserved only for presidents in Egypt. Over 4.5 million people attended her funeral.
Turkish Music’s Golden Voice Box: Alâeddin Yavaşca
SİNAN SİPAHİ
When looking at the performance of Alâeddin Yavaşca, whose been described as having a golden voice box as a result of scientific examinations, one must say his name has been stamped on the last half of the 20th century and first quarter of the 21st century through the characteristics of the broadness of his repertoire; the choice and order of works; performing classical works in accordance with the traditional style of execution; his nuances, interpretations, output, emphasis, timbre, breathing technique, pronunciation, and embellishments not in the notations; and the sense of execution he received from his teachers.
The Opera “Fatih” (The Fall of the Byzantine Empire)
YALÇIN TURA
Turan Oflazoğlu’s libretto“Fatih” had been itching in my head for around five years, waiting for the writing to be completed. I was able to complete it after two more years. This time, knowing that the opera managers were afraid of the length and by making a few small cuts myself from the libretto which Turan had reduced from three acts to two, I was careful to not have the work exceed 2 hours.
Our Local Music Traditions
EMRE DAĞTAŞOĞLU
Due to both the geographical location of Turkey as well as its historical and cultural accumulations, different musical traditions are seen noted even in towns and villages of close proximity. Two matters are seen related to the melody structure in the music that is performed. The first is the organization of sounds and the second is of rhythm. The thing that provides sound organization is makam, the scale structure of Turkish folk music, while its richness and diversity in rhythm organization can be said to be dazzling.
The Hellfire Lamentation
NİHAN TAHTAİŞLEYEN
“Lamentation is the name generally given to what people say after losing the presence of who they love by separation or death, to all the words, melodies, and cries wherein the characteristics of what has been lost and the feelings of those left behind are explained. Lamentations, if at all, are rarely made for animals, belongings, or dwellings.” Due to Turkey’s cultural diversity, the repertoire of lamentations in different languages and dialects is quite broad.
Turk Folk Songs of Lore
ENDER DOĞAN
In the transfer, spread, and establishment of lore, art has as great a share as knowledge. In this process of conveyance, music among other things also stands before us as an important implement. Our Turk folk songs are also one of the most important means of conveying lore before the people because the Turkish minstrels and the Sufis possess the soul in the formation of folk lore in Anatolia.
The Wandering Sufi Saints
CENK GÜRAY
The wandering Sufi saints conveyed the treasure that the sky created with the land, the future with the past, the heart with the mind, and the music with words in Central Asia without dropping a single pearl; they became the breath of the civilization of truth embodied there and enriched the air we breathe.
Two Tolerant and Sensible Men: Âşık Ruhsatî and Âşık Sümmanî
MEHMET ÖZBEK
Âşık Ruhsatî, whose real name was Mustafa, became an apprentice to many âşıks (Turkish minstrels); he learned to sing poetry from Âşık Noksanî, to play instruments from Âşık Kusurî, and to read and write from Âşık Feryadî. Ruhsatî was a Turkish minstrel who possessed a branch in the âşık tradition. The Turkish minstrels of the Sivas region are tied to the Âşık Spiritual Branch and follow his path.
Turk Folk Songs and Dirges of Lookouts, Tobacco Smugglers, and Fugitives
OKAN MURAT ÖZTÜRK
The regional distributions of Turk folk songs that touch upon the subject of smuggling conform to two types in terms of economy: the transport routes and the headquarters. The route extending from the Aegean ports to central Anatolia, the Black Sea ports and its surroundings, and the provinces in the southeastern border region are the main territories of the Turk folk songs and dirges that talk about smuggling.
Turkish Folksongs, the Victims of Censorship
HAMDİ AKYOL
When the forms and words that the people know and say come to the repertoire boards, they are either changed for various reasons or the part that is deemed objectionable is removed from the words. The criteria taken while applying censorship generally are reasons such as containing a political message, obscenity, non-secularism, disrupting public order, having the quality of damaging the state and its institutions, inciting anarchy, and an approach that disrupts the social order.
The Turkish Bandit Folksongs
HAMDİ AKYOL
Starting in the 1800s and rapidly increasing until the 1900s, a number of bandits and gangs had begun producing their own music. The inhabitants preferred writing folksongs that praised the gang members who defended the law of the poor destitute and the odd strangers, especially in regions that lacked state authority. The people who the state called “criminals” were the epitome of valor, sincerity, justice, compassion, friendship, foresight, and cleverness in the eyes of the people. Geographic conditions and socio-cultural factors had resulted in banditry, especially in the Aegean region, and thus the songs regarding these also became widespread.
One Phenomenon in Arabesque Music: Müslüm Gürses
YİĞİT SARIGÜL
Gürses’ songs have a vicious cycle of elements centered on generally opposing authority, the concept of destiny, love, homesickness, longing, and massive revolt. His struggle with destiny was quite a melancholy protest contrary to general opinions. In terms of arabesque music, Müslüm Gürses’ listening audience should be addressed separately. His formation of ‘Father’ is different from the definitions in popular culture.
World Music
KORAY DEĞİRMENCİ
The term world music first started being used as an alternative to ethnomusicology. The use of the term represented a political stance against identifying the music of the time with Western European music. Under its gradual prevalence, the category is considered as an objection toward classifying non-Western music as ‘Oriental,’ ‘primitive,’ or ‘folk’ music. Over time, however, this term has become a commercial music category.
Authentic Instruments
People with different beliefs and cultural backgrounds all over the world play or listen music in accordance with their music taste. We have made a mini album of some authentic instruments.
Music in Terms of the Values System
SADETTİN ÖKTEN
When looking at Western music from afar, the first thing that catches our attention is its great harmony. It has motifs, and the polyphony and great harmony that get caught up in this polphony are the characteristics of this music. Whereas Eastern music, by the distinction of having different sounds within a scale, takes the reward of not having its rationality in the style in which Bach had rationalized and built upon the rules of math. We see all the sharp and flat characteristics Eastern music uses to exist in nature.
Universality in Music
GÜNEŞ AYAS
According to Tanburi Cemil Bey, music is lisanullah, or God’s language… The Speaking God should of course have been the addressee for all of humanity. Just like Cemil Bey, music lovers who embrace this romantic view consider genuine music to be a universal language and to appeal to all humanity. In view of the fact that we can listen with pleasure to the music of many nations whose language we don’t understand, the rightness of this view should be shared…
Art Traces the Limits of Identity
ÖMER BEYOĞLU
Certainly making an art documentary has no requirements. We can even mention the dangers this has as a field for acquiring knowledge, because finding benefit in words ending up after visuals should be accepted as a problem. Meanwhile, natural form has no defects; I can count two projects where I consider doing them to have possible benefit by taking into account certain sensitivities using jurisprudence: One is to outline Turkish thinking; the other is to also draw on the history of music.
Jazz Music: A Short Glance
HASAN NİYAZİ TURA
Benny Goodman, who was respected from all segments of society with his plain appearance, brought and fairly domesticated jazz, which had previously been tailored for less suitable environs, to the middle class and thus to ordinary Americans through the radio. Black musicians like Fletcher Henderson, Duke Ellington, and Ella Fitzgerald began to appear on the scene in this period. However, their exclusion continued due to ongoing racism.
History of Rock Music
SEVAN AMİROĞLU
The rock in rock music doesn’t have much relation to a stone or boulder… Etymologically, the word rock refers to dancing in blues music as it was originally. The word was first featured in the song “My Man Rocks Me.” The word rock ‘n roll, together with its music started to express rhythm and fast dance music. Rock has been the general name of music targeting young audiences since the 1960s and is a synthesis of country, blues, rock ‘n roll, and many local music styles.
The Echo in Turkey from New York’s Shout Outs: Rap
FATİH BAYRAKÇIL
Turkish youths, those who felt trapped between two cultures in Germany, who felt excluded by the dominant culture of the country where they live, and who experienced economic difficulties, felt a shared fate with and followed in the footsteps of African Americans who had experienced similar problems so as to cry out their troubles against a culture that refused to give an ear to their problems. One of the groups that formed due to this was The Cartel. People who had previously had no idea what rap music was were crooning out rap.
Korean Pop Music: K-Pop
AZRA NİHAN EKE
K-pop, different from the usual understanding of pop music, is a blend of many music styles like South Korea’s traditional melodies with the West’s R&B, rock, hip hop, jazz, and electro. The tight discipline in the industry lies behind the expeditious spread and fast globalization of K-pop. The promotion period starts after finishing a rather heavy preparation process; the artists are introduced to the public, go to programs, and also sign advertising agreements.
Techno Music
BERKCAN KESKİN
One of the things that make electronic music special is that those who listen to this style do not accept any other music as their main style. Those who follow this style feel different. Things that are popular are meaningless to them. Because getting lost in the dark rooms of techno means descending into the most private and finest memories, they are not drawn to music that awakens other feelings.
The Open Mic Night Phenomenon: Where the Heart of Modern America Is Revealed
ABDULLAH COLLİNS
Open mic night as a term is first known to have occurred in The New York Times on July 30, 1978, briefly mentioning an ‘…open mike session for budding ballad singers.’ Aside from the deep cultural impact this phenomenon has had on American culture in Harlem and later on society in the 1950s and 1960s through the Beat Generation, open mic nights have since then also become an event that allows youths and creative minds a healthy place to express their ideas through song and lyrics.
Music Therapy
Music has shown positive effects in a variety of patient populations for relieving symptoms related to different diseases and disorders. Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, autism spectrum disorder, pain, cancer, traumatic brain injury, stroke, mood disorders are some examples. Music can improve mood, cognition, attention, self-esteem, social interaction, social skills, coping skills, movement, speech and language.
The Adventure of Sound Recording
GÖKHAN ALTINBAŞ
Previously able to fill a room, sound mixers, effects, pedals, and equalizers can now be operated from a single computer with a single processor, and with just a click of the button. These days, analog devices run synchronously with digital devices, and a great path has been achieved in reaching the sound quality that is desired while recording. Many types of microphones are used today, such as electro-dynamic, magnetic, ribbon, carbon, condenser (capacitor), crystal, electric, and electromagnetic, and their contribution to the possibilities in recording is undeniable.
The Gramophone: Inventions for Conveying, Transporting, and Storing Sound
MUHAMMED NUR ANBARLI
Concepts such as innovation, westernization, and modernization forced Turkish society to break the traditional structure to which it had been firmly bound. As had been peculiar to Armenian, Greek, and Gypsy women, Turkish women by those days were easily doing jobs like getting visibly on stage and singing songs and cabarets. Fikriye Hanım was the first Turk woman to have her voice on a record, and the Süreyya Operetta Society where she was the lead actress ended the reign of the Armenian operetta.
Turkey’s First Record Factories
GÖKHAN AKÇURA
As in the rest of the world these days, reproducing vinyl records has gained popularity in Turkey, too; many albums are primarily being pressed as records. We have seen the album pressing that had previously been done abroad start to increasingly be done within the country as well. Nora Plak has begun producing many music brands’ albums. New record factories are now in operation!
The Music Recording Industry
İSMAİL SINIR
According to Moorefield, who touched upon the importance of music’s production stages, the business of recording music, which was originally a technical job, later carried an artistic dimension. Alongside bringing everything designed in the preparation stage of production to life by way of recording, the metaphor of recording has taken the path from ‘the illusion of reality’ (a field of imitation) directly to ‘the reality of illusion’ (a virtual world where anything is possible).
The Mathematics of Music
SERAP EKİZLER SÖNMEZ
The numericality encoded in humans being the same numericality encoded in the universe is revealed as self-expression in the science and art man constructs. In Anthony Burgess’ book Mozart and The Wolf Gang, he says “One who is a musician must also be a mathematician from birth. These two abilities result from an instinctive numericality for some reason Pythagoras undoubtedly explained somewhere sometime.”
Neuro-Art: Seeing Music
MUHAMMED NUR ANBARLI
Applications that have succeeded in obtaining more understandable results on applying visual graphic design and reading the data from brain imagining technology have contributed to developing new biomarkers and analytical algorithms. As such, whichever regions of the brain are working during any thought or behavior can be photographed. The neurological description of the concepts of talent, creativity, and genius; the placement of neurons in the brain; and the connections they have with one another have become explainable using more data. In this way, the response subjects’ brains give to the music they hear can be read with info-graphics.
Music Museums
Liverpool has some of the best museums a city can offer people, and at the top of the list of places that absolutely need to be seen is The Beatles Story. This museum, which contains the Beatles members’ lives, culture, and music chronologically, is an opportunity for those who want to know closely this phenomenon that at one time had deeply impacted the whole world.