THE OTTOMAN MUSIC « Back

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Cinuçen Tanrıkorur*
Abridged and translated by Dr. Savaş Ş. Barkçin**

Introduction
The Ottoman music is an art produced by the court and folk musicians in military,
religious, classical and folk styles. It is a music that has been used in all segments of
the society from the Chinese borders to Morocco covering the last 500 years of the 25-
centuries old Turkish music. Therefore we cannot equate Turkish music with the
Ottoman music. However as the Ottoman state that reigned over 600 years succeeded
to establish one of the most impressive civilizations in the world, its music too needs to
be situated as one of the most important musics in the whole Turkish history.
In fact, what we come to call today “Turkish folk music” and “Turkish classical music”
are not totally isolated musics. They share in terms of the sound system, with minor
nuances in terms of makam, usul and form and have been constantly interacting.
Today, many notable musicians agree that neither the classical Ottoman music is a
“developed form” of the folk music, nor is the folk music the “primitive form” of the
classical urban music.
In the Ottoman ages, no degenerated terms such as alaturka-alafranga (alla Turca vs.
alla Franca), and polyphony vs. monophony as well as the conventional terms of
Turkish Art Music or Turkish Light Music were utilized. These are contrasting
dichotomies that stem from the cultural clash between the East and the West since the
Tanzîmat Era (1839-1908). As the classical Ottoman composers produced folkish
pieces such as türkü, koşma, semâî, destan, the folk poets many of whom had Sufi
affiliations too produced divans (anthologies of poetry) within the frames of the
classical literature. Moreover, there was no strict distinction between the folk and
classical instruments as we observe today. Therefore, we are going to focus on the
Ottoman music in this essay and leave the discussion of Turkish folk music out.
1. The Nature of the Ottoman Music
Ottoman music is the crystalized branch of the Ottoman art in sound, as opposed to
stone in architecture, an art that the westerners used to call “the sublime art” in its
manifestations in tezhib (gold ornamentation), nakş (miniature), carpets, hat
(calligraphy) and ebru (paper marbling). It is a music that flies the man away with its
profoundness, expressing what lies beyond the time in the simplest melodies.
The character of this music that Sufis call the “language of the mute” (lisân-i
bîzebâzân), one that sings the Truth, which is not expressible but can only be felt,
needs to be considered within the general traits of the Turkish music. These
characteristics can be listed as a personal style and expressive music that is based on
pentatonic scale in North and East Asia, heptatonic scale in South and West Asia,
having tone scales that generally descend from the high pitch to the low pitch; played
by only one person (ozan, i.e. minstrel) in its historical origin, may be without any
rhythm, but certainly following a makam; relying largely on human voice and using the
rhythm and melody elements of the music only, and finally a music that has been
transmitted across generations through meşk (transmission of knowledge through
master-disciple relationship), and not through notation as in the Western music.
The Ottoman music with these qualities eventually becomes a great artistic synthesis
that had been enriched by incorporation of many ethnic and cultural elements,
institutionalized in military, religious-Sufi, court and elite circles that had a direct
relation with music. In short, it is the music of an empire. The secret of both its rapid
expansion as well as acceptance of its power lies in this magnificent synthesis.
Another important feature of the Ottoman music is that it is not a choir music except for
the military, Sufi orders and entertainment. The classical music performed in the court
and elite circles has very little resemblance to modern choirs, because choir is an
application that stands in direct opposition to the principal character of the Ottoman
music.
2. The Place of the Ottoman Music in Turkish Music and Other Muslim Musics
It is an old custom of Turks that the palace does not only govern militarily and
administratively, but serves also as a center for the intellectual and artistic life. Many
authors (like Eberhard, Altheim, Barthold, Rasonyi, Nemeth, Orkun, Gazimihal, Ögel,
et al.) since the time of Priskos-Rhetor, a Byzantinian author, attest to this fact. It was
almost always the sultans who gathered and protected artists from Mahmud of Gazne
to Sultan Abdülmecid. The Ottoman sultans who used to receive training not only in
calligraphy and poetry, but also in music continued this tradition regardless of the race,
religion, language and sect of the artists following the example of their ancestors. This
is the reason why the Ottoman music is the most developed, refined and elite branch
of all the Turkish musical traditions. We cannot undermine the contributions of the non-
Ottoman or non-Muslim artists in this development.
The place of the Ottoman music in other Muslim musics needs to be considered with
reference to the Muslim populations within and outside the boundaries of the Empire.
Ottomans always maintained contact with other populations by the Koranic injunction,
"all believers are brethren” that unites all people regardless of their race, language and
ethnicity. The Muslim peoples therefore exchanged not only literature and music, but
they also got engaged with each other through inter-marriages. These close relations
are so complex that it is almost impossible to say which distinct Muslim people
contributed to our common heritage more than the others.
The Ottoman music like the Ottoman poetry and other branches of literature got richer
by importing Persian and Arabic origin words to qualify the professions. Just as
westerners who search for Greek or Latin words to name a new invention or a new
concept, the Ottomans relied on Arabic and Persian words to name their invented
makams (modes), usuls (rhythms) or instruments. Therefore, the terms for the invented
makams like Ferahfezâ, Evcârâ, Sûzidil, and usuls like Devrikebir, Darbıfetih, Zencîr,
as well as musical instruments like Kudüm, Kemençe, and Girift were coined by
utilizing Arabic and Persian words. Naturally, there are many Turkish terms being used
by other Muslim peoples as well.
Ottomans succeeded developing many more makams, and usuls than other Muslim
peoples, and invented new musical forms like Mehter music, Mevlevi ayini, Miraciyye,
kâr-ı nâtık, and fihrist peşrev. Large programmed pieces were composed in these
forms and Ottomans also succeeded to carry their tradition on by registering these
pieces by the makam, usul/metronome, form, lyrics and the composer (bestekâr) and
transmitting them from the master to the disciple throughout the ages. Therefore, it is
almost only the Ottoman music among the musics of the Muslim peoples that brought
many historical works to the present day. For example, today we can still talk about the
Tatar's Hüzzam Peşrevi or Beste-i Kadîm Pençgah Ayîn-i Şerifi from the 16th and the
17th centuries. Over 20 thousand musical pieces made in many religious and non-
religious forms are a witness to the supremacy of the Ottoman music among the
musics of other Muslim peoples.
One clear example of this primacy can be seen in many Arabic instrumental
compositions made across a wide geography stretching from Iraq to Morocco imitating
the peşrevs and semâîs of the composers of Istanbul
3. Institutions of Music Education
We have already noted that transmittal of the classical Ottoman music across
generations had been provided by the meşk system. The meşk system was carried out
in five different locations: Mehterhane, Mevlevihane, Enderun, musicians’ grids and
special meşkhânes all of which were at the same time institutions of basic education
and performance that contributed to dissemination and acceptance of the music by
large segments of the society. Let us analyze these institutions closely.
3.1. Mehterhane. The military band that was named Tuğ in the time of the Huns, took
the name Mehterhane after Mehmed the Conqueror. The purpose of military music that
was indispensable for the Turkish army since the times of the Huns, was primarily
demoralizing the enemy by producing a thunderous roar in order to diminish enemy’s
fighting power and thus preventing further bloodshed.
There were six basic instruments in Mehter which the Seljukis used to call T'abılhâne
or Nevbethâne as it was called since the Huns’ times: four percussions and two
windpipes. Windpipes were called zurna, boru (nefir or şahnay), and percussions were
named çevgan, zil, davul and yurağ, boygur, çöken, çanğ, tümrük and küvrük all of
which have been collectively called as kös later. The music to be played by the front-
running band that included hundreds of instruments of kös, davul, nakkare, zil, çevgan,
çalpara, çengi harbî, zurna and boru used to be composed specially for war and
sporting purposes. The names of such works indicate this fact: Hünkâr Peşrevi (The
Sultan’s Peşrev), At Peşrevi (The Peşrev of the Cavalry), Alay/ Düzen Peşrevi (Peşrev
of the Military Order), Elçi Peşrevi (Ambassador’s Peşrev), Saat Peşrevi (Peşrev of the
Hour) and Rakkas Peşrevi (Peşrev of the Dancer).
The corresponding term for the use of Mehter music in the civilian urban life was
nevbet which was played at prayer times that means five times a day, as well as for
special official occasions. The nevbet was first played during the time of Osman Bey,
the first Ottoman sultan. It carries both a religious and military function and can be
considered as a type of popular military concert. Osman Bey attended the concert of
the band composed of davul, nakkare, boru and zil at the occasion of his reception of
the symbols of kaftan, tug and standard sent by the Seljuki Sultan, Gıyaseddin the
Second, together with his ferman for independence of the Ottoman princedom. One of
the occasions for the performance of nevbet by large numbers of zurna and davul in
slow pace is during the oil wrestling races in Kırkpınar that have been continuing since
1361.
The size of Mehter band would vary depending on the number of kats, i.e. the number
of each group of instruments. Sultans used to have twelve kats of bands (i.e. 12
players for each instrument group), sadrâzams 9, vezirs and pashas had 7 kats. The
Mehter would stand in rows during the wars and in the shape of crescent during the
peace times. Great zils, davuls, nakkares, zurnas and borus as well as kös mounted
on the back of horses and elephants (there were 150 elephants used during the Hotin
campaign of Osman II) would go in front of the tuğ (or çevgan, i.e. conducting stick)
and sancaks (alem). The nevbet in peace times would be performed by the Mehter
lined in the shape of crescent. The ceremony would begin with collection of the
petitions by içoğlanları of those who had something to complain about, continue with
the Mehterbaşı (the conductor of Mehter) coming to the center of the semi-circle and
conducting the concert with his çevgan in his hand, to be completed by recitations of
gülbanks and prayers. The most peculiar aspect of the Mehter music is the karabatak
technique in which both the soft and thunderous parts are found together and which
begins with the wind instruments gradually involving all other instruments.
The Mehter music which reached its climax in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries by the
able composers and performers, presented an appeal and inspiration for the European
armies as well as the European composers. A stronger sound of the percussions
accompanied the military band of Jan Sobieski already in 1683, when he marched over
Vienna, apparently under the influence of the Mehter music.
Poles were the first European people who adapted the Mehter music in 1741 and
Austria, Russia, Prussia and Britain followed the suit. The Mehter music came to be
known as the “Janissary music” by the westerners. Moreover, Ottomans helped the
European states to establish Mehter-like military bands too. For instance, Ahmed III
gifted Mehter instruments to the European governments, namely Poland in 1720, and
Russia in 1725 two governments against which he lost wars,.

The empire started to lose power in the 18th century, but the influence of the Mehter
music continued to be felt in the European operas, symphonies, and concertos much
like a fashion. The trend of the “Turkish opera” which began with Handel’s operas
“Timurlenk” (1724) and “Bayezid” (1743), became a dominant trend with Gluck and
Haydn, finally reaching its peak with Mozart and Beethoven. The influence can be
observed as late as the beginning of the 20th century, as exemplified by the Austrian
composer, Leo Fall's “The Rose of Istanbul” (1916).
Mehterhane was abolished in 1828 by Mahmud II as part of his reforms in the military.
Selim III urged his close friend, Giuseppe Donizetti, a retired band officer in Napoleon’s
army, to establish a new school to be called “Mızıka-i Hümâyun” (The Royal Orchestra)
in place of the Mehterhane, to be adapted from the European examples. Subsequent
efforts to revive the Mehter music that were initiated by Enver Paşa and Ahmet Muhtar
Paşa at the end of the 19th century were halted by Zekai Apaydın, the Minister of
Defence who abolished it again in 1935. The Mehter Takımı was re-established by
Hasan Tahsin Parsadan in 1952.
Today the Mehter continues to exist as a touristic band giving periodical concerts, with
its original structure deformed by inclusion of some western musical instruments.
3.2. Mevlevihane. It is the spiritual academy which aims at turning the man into a
perfect human being by taking him from his most primitive state to spiritual excellence
by various bodily, intellectual and spiritual training techniques. The Mevlevi order which
was established by Sultan Veled, the son of the great sufi master Mawlana Jalal al-Din
Rumi in the 13th and 14th centuries systemized its own ritual form, i.e. semâ (ecstatic
whirling). Mevlevihanes were extremely instrumental as schools where fine arts such
as languages of Turkish, Arabic, Persian, and calligraphy, ornamentation, and music
were taught. Similarly, semâhânes (whirling halls) within the mevlevihane complexes
served as some sort of concert halls, helping to spread the Ottoman music over a vast
area.
The principal musical work of the Mevlevi order is ayin (the ritual of the Sufis following
the path of Rumi), which dates back to the 16th century. Ayins were performed by a
duahan (the cantor), mutrib (instrumentalists) and semâzens (the whirling dervishes).
Majority of the Ottoman composers belong to this Sufi order, including those great
composers like Derviş Mustafa, Itrî, Kutbünnayî, Selim III, İsmâil Dede, Zekaî Dede,
and Yusuf Paşa. The order can be considered as the official order of the Ottoman state
since many sultans, vezirs, grand muftis and pashas were among the brethren. The
Mevlevî music preserved its classical nature and its literature for ages.
The Mevlevi music reached its climax in the 18th and 19th centuries especially under
the patronage of the Sufi sultans Selim III and Mahmud II. 42 âyins were composed
during the 19th century alone in comparison to 13 âyins of the whole period prior to
that century. Mevlevî ayins do not only prove the composer’s talent, but they are at the
same time perfect showcases for teaching makam, usul, transition between makams
(geçki), prosody, vocal and instrumental performance. Mevlevi ayins continued to be
the main educational channel for the Turkish music after the abolishment of the
Mehterhane, Enderun and Darülelhan, as well as following the ban on teaching Turkish
music in the schools in 1926 and suspension of radio broadcast of the Turkish music in
1934.
3.3. Enderun. Enderun is the court academy established by Murad I in 1363 and
developed by Murad II, Mehmed the Conqueror and Bayezid II. It was abolished just
like Mehterhane, during the reign of Mahmud II in 1833. The Enderun curriculum
included religious as well as positive sciences and arts. The lecturers were recruited
from within the empire as well as from outside. Major Ottoman composers such as
Benli Hasan Ağa, Kantemir, Mustafa Çavuş, Vardakosta, Nu'man Ağa, Dellâlzâde,
Tanbûrî Osman Bey, Şakir Ağa and Enderünî Ali Bey who were admitted into Enderun
in their early ages thanks to their extraordinary abilities and skills.
Enderun had also major Ottoman composers as lecturers. Nevertheless the school as
well as the Mehterhane was eliminated by Mahmud II and a military band school,
Mızıka-i Hümâyun (The Royal Orchestra) that was modelled after the Western
examples was erected. A new musical conservatory, Darülelhan (The Palace of Tunes)
was established in 1914, a body that was under the control of the Ministry of
Education. Yet, the composer Musa Süreyya Bey who was a graduate of the Berlin
Royal Academy paved the way for abolishing the very school he administered in 1926
by submitting the Ministry, together with Zeki Üngör, a report that proposed "conversion
of the school into a Conservatory of Istanbul by eliminating Turkish classical music that
remained irrelevant for our culture today from the curriculum."
3.4. Private Meşkhânes. These places were usually the homes of the music masters
where special music education was provided either to individuals or groups.
Meşkhanes also included musical societies and students’ choirs as well. The tradition
of giving music lectures at homes started with masters appointed for training the
concubines. The students were women as well as men. After the 17th century, female
students were being sent to the homes of the masters for learning difficult instruments
such as ney and çöğür and large scale vocal works. This tradition gained more
importance following the elimination of Mehterhane and Enderun and later the Sufi
orders. Such major Ottoman composers as Kanunî Hacı Arif, İsmâil Hakkı, Rifat, Hoca
Kazım (Uz), Abdülkadir (Töre), Kanunî Nazım, Udî Fahri (Kopuz) and Ali Salahî Bey
followed the suit of Bolahenk Nuri Bey (1834-1910) in teaching music either at their
homes or in special halls with such names as Mûsikî-i Osmanî (The Ottoman Music),
Gülşen-i Mûsikî (The Rose Garden of Music), Dârü'l-mûsikî (The Home of Music), and
Terakkî-i Mûsikî (The Advancement of Music).
The principal music society was Dârüttalîm-i Mûsikî Cemiyeti (The Society for Teaching
Music) that was established for both training and giving concerts in 1916. It was
abolished in 1931. This was the society that produced the first recorded group
performances of the Ottoman music, and gave many concerts at home and abroad.
The lessons of Turkish music at schools were carried out by prominent musicians of
the time, like Zekaî Dede who taught at Dârüşşafaka (The Home for Orphans), and
Medenî Aziz Efendi at Dârülmuallimât (The School for Female Teachers) until lectures
on the Ottoman music were forbidden by the Ministry of Education in 1926.
4. Historical Development of the Ottoman Music
4.1 The Evolution, Diffusion and Influence of the Ottoman Music
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. The
Ottomans inherited an immense culture from former Turkish states which also included
their music traditions. The greatest figures of this tradition emerged during the demise
of the Empire in the 18th and 19th centuries. The political fate of the state somehow
influenced the artistic manifestations of the composers. In this sense, one can easily
detect the glory and magnificence in composers that stretch from Nefîrî Behram Ağa
(d. 1560) to Ebûbekir Ağa (d. 1759). Sorrow and melancholy can be observed in Hacı
Arif Bey (d.1885), and desperation and pain in Tanbûrî Cemil (d.1916).
The Ottoman music may be analyzed in two eras: The pre-Ottoman and the Ottoman
eras. There have been thousands of books and treatises written by musicologists on
the Ottoman music in Turkish, Arabic and Persian. Yet, we are still waiting for a
comprehensive history of the Ottoman music.
The progress of the Turkish music in history drew upon the cultural life in the centers of
the states established across a large geography. The capitals of those states were at
the same time main centers of the musical tradition. In this respect, the capital cities
such as Kashgar, Gazne, Belh, Herat, Urumiye, Meraga, Baghdad, Konya, Bursa,
Edirne and İstanbul were the thrones of the sultans most of whom protected musicians
and were composers themselves at the same time. In other words, the musical
tradition has followed the political trajectory quite closely. Therefore, we will try to
briefly trace the stages of the evolution of the Ottoman music by looking at the schools
established by the art-loving sultans, şehzades (crown princes) and sadrazams (prime
ministers) in their environment.
The Ottoman state was established as a small princedom, but it could expand at a
great speed when the Ottomans captured Bursa from the Byzantine Empire and made
it their capital in 1326. Edirne was conquered in 1361. In this striking expansion, there
was an apparent role played by certain social and economic factors, but we also need
to emphasize the significance of Islam that was directly linked to literature and music.
The Ottomans were basically inheritors of the Seljuki culture that was constructed on
the “message of love” communicated by such great figures as Kaşgarlı Mahmud,
Yesevî, Yunus Emre and Rumi.
The sultan-poet, Murad II got interested in music when he was a şehzade in Amasya.
His epoch is the beginning of the era of the “first Turkish romantism” as Paul Wittek
prefers to call it. It is Murad II who added music into the curriculum of the Enderun. The
Edvar written by Hızır bin Abdullah that was commissioned by Murad II, is the first
music book in Turkish. In the same era, translations from famous musical classics were
made and the first organology book of the Ottoman music was written.
Bayezid II commissioned construction of a Şifahâne (university hospital) in Edirne in
1486 where psychiatric patients were treated by aromas of certain flowers and musical
works composed in 10 different makams, each work being prescribed according to the
type of the mental illness. There were musical works written for the sultan. Bayezid II
was also a great patron of music as he invited famous masters of music like
Zeynelabidin of Iran. Sultan Ahmed, one of his sons and governor of Amasya, followed
his father in protecting the musicians.
The contribution of Selim I to the Ottoman music is in the field of recruitment of Azeri
music masters from Iran. It is natural that Suleyman the Magnificent had little time to
spare for music as he spent his life in battlegrounds and military campaigns. But we
know that he was fond of music because he liked to bring musicians to the palace and
listen to their tunes. Also, he ordered designing of a new usul, Frenkçin, upon listening
to the small palace band sent to him by the French king, François I as a sign of
gratitude for Suleyman who had provided him with ammunition and funds.
Major musicians of the period between Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror to Murad III are
Hatibzâde, Behram Ağa, Ali Balı, Durak, Ubeydî, Deruni, Hasan Can Çelebi, Şeyh
Abdülali and Emîr-i Hac.
The Crimean ruler, Gazi Giray Bora, a poet and and a composer of instrumental
pieces, and Hatib Zakirî Hasan Efendi who was the greatest composer of religious
music were major personalities of the Ottoman music during the 16th century. Aziz
Mahmud Hüdayi was the great Sufi master of the time. Sultan Ahmed I was among his
disciples. Hüdayi composed five of his poetry, many of the remaining were composed
by others.
The second bright epoch of the Ottoman music after Murad II is the 64 years that
covered the reigns of Murad IV and Mehmed V when the Empire started to decline.
Murad IV, a lover of the makams of Hüseynî and Segah, was the patron of a number of
great scholars like Katib Çelebi and Evliya Çelebi, as well as of great musicians and
composers such as Solakzâde, Ama Kadri, Benli Hasan Ağa, Yusuf Dede, Derviş
Ömer, Koca Osman Efendi and the great Azeri composer, Şeştarî Murad Ağa. There
were great musicians in the circle of Mehmed IV too: Itri, the climax of the Ottoman
music, his master, Hafız Post, Taşçızâde Receb Çelebi, Ali Şîruganî, Seyyid Nuh,
Yahya Nazım and musicologist Ali Ufkî Bey.
The latter figure was a Polish convert of Islam whose former name was Albert
Bobowsky. He was at the same time a santuri (the player of santur). His contribution to
the Ottoman music is significant, primarily because of his collection of notes of the
musical works, the first of its kind in the Ottoman music. He registered many Ottoman
pieces from the 15th century to his day using a specific notation script in his Mecmua-i
Saz ü Söz, written in 1650.
One of the great scholars and composers of the Ottoman music is Dimitrie Kantemir,
the Romanian prince who was recruited by Ahmed II and educated in Enderun.
Kantemir ironically shifted to the Russian side during the Prut War because he wanted
independence regardless of the fact that he was previously appointed as the ruler of
Boghdan (Romania) by Ahmed III. Later he sought the protection of Peter the Great
and died at the age of 50. He had around 40 compositions in the Ottoman music of
which few are performed today, but his greatest service to the Ottoman music is the
fact that he helped survival of 350 instrumental pieces by recording them in a certain
notation (the ebced) script he developed in his work Edvar which he presented to
Sultan Ahmed II. His “The History of Rise and Decline of the Ottoman Empire” is the
first work that tells the story of the Ottoman state in a social-cultural setting.
The first three decades of the 18th century witnessed a relatively peaceful era under
the reign of Ahmed III and İbrahim Paşa, his prime minister and his son-in-law at the
same time. Popularly known as the Lale Devri (Era of the Tulips), this epoch is
symbolized by the joy of life as represented by Nedim, the poet of the time, as well as
by Mustafa Çavuş, the great composer. The latter’s lyric and lively songs mark the
beginning of the şarkı tradition that culminate in Hacı Arif Bey in the 19th century. There
are greatest classical composers in the period between the mid-17th century and end-
18th century: Kutbünnayî Osman Dede, Zaharya, Tabî, Ebübekir Ağa, Hızır Ağa,
Vardakosta who invented the makam of Ferahfeza, and Abdülhalim Ağa who invented
the makam of Suzidil.
4.2. Decay and Decline
Selim III is the most famous composer of the Ottoman dynasty, and a poet, a ney-
player and a tanbur-player. He represents, perhaps, the last glimpse of the glory of the
Ottoman civilization. Novelties marked this era in cultural life as well as in music.
Among those innovators in music were well-known composers such as Tanbûrî Emin,
Nu'man Ağa, Zeki Mehmed Ağa, Nasır Abdülbakî Dede, Hampartsum, Küçük Mehmed
Ağa, Şehla Hafız and Kemani Ali Ağa, the young İsmail Dede and Şakir Ağa and
Kemanî Rıza Efendi. The classicists of the time like Sadullah Ağa and Dellâlzâde
preferred to remain outside this fervor of change.
114 years between Mahmud II and the last Ottoman caliph Abdülmecid is the period
during which not only the greatest Ottoman musicians lived, but also a fertile ground
for many bright composers of the Turkish music of the later periods was prepared.
The environment of innovations produced such giants of the classical music like İsmail
Dede, Şakir Ağa, Zeki Mehmed Ağa, Dellâlzâde, Kazasker Osman Bey and Yusuf
Paşa, but at the same time light musical pieces, şarkıs replaced the large classical
pieces. İsmail Dede (1777-1845) who was discovered by Selim III and protected by
Mahmud II chose not to remain in the royal presence as soon as Sultan Abdülmecid,
the sultan who was educated by the Italian musician Donizetti rose to the throne.
Dede who composed around 300 pieces that included not only the grand religious
pieces like Mevlevî ayîns and ilahîs, but also secular pieces like folk songs and
classical pieces like beste, was both a popular figure as he was a dervish, but also a
courtier. He taught Turkish music to Donizetti and Guatelli who were the chiefs of the
Mızıka-i Hümâyun and in return learned western music from them. This western taste
can be felt in such works as "Kâr-ı Nev", "Yine neş'e-i muhabbet" and "Yine bir
gülnihal". However, he did not like the growing western influence on music as he was
reported to complain to his friends and disciples saying “there is no more joy left in this
game”. He preferred to go to pilgrimage at the age of 68 during which he passed away
in Mecca.
It was Selim III, a sympathizer of the French, and who was the pioneer of the reform
movement that finally made Turkey an imitator of the western culture, chiefly in military
and music. The perpetuating figure in this line is Reşid Paşa whose reforms finally led
to the decay of the Ottoman music. In this epoch, while opera, theater and orchestras
were supported and popularized by the state, classical music was humiliated and
degenerated because its teaching had been forbidden in public schools. The old fasıl
performances got rarer, choir performances were preferred over the solo
performances, peşrevs were performed in their shorter forms, gazels disappeared as
the tradition of vocal training collapsed. Moreover şarkıs had less and less quality,
performance of taksim was ignored, and in short, not only the music was downgraded,
but so was the rhythm which is the basis of whole universe as the main classical
percussion instrument, kudüm, was eliminated from the bands.
19th century is the epoch when four great romantics of the Ottoman music emerged,
two adopting the neo-classical style, and two other innovators whom we can even call
“revolutionaries”: Zekaî Dede and Tanbûrî Ali Efendi as the classists, and Hacı Arif Bey
and Tanbûrî Cemil Bey as the innovators.
The peak of the classical Ottoman music was such composers as Hafız Post, Itrî,
Zaharya, Osman Dede, Ebübekir Ağa, Abdülhalîm Ağa and Tab'î who composed the
gazels, poems of love, written by such great classical Ottoman poets like Fuzulî, Bakî,
Nabî, Nefî, Nedîm, Nev'î, Fasîh, Fazıl, Fıtnat and Vasıf.
The composers of vocal works in classical forms did not only rely on the meaning of
the poetry, on the contrary, they would also add terennüm (the vocal refrain) after each
line of the poem they composed as if they did not need to derive the power of the
meaning. As a result of the changes in living conditions and the notion of time by the
end of the 19th century, the terennüms which were the main pattern of large scale
pieces were thought to be stretching the piece too much, making it much more
complex to perform and listen. So the composers started to search for shorter, more
substantial and lyric forms.
The first solution found was elimination of long terennüm parts, and using small usuls
that permitted composition of the lines without stretching the words. The short poems
which are called şarkı that became popular after the 18th century and serving to this
intention of compactness rather than classical gazels and kasides, started to become
the main sources for lyrics for the composers starting with Hacı Arif Bey (1831-1884).
Hacı Arif Bey who is the peak of the melancholic lyricism in the Ottoman music that
reflected his pain-stricken life, was followed by such romantics as Rifat Bey, Rahmi
Bey, Şevki Bey, Şekerci Cemil, Lem'i Atlı, Subhi Ziya Özbekkan, Zeki Arif Ataergin,
Fehmi Tokay. These were the composers who used the poetry by contemporary poets
like Recaizâde Ekrem, Mehmed Sadi, Muallim Naci and Feyzi, Mahmud Celâleddin,
Yusuf Ken'an, İzzet Molla, Niğdeli Hikmet and Ziya Paşa, Yahya Kemal, Ahmet Refik
Altınay and Mustafa Nafiz Irmak.
Romantism, broadly defined as the supremacy of emotions over the rational, and as
the priority of the form beyond the classical understanding, as well as the search for
poetic (or picturesque) expressions, was being represented by Weber, Schubert,
Schumann, Mendelssohn, Wagner, Verdi and by the kunstlied of Berlioz in Europe in
the 19th century.
The revolution in vocal music heralded by Hacı Arif Bey was pursued by Tanbûrî Cemil
in instrumental music. Cemil Bey, a rare genius, played all the instruments he knew
with unprecedented and unimaginable musicality and dynamism during his short life of
45 years, leaving a profound impact on the later instrumentalists. Therefore this artist
who was born in 1871 in İstanbul has an immortal effect. He played his tanbur as if it
was crying like the ney of Rumi that "cries with the pain of separation" over a lifetime.
He excelled in composition of taksims, and his influence produced great composers of
instrumental pieces like Refik Fersan (1893-1965), Udî Nevres (1873-1937), Şerif
Muhiddin Targan (1892- 1967), Mes'ud Cemil (1902-1963) and Reşat Aysu (b. 1910),
who approached the melodical and rhythmic philosophy of western music with much
sympathy.
The revolution initiated by Cemil in instrumental music was carried forward by
Saadeddin Kaynak (1895-1961) in the field of vocal music. Kaynak who can be called
“the Picasso of the Turkish music“ spent 31 years of his early life on learning religious
and classical music which eventually culminated in his unparallelled style in classical
music before producing fantasies which he placed against the popular şarkı form.
However, he was bitterly criticized by some conservative critics for his fantasies that
uprooted the conventional chain of “güfte-makam-usul”, formerly perceived as a means
but later turned out to be the end of music, a style that in fact opened a new horizon for
the Turkish music.
It is Kaynak who paved the way for the transition from romantism to contemporary
realism in vocal music with his works extending from pastoral manifestations (such as
“Enginde yavaş yavaş günün minesi soldu”), epic pieces (e.g. “Yanık Ömer”, “Memesiz
Fadime”), lyric fantasies (e.g. “Gönlüm özledikçe görürdüm hele”) to folk songs (e.g.
“İncecikten bir kar yağar”, “Gemim gidiyor baştan”), ilahis to revue music (e.g.
“Alabanda”). He is remarkable also because he could compose pieces that contain
recitativo, long compositions that unite elements of voice and instruments emphatically,
(e.g. “Menekşelendi sular”, “Dertliyim”, “Kalplerden dudaklara”). Kaynak is the
composer who initiated the tradition of using song texts that general audience could
easily understand --a cantabile music that is talking to listener, addressing them,
influencing them. Each listener can accompany the music as soon as the song is
heard. Finally, he is a very significant composer because he is the first film score
composer. He could well relate his musical career with his career as an imam at the
same time.
5. Musical Forms in the Ottoman Music
The form in certain fine arts like painting, sculpture, and architecture that emerge in
spatial dimensions matters much more than in those fine arts that exist in time such as
poetry, music and novel. The latter does not reveal the form, but it is born out of it and
felt by the order of the sequencing of the ideas. The basis of each and every musical
culture is the forms that shape the music from the simplest folk song to the most
complex works.
Musical forms do change in response to various social and cultural processes, almost
like fashions. Although ayins that were developed after the 16th century remained
relatively unchanged in terms of their form, secular music shifted from kars, the most
popular form of the 15th –17th centuries with their Persian lyrics and long terennüms,
to bestes and semais with Turkish lyrics and short terennüms after the 17th century.
They were in return replaced by romantic şarkıs with lyric texts in the 19th century, and
followed by fantasies that are composed on lyrics written in syllabic meter or in free
form.
Various forms of composition in the Ottoman music can be classified as follows:
a) According to the type of the music (religious music and secular music)
b) According to the means of performance (vocal music, instrumental music)
c) According to the field of use (military music, religious music, classical music, folk
music, entertainment music)
d) According to the space of performance (military music, palace music, mosque
music, tekke music, urban music, rural music)
e) According to the style of performance (rythmic, performance, i.e. with usul; and non-
rythmic performance, i.e. without usul).
I. Forms of Religious Music
A. Mosque music (performed only by voice)
 a) Non-rythmic: Münacat, Ezan, Kaamet, Salat-u Selam, Tekbîr, Mersiye
b) Rythmic: İlahis (devotional songs) like Cumhur, Tevşîh and Tesbîh
B. Tekke (Sufi convent) music (may be accompanied by instruments)
a) Non-rythmic: Na't-i Peygamberi (poems praising the Prophet) and Durak
b) Rythmic: Ayîn-i Şerif (in the Mevlevî order), Ayn-i Cem and Nefes (in the
Bektaşî order) and Zikr İlahis (called şugl if the lyrics are in Arabic)
C. Religious forms performed both in mosques and tekkes
a) Non-rythmic: Recitations of Koran and Mevlid-i Şerif
b) Rythmic: All ilahis
c) Partly rythmic, partly non-rythmic: Miraciyye
II. Forms of Secular Music
A. Military music
B. Classical music
l. Vocal Music
a) Non-rhythmic Form
Gazel: Performed by a soloist, these improvised works are composed on certain love
poetry called with the same name. They require a good and colorful voice, as well as
good knowledge of makam and poetry, and a skill of composition. The difficulty of this
form coupled with the lack of its education led to diminishing number of gazelhans
(reciters of gazels). The same form is called leyâli or mauel in Arabic, and âvâz in
Persian
b.I) Large-scale forms with rhythm:
Kâr: These pieces are performed after the peşrev in the classical fasıl. Their lyrics are
in Persian, and rarely in Turkish. They may be composed in large or small usuls,
sometimes with alteration of rhythms, conventionally starting with a long terennüm.
Beste: They are performed after kâr in the classical fasıl –if there is any, if not, after
peşrev, and they are composed by using large usuls.
Ağırsemâî: These pieces are performed after beste in the classical fasıl. Composed in
usuls of Aksak Semâî (10/8), Ağır Aksak Semâî (10/4) or Ağır Sengin Semâî (6/2),
these works are composed by adding terennüm after each line of a quadrain.
Kâr-ı Nâtık: Literally, “talking piece”, these pieces are composed on lyrics that are
especially written for this form. The lyrics contain names of the makams and usuls. The
composer needs to show that makam and usul wherever and whenever the name of it
passes in the lyrics. These pieces are composed primarily for the purpose of
demonstrating a composer’s mastership and for teaching the makams. There have
been kar-ı natıks composed by using as many makams as 15 to 119
b.2) Small forms with rhythm:
Yürüksemâî: These works are performed following the Ağırsemâî in the classical fasıl,
and after the şarkıs in the popular fasıls. They are composed by using Yürüksemâî
(6/4) usul and on a stanza of a gazel adding terennüms after each line.
Şarkı: They are performed between Ağırsemâî and Yürüksemâî in popular fasıls.
Lyrics are on aruz meter using usuls of Aksak (9/8) and Curcuna (10/16). They do not
have any terennüms.
2. Instrumental Music
a) Non-rhythmic:
Taksim: The improvised piece composed by an instrumentalist on a certain makam
(Arabs use the plural of the term, taqaasim). The melodical structure and the rhythm as
well as the duration depend on the improvizer. It requires fine playing skills and makam
knowledge as well as composition and timing skills. This makes it the most difficult
form of instrumental music. There are introductory taksims (giriş or baş taksimi) before
the performance of a concert, fasıl, or Mevlevî âyin; transitional taksims (geçiş taksimi)
when the makam is going to change, so that listeners and performers must be
prepared for the new musical climate: intermission taksims (ara taksimi) which are
performed to enable the performers and listeners to relax when many pieces in the
same makam have been performed, especially during fasıls.
b.l) Large-scale forms with rhythm:
Peşrev: These pieces are performed in fasıls after the baş taksîmi. They are
composed in large usuls and have no alteration of usul. They are composed in four
parts each called a hâne, and a mülazime or teslim which corresponds the nakarat, i.e.
the recurring theme in vocal music. In its melodical structure, the first hâne and teslim
are composed on the makam that peşrev is associated with, second and fourth hanes
on the neighboring makams, and the third hane with transitions to makams in high
pitches.
Fihrist Peşrev: This is a type of instrumental, didactical kar-ı natık which describes
various makams in a certain order.
b.2) Small forms with rhythm:
Medhal: A type of peşrev that had been first used by the composer and tanbur-player,
Refik Fersan. It differs from peşrev because it is composed in small usuls. It also has
four hanes but is shorter than peşrev, permitting new searches in its melodical and
rhythmic structure. It may be composed without any usul in its karabatak version.
Sazsemâîsi: These instrumental pieces are performed after Yürüksemâî in the fasıl.
They have, like peşrev, 4 (and rarely 6) hânes and a mülazime. They differ from peşrev
in that their first 3 hânes must be composed using the usul of Aksaksemâî (10/8), and
the fourth hane is in various small usuls (mostly Yürüksemâî, 6/4 or 6/8).
There are also other types of instrumental pieces in the Ottoman music, like sirto or
longa which are composed for dancing, and aranağme which are the small pieces
specially composed for songs in the form of şarkı.
6. Instruments of the Ottoman Music
Instrument in music has a double function: it is the irreplaceable accompanying
element for the voice, and a music form in its own right.
The old musical forms and instruments in the Ottoman music have become outmoded
and new ones have been in vogue. For instance, the lifetime of kopuz which is the
ancestor of all string instruments in classical and folk music could reach only until the
18th century. Ud which was so popular between the 10th and the 16th centuries was,
by and large, replaced by tanbur at the end of the 17th century, to re-emerge after two
centuries. The historical Turkish harp, çeng, and the Turkish panflute mıskal became
obsolete in the 19th century, whereas santur faced the same fate in the 20th century.
Among those instruments which entered the classical music in the 20th century, we
can see keman as viola d'amore which was imported from the West under the name of
sînekemanı, viola, cello and bass, and kemençe and lavta that were accompanying
instruments for the palace dances that were called köçekçe and tavşanca.
The number of instruments used in the Ottoman music has increased over time. While
Şükrullah who lived in the time of Murad II listed only 9 instruments, Lâdikli counted 18,
and Kâtib Çelebi 19. Evliya Çelebi who was at the same time a musician, mentions
some 76 instruments
Here we will try to list instruments used in various types of the Ottoman music in
categories of percussions, winds, strings (bowed and plucked strings) by showing the
areas of their use.

Percussion
1) Wooden
Çevgân Military music
Kaşık Folk dances
Çalpara or Köçekçe and
Çengi Tavşanca (urban
Çubuğu dances)

2) Bells
Zil (Halile) Sufi music
Mehter Zili Military music
Hitit SistrumuMilitary music
Zilli Maşa Folk dances
Old and new Raks
Parmak Zili
(dance) music

3) Leather
Kös Military music
Military and folk
Davul
music
Nakkare Military music
Kudüm Sufi and classical
music
Dâire Classical music
Def Fasıl music
Bendir Sufi music
Nevbe Sufi music
Darbuka Dance music

4) Pottery
Cam
Bardaklar Dance music
(glasses)
Kâseler
Dance music
(bowls)
Fincanlar
Dance music
(cups)

Winds
1) Reed
Military and folk
Zurna
music
Mey Folk music
Kaval Folk music
Tulum Folk music
Sipsi Folk music
Çifte Folk music
Arğul Folk music
Düdük Folk music

2) Reedless
Nefir Military music
Kaval Folk music
Classical and
Ney
sufi music
Girift Classical music
Miskal Classical music
Pîşe Classical music
Mû Classical music
Kara kamış Classical music
Komuz Dance music
Band and dance
Garmon
music
Hokkabaz Entertainment
Borusu music
Mizmar Classical music
 
Strings

1) Bowed
Iklığ Folk music
Sînekeman Classical music
Keman Classical music
Rebab Sufi music
Klâsik
Classical music
Kemençe
Karadeniz
Folk music
Kemençesi
Ağaç
Folk music
Kemane
Yaylı Tanbur Classical music
Kabak
Folk music
Kemane

2) Plucked
Strings
Military and folk
Kopuz
music
Kolca Kopuz Folk music
Lâvta Dance music
Çeng (
Classical music
Mugni)
Tanbur Classical music
Classical and
Ud
folk music
Classical and
Kanun
folk music
Santur Classical music

3) Family of
Saz
Cura Folk music
Cura-
Folk music
Bağlama
Bağlama Folk music
Tanbura Folk music
Dîvan
(Meydan) Folk music
sazı

4) Family of
Tar
Dombra Folk music
 Dotar Folk music
Setar Folk music

Instruments of the Asian Turks

Balaban Folk
(mey) music
Folk
Gubuz
music
Folk
Koray
music
Folk
Sıbızgı
music
Folk
Mazhar
music
Folk
Gıçek
music
Folk
Kılkopuz
music
Folk
Rubab
music
Folk
Nay
music
Folk
Kemença
music
* Cinuçen Tanrıkorur (1938-2000) is one of the most prominent and prolific Turkish
composers, a musicologist, an ud virtuoso and a writer.
** I would like to thank my friend Ali Tutan for his encouragement for this translation,
and Mr. Ertuğrul İnanç for his assistance in translating some of the musical terminology
into English.
www.turkmusikisi.com
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