TURKISH MUSIC

In 1700 BC Turks started to migrate from their homeland, Central Asia , to Asia , North Africa and Eastern Europe . One large tribal branch entered Anatolia in the 11 th century AD and their Central Asian culture blended with that of Anatolia and gave rise to a new colourful cultural style. Finds of musical instruments in Anatolia go back five thousand years B.C. Prior to the proclamation of the Republic,the study of western music started with the establishment of the palace band.In Turkey , there are different types of music:

Turkish Folk Music

This music by anonymous composers has come down from generation to generation ,in folk songs and dances. Turkish folk songs are lyrical and depict feelings and events in life including love, happiness, sorrow and sadness. Variations on any one tune can be found.

Turkish folk music, structurally speaking, falls into two categories:

"Kirik Havalar":
Are tunes composed of rhythmic and measured melodies. generally known as "Türkü", and dassed according to the words such as "Koşma", "Varsagi", "Mani", "Destan", "Karsilama","Semai","Divan" kalenderi".

"Uzun Havalar":
These give the impression of improvised tunes with a series of high to low notes and have no rhythm or measure.

Tunes in the Uzun Havalar group often change their names according to region. Types include Maya, Bozlak Uzunhava, Agit,Hoyrat. Kesik (Kesuk) ,Yanik.

Turkish folk songs have an average range of one-and-a-half octaves. Arrangements differ in every region. The modal structure has six outstanding modes called "ayak". These are "Kerem","Garip", "Bozlak", "Derbeder", "Mustezat' and "Misket" which vary depending on the region.

Rhythms in Turkish folk songs are not given special names as in Turkish Art Music which are two stage, seven stage, nine stage rhythms etc. Terms for Turkish folk music change with the region.

Music in Turkey

Turkey , rich in musical heritage, has developed this art in two areas, Turkish classical and Turkish folk music. When describing Turkish music today it is generally said that Ottoman composers availed themselves of the rich musical heritage found in the cultural centers of the Abbasid and the Timurogullari, where Turkish, Araband Iranian musicians performed and created music known as Ottoman court music. This music was based on mode and human voices.

The mode and musical instruments of Turkish music can be found in all middle-east countries. However, with the passing of time, there have been changes in the mode from region to region. Although written sources indicate 600 modes, only 212 have survived to our day. These can be divided as follows:

1. Simple modes,
2. Combined modes,
3. Modes with changing pitch.

Through the centuries many instruments have been used in Turkish music, such as the ud, tanbur, kemence, ney, kanun, kudum, bendir, def, halile, lavta, santur, rebap, musikar, cenk and sinelkeman.

The various types of Turkish music differing in modes and pitch include tunes and spirituals and are classified as kar, murabba beste, agir semai, yuruk semai, sarki, pesrev, saz semai, taksim, gazel, ilahi and kaside.

Turkish music is also graded under the four headings below:

1. Non-religious music (with or without words),
2. Military music,
3. Mosque music,
4. Islamic mystic music.

The history of Turkish music, especially in regard to melodic variations, can be divided into four periods. The first is the formation which goes back to the years 1360-1453, when the Turks adopted Islam. After the conquest of Istanbul , but prior to the period of classical music, Ottoman music was influenced by Byzantine music, mainly in the years 1640-1712. The greatest proponents of the Ottoman style after the exemplary classical music created by Itri were Ebubekir Aga, Tab'i Mustafa Efendi, Kucuk Mehmet Aga, Sadulla Aga, Padisha III Selim and Ismail Dede Efendi. The period from 1955 onwards has been designated as the reform period.

Intended reforms in the field of music during the Republican period led to debates on the subjects of European, Turkish, polyphonic and monophonic music. During this period composers who were noted for their work included Refik Fersan, Cevdet Cagla, Sadettin Kaynak, Selahattin Pinar, Suphi Ziya Ozbekkan, Lem'i Atli, Rauf Yekta, Suphi Ezgi, Huseyin Saadettin Arel and others.

Currently, three groups represent Turkish music. The first group favors polyphonic music. The second group prefers an individual interpretation of classical music. Numbered among this group were the Nevzat Atlig chorus, Bekir Sidki Sezgin, Meral Ugurlu, Niyzi Sayin, Necdet Yasar, Ihsan Ozgen, Erol Deran, Cinucen Tanrikorur and others. The third group preserves traditional ties coupledwith high quality and includes Yalcin Tura, Mutlu Torun, Ruhi Ayangil and others of the "new wave."

Turkish music is a product of Turkish thoughts and feelings and of migrations and changing geographical positions. It expresses the changes in the ways of life of the Turkish people throughout history.

Ballads and songs are especially important. Turkish folk music encompasses all natural and communal events. It branches out into "Kirik Hava" and "Uzun Hava" and makes use of wind, string, and rhythm instruments.

From 1926 onwards various state enterprises have conducted research into Turkish folk music.

In 1826, Sultan Mahmut II attempted to modernize the Turkish Army and organize a military band similar to the bands of western armies, and in 1828 the Imperial Band was founded.

After the proclamation of the Republic, the orchestra was renamed the Riyaseti Cumhur Musiki Heyeti, and in 1958 it was again renamed the Presidential Symphony Orchestra, its current title. The Music Teachers Academy was opened in 1924 and the Ankara State Conservatory in 1936. Today there are conservatories in both Istanbul and Izmir .

The flow of pop music from the west has also influenced Turkey , and since the 1960's Turkey has followed world trends and produced artists in this field of music.

Turkish Musical Instruments

The musical instruments used by Turks are of three main groups: stringed, wind and percusion instruments. Turkish musical instruments were produced by the master-apprentice method in the Ottoman period. Traditional Turkish music is monophonic. Even though many instruments are used, they all play the same melody. The music reflects different emotions, mainly unrequitted love and when it is sad it may sound depressing, but when expressing joy, happiness or pleasure you will find yourself dancing to the rhythm. The main instruments used in Turkish music show a great diversity. In classical Turkish music the zither, tambur, lute, tef (tambourine), darbuka and ney (reed flute) are some of the instruments used, besides the well-known ones also used in the west, including the piano, violin, viola and clairinet.

The zither is called 'kanun' in Turkish. It is a stringed instrument played on the lap and the strings are stretched across the upper surface of a wooden box. Skilled craftsmen may use seven kinds of wood in making one zither. The upper surface is made of sycamore wood, the lower surface of pinewood, the bridge is of maple. The design on the sides and the upper surface is cut out of rose wood and white pine. The soundboard is completed by using calf leather giving the zither its rich resonance. The tuning pegs and the peglocks are made of hardwood, either rose or ebony. The small tuning levers or tuning keys, are called 'mandal'. It is played with the help of a plectrum, one fastened to each index finger by an adjustable metal ring.

It would not be wrong to say that if a single instrument were to represent Turkish folk music it would have to be the baglama. The baglama was developed from another instrument called the kopuz, which is also used today. There are different kinds of baglama, like the çögür, cura, divan, tambura and kopuz. The kopuz, also a stringed instrument, was used in Central Asia by Turkish tribes about two thousand years ago and is mentioned in the tales of Dede Korkut (a sage, the mentor of the Turkish Oguz tribe who narrates moralistic epic tales to a chieftain of the tribes). We come across the belief among the shamanist Turks that a warrior with a kopuz at his waist was protected in battle from injury at enemy hands. Turkish strolling minstrels brought the baglama to Anatolia and in fact, everyone knew how to play this instrument. The baglama is so-to-say a friend of the minstrels who at certain times of the year gather at contests and song festivals. Accompanied by music, repartee between the contestants is sometimes satirical, sometimes filled with irony but never insulting and is fun to listen to.

Then we have the lute which is a little different to those seen in Europe . The lute is called 'ud' in Turkish. Lutes, also stringed instruments, have a sound box terminating in a neck which serves both as a handle and a device for extending the strings beyond the sound box. The masters of the lute were revered by those interested in music. Today there are various trends in Turkish pop music and the lute is one of the main instruments accompanying the soloist both in classical Turkish music, popular mainstream music and folk songs. In Turkey there are singers who use the lute, just as their counterparts in the West use the guitar.

There are also reed instruments pipes equipped with a double reed or with a single reed. To name a few, we can give the examples of the zurna, ney, and shepherd's pipe. Among them the ney is mostly used in mystic and religious music. Drums and the zurna go together and are mostly used in folk music and they are an indispensable part of wedding or circumcision festivities.

In Turkish music rhythm is of utmost importance. Therefore percussion instruments used for this purpose apart from drums, include 'kudüm' (small double drums used in mystic religious music) and the darbuka. Percussion instruments were first brought to Europe after being seen in the Mehterband of the Turkish army around the sixteenth century. At first only a king or high nobleman was allowed to have one. For many years drums were "aristocratic" instruments, primarily used with trumpets to sound fanfares as the king entered a theatre or throne room. The def (tambourine), is also a popular instrument used for rhythms. It is like a handheld frame that usually has rattles attached to the side. It is both struck and shaken and sometimes used by young ladies dancing to a melody, in addition to its place in the orchestra.

Reference: Hale Akal/Newspot/BYEGM

FOLK MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS

Idiophones;

Cymbals, Finger Cymbals, Spoons (şakşak), Fork Tongs with Cymbals, Bell .

Membraphones;

Drum, Koltuk Davulu (Armpit Drum), Timbal / Timbrel, Circle, Tambourine with Cymbals

Aerophones;

Pipe (bolted, without bolt), Whistle (bolted, without bolt), Double Pipe, Horn, Mey, Sipsi, Çığırtma ( Fife ), Bagpipe.

Cordophones;

Plectrum Instruments:
Lute family (Meydan sazı, Divan sazı, Bağlama, Bozuk, Tanbura, Çöğür, Cura, Bulgari, etc.), Tar.

Stringed Instruments:
Kopuz, Iklığ, Kabak Kemane , Kemençe (Viol) ( Black Sea Viol, Istanbul Viol).

Opera and Ballet in Turkey

In the period prior to the proclamation of the Republic in Turkey , opera, ballet and the theatre arts were mostly centered around Istanbul and Izmir . The first showing of opera at the imperial court was by artists trained by Guiseppe Donizetti (1788-1856) from the Italian opera. During the Republic, Ahmet Adnan Saygun, Necil Kazim Akses and Cemal Resit Rey were the first composers of opera, operettas and musicals.

Today's State Opera and Ballet is the product of earlier experiments in the performance arts: A. Adan Saygun's first two operas, "Ozsoy" and "Tasbebek"; Necil Kazim Akses's "Bay Onder," staged in Ankara; a Mozart musical Bastienne staged at the Ankara State Conservatory with pupils playing the libretto in Turkish (1936); the staging of western operas such as Madame Butterfly and Tosca (1940-1941); and the orchestrations, chorus and solo recitals of 1950-1952.

In 1947 the famous ballerina and teacher Ninette de Valois was invited to Istanbul and at her instigation, the National Ballet School at Yesilkoy was established. In 1956-57 the first dancers graduated from Ankara State Conservatory and in 1959-60 the State Opera formed a corps de ballet. "Cesmebasi," one of the most important works in Turkish ballet history, was first performed in 1965.

The history of opera in Turkey spans only 56 years, but many artists of international acclaim are members of the General Directorate of State Opera and Ballet. Ankara and Istanbul are leading cities for opera performances, and branches have been established in smaller cities such as Mersin .

PRESIDENTIAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

By: Nelleke M. Basar, Turkish Daily News

No other country in the world is as rich in so many different types of cultures as Turkey . Every area in Turkey has its own unique customs; folk dancing, singing, music and handicrafts. Throughout history, Anatolia has played host to many different cultures. Hittites, The Ancient Greeks, Romans, Macedonians, and many Turco tribes from Asia all have added their own special traditions, to what makes Turkey so rich in this field today. Turkey also opened its borders to Western music, furthering and enriching its culture, but not loosing its own uniqueness.

The concept of Western symphonic music was introduced into the Turkish culture during the time of Sultan Mahmut the second in 1862. And in a very short time the relevant musical institutions were established.

An orchestra was established from musicians which were assigned to the palace orchestra, with Conductor Maguel as a musical director. THe idea of becoming the Sultan's private conductor was very great honor, and Sultan Mahmut the second was able to invite and obtain the services of Giuseppe Donizetti tempting him away from the palace of the Austrian Empire.

It was very unfortunate for the ordinary people of the Ottoman Empire as they were not able to enjoy this new type of music, for the Orchestra's performances, which was named "Muzika-i Humayin" were limited within the palace walls.

In 1924, at the birth of the new Turkish Republic , Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey , ordered that the Orchestra be taken away from the sultanate and moved to Ankara . This was part of Ataturk's move for the modernization of the Republic, by using the orchestra as an educational tool to improve the cultural and artistic level of the society.

The current official name "Presidential Symphony Orchestra", was given by Ataturk, who felt that this orchestra would become a great credit to the young republic. In turn this establishment brought great credit to our nation by exhibiting our symphonic music in many countries around the world.

In 1926 the Teachers Collage of Music was founded which worked together with the presidential orchestra. Although there were great financial limitation, many talented students were sent abroad for training. With their return to Turkey , in 1934, (the famous "Turkish Five" Ahmet Adnan Saygun, Necil Kazim Akses, Cemal Resit Rey, Ulvi Cemal Erkin, and Hasan Ferit Alnar) contemporary Turkish composition concept was established.

The Teachers Collage of Music and the CSO (Presidential Symphony Orchestra) worked hand in hand, providing the conservatory of Music, which had been established in 1936 with experienced teachers and instructors for future generations. Because of the high quality of graduates from the conservatory of Music, Turkey was able to establish orchestras in many other parts of Turkey primarily in Istanbul and Izmir .

Ataturk laid great emphasis on putting Turkey on the world map as a country that rose out of its ashes, and has earned the right to be a part of the modern world. That is why, education and the arts became one of his greatest priorities, never loosing touch with his own culture.

In 1934, A. Adnan Saygun became musical director of the Orchestra, sharing the knowledge that he learned overseas with up and coming students. In 1935, by suggestion of Composer Paul hindemith, who was in charge of the planning of the musical institutes and musical training in Turkey , renowned German conductor Dr. Ernts Praetorius was assigned as the musical director of the Presidential Orchestra. Dr. Praetorius, who was a great orchestra pedagogue, technically brought the orchestra to an international level.

After the death of Dr. Paetorius, the orchestra performed un the direction of many recognized conductors like Ferit Alnar and G.E Lessing.

G.E.Lessing was particularly successful in performing many compositions written by Turkish composers for the first time both in Turkey and abroad consequently introducing the Turkish composers to the entire world.

The Presidential Symphony Orchestra has performed many concerts all over country, being the pioneer for introducing the Symphonic music to entire Turkey . Between 1957 - 1986, Hikmet Simsek directed the orchestra as an assistant Musical Director, with Gurer Aykal, one of Turkey 's world-renowned sons, was assigned as an assistant musical director to the orchestra in 1974. Aykal became chief conductor and musical director in 1988, and he is still performing in this capacity.

The Orchestra, besides performing live has produced over 1000 radio, TV, youth and public and school concerts in Ankara and over 400 concerts within Turkey , from Edirne to Hakkari. The CSO also performed many concerts abroad, namely in Germany, Austria, Bulgaria, Romania, Yugoslavia, Russia, Italy, France, Switzerland, Iran, Irak, Lebanon, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Spain, Poland, Cyprus, Korea, Japan and U.S.A. These concerts has helped Turkey to take its rightful place among the music world. The excellent critics that have been received during these concerts has been a great tool in the country's establishment and prosperity.