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Turkey is a country on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean
Sea, and is a crossroads of cultures from across Europe, North
Africa, the Middle East, the Caucasus and South and Central
Asia. The music of Turkey includes elements of Central Asian
folk music, Arabic, Persian classical music, ancient Greco-Roman
music and modern European and American popular music.
Modern history
The traditional music of Turkey is composed of two major traditions
with distinct characteristics. The first one is Turkish folk
music, characterized by the culture of Turkish-speaking rural
communities of Anatolia, Balkans, and Middle East. While Turkish
folk music contains some traces of the Central Asian Turkic
cultures, it has also strongly influenced and been influenced
by many other cultures in the region. The second one, on the
other hand, is Turkish classical music, which is characterized
by the culture of Ottoman elite and strongly influenced by
Islamic (mainly Arabic and Persian) cultures, a trace of Indian
Music, but still contains traces of the Greco-Roman history
of the region.
During the Ottoman era, Turkish classical music was known
to be the authentic music of Turkey. Folk music was being
repressed from time to time and region to region, because
of several reasons including religious intolerance. When the
modern Turkish state was proclaimed in 1923, the new republic
aimed at creating a nation with a distinct and unified culture.
This included replacing the culture of elite Istanbul, which
was considered Ottoman, by the culture of rural Anatolia,
which was considered Turkish. Hence, folk music was promoted,
while classical music faced some restrictions. Moreover, western
classical music was introduced and encouraged as one of the
most important policies of the new state was westernization
of the society.
By the 1960s, western popular music had been introduced to
Turkey, with the name "western music with Turkish words",
which literally was true. At the same time, socialist movements
were getting popular in accordance with the world. Musicians
who were inspired by these movements started adapting folk
music with contemporary sounds and arrangements, giving rise
to Anatolian rock and protest music.
Starting in 1970s, increasing immigration from rural areas
to big cities (particularly Istanbul) gave rise to a new cultural
synthesis, which is regarded to be a degeneration by some
sociologists. The new residents of metropolitan areas were
mostly suffering from hard economical conditions and having
difficulties in adapting to the big city. This newly constructed
culture generated its own music, Arabesk, known to be the
music of suffering. Arabesk was a synthesis of Turkish folk
and middle-eastern music. Following the military coup of 1980,
the suffering left-wing subculture also found its own arabesk,
in a new degenerated version of protest music, named özgün
muzik (authentic music). In the era influenced by the military
government, arabesk and özgün muzik were labeled
"degenerate" and discouraged by the government,
while Turkish classical music was promoted.
Arabic music, for a brief time was banned from Turkey, as
for it to create its own identity, despite being heavily intertwined.
In a similar move, Indian Music was banned from Turkey, since
Hindi, the language sung in, despite having similar Turkish
words, also possessed many Arabic loan words, and at a time
when the country was trying to create its own identity, Indian
Music was also downplayed alongside Arabic music.
Western-style pop music could only become popular by the
beginning of 1990s, as a result of opening economy and society,
and still dominates the popular culture. The increasing popularity
of pop music gave rise to several international Turkish pop
stars such as Tarkan. Note that Turkish pop is still strongly
influenced by Arabesk, Turkish folk and middle-eastern music.
Turkish folk, which has been popular from time to time, again
came into public attention by the end of 1990s. It now has
a broader popularity regardless of subcultures. Moreover,
the folk music of several ethnic cultures such as Kurdish
and Laz, which were not able to express themselves openly
due to language restrictions, are rediscovered and gain popularity
following the recent democratization attempts.
Pop music
Turkey has produced a number of popular musicians from a wide
range of styles, most famously including Arabesk performers.
There is also a wide range of imported popular styles, including
rock and roll, hip hop, heavy metal, tango and reggae.
Turkey has produced a number of popular musicians from a
wide range of styles, most famously including Arabesk performers.
There is also a wide range of imported popular styles, including
rock and roll, hip hop, heavy metal, tango and reggae.
The biggest Turkish pop star of the 20th century was probably
Sezen Aksu, known for overseeing the Turkish contribution
to the Eurovision Song Contest and was known both for her
light pop music and her controversial stances on feminism,
Serbia and the Cumartesi Anneleri.
The biggest male pop stars in Turkey are probably Tarkan
and Mustafa Sandal. Tarkan conquered not only Europe but also
the entire world with his single Simarik (Spoilt) which has
been covered by numerous artists just like the British Holly
Valance in her "Kiss kiss" song or the Russian Filipp
Kirkorov in "Potzeluy" (Kiss). And a little while
ago, Mustafa Sandal has topped with his latest song Isyankar
(Rebellious) the charts in Europe, like Germany, Austria and
Switzerland. So, he also becomes internationally famous and
in the course of time being just the one performer, who is
presenting Turkish pop to the world.
Arabesk
Arabesk music dominates the Turkish pop scene. It is largely
Arabic in origin, which led to condemnation from some Turkish
nationalists. Arabesk stems from Raks Sharki (more often known
as belly-dancing music) and was popularized beginning in the
1940s by Kaydar Tatliyay and other performers, leading to
a 1948 ban on Arabic language music. The effort was largely
unsuccessful, as most Turks listened to Radio Cairo and Arabic
music continued to be popular. In the middle of the 1960s,
Turkish urban and folk styles were incorporated into Arabesk
by musicians like Ahmet Sezgin, Abdullah Yüce and Hafiz
Burhan Sesiyilmaz. This was followed by performers like Orhan
Gencebay who added Anglo-American rock and roll to Arabesk
music.
Anatolian rock
Cem Karaca is the best known performer of Anatolian rock music,
which was banned for most of its existence. Karaca set the
stage for politically-charged performers like Mogollar, Yeni
Türkü, Bulutsuzluk Özlemi, Zen and Zülfü
Livaneli. Livaneli was known for the mid-80s innovation of
özgün, a guitar-based genre that combined mellow
vocals with Arabesk music and rural melodies. The lyrics were
generally not revolutionary, though the Kurdish Ahmet Kaya
performed the poems of Nazim Hikmet, a leftwing activist banned
by the government.
Turkish hip hop
In 1995, the Turkish-German community produced a major hip
hop crew named Cartel which caused controversy in Turkey and
Germany for its revolutionary lyrics. Other Turkish-German
rappers include Nefret, Aziza-A, DJ Volkan, KMR and DJ Mahmut.
Folk music
The folklore of Turkey is extremely diverse, consequently
the music. Nevertheless, Turkish folk is dominantly marked
by a single musical instrument called saz or baglama, a type
of long-necked lute. Traditionally, saz is played solely by
traveling musicians called Asik (see Asik tradition below).
In modern times, saz orcheastras, accompanied with many other
traditional instruments, keep folk music popular in Turkey.
The zurna and davul duo (shawm and drum) is popular in rural
areas, and play at weddings and other celebrations. Some other
common instruments are elektrosaz (especially around Ankara),
darbuka (especially in Rumeli), and kemenche (around Black
Sea).
Folk music generally accompanies folk dances, which vary
significantly across regions. The diverse range of folk music
and dances include çiftetelli (Thrace), zeybek (Agean),
horon (Black Sea), and halay (Eastern/Southeastern Anatolia).
Alevi music: Semah, Deyis, and Nefes
About a third of the Turkish population are Alevis, whose
folk music (performed by travelling bards called asik) is
well-known. These songs, which hail from the central northeastern
area, are about mystical revelations, invocations to Alevi
saints and Muhammad's son-in-law, Ali, whom they hold in high
esteem as Shi'a Muslims. Many of these songswere written by
the Seven Ulus, for example in the 15th century by Sah Hatayi,
founder of the Safevi Empire, or in the 16th century by Pir
Sultan Abdal, a martyr who rebelled against the Ottoman Empire.
Ruhi Su, an outspoken leftwing massace, led a roots revival
of asik music in the early 1970s. Many of the biggest stars
of the 1990s, including Muhlis Akarsu, were killed in a fire
started in 1993 by Sunni extremists. Some asiks included socio-politically
active lyrics, especially Mahsuni Serif, Asik Veysel and Ali
Izzet, who were well-regarded by the Turkish left. Western
Anatolia is home to bozlak, a type of declamatory, partially
improvised music, especially known for Neset Ertas. Around
the city of Kars, asik music has a more spiritual bent, and
also features ritualized insult contests.
Roma music:
Roma are known through Turkey for their musicianship. Their
music is called fasil and is often associated with the underclass
of Turkish society, though it also can be found in more respectable
establishments. Many of the most popular Roma performers come
from Tarlabasi and play the klarnet and darbuka. Mustafa Kandirali
is the most famous fasil musician.
Kurdish music
Traditionally, there are three types of Kurdish performers
-- storytellers (chirokbej), minstrels (stranbej) and bards
(dengbej). Many songs are epic in nature, recounting the tales
of Kurdish heroes like Saladin. Love songs, dance music, wedding
and other celebratory songs, erotic poetry and work songs
are also popular. Musical instruments include the bloor (flute),
ghol (drum), duduk (oboe), tenbur (saz), kamanche (spike fiddle)
and zurna (wooden shawm).
The most frequently used song form has two verses with ten
syllable lines. Kurdish music is characterized by simple melodies,
with a range of only three or four notes, and strophic songs,
in which an identical line of poetry and music occur at the
end of each stanza. Music is modal, with its maqam (or mode
in Arabic music) is called Kurdi and is known throughout the
Arab world.
For most of the 20th century, Kurdish language songs were
banned in Turkey. Some Kurdish singers, like Ibrahim Tatlises,
sang in Turkish, while others violated the ban and fled to
various countries, especially France. A black market, however,
has long existed in Turkey, and pirate radio stations and
underground recordings have always been available. Sivan Perwer,
the most famous Kurdish musician, came from the Kurdish-Turk
community. He came to fame in 1972 during a Kurdish revolt
in Iraq, and became a superstar before fleeing to Germany
in 1976.
Mevlevi music: Ayin
The Mevlevi (whirling) dervishes are well-known outside of
Turkey, in spite of frequent state oppression during the 20th
century. Their music consists of long, complex compositions
called ayin, which is both preceded and followed by songs
using lyrics by the founder and poet Jelaleddin Rumi. Internationally
well-known musicians include Necdet Yasar and Kudsi Ergüner.
Classical music
Most Turkish music share the makam, a system of modes or scales
and other rules of composition, as well improvisatory pieces
called taksim. Taksim are part of a suite of music consisting
of a prelude, postlude and a primary section which begins
with and is punctuated by taksim. Songs are a part of this
tradition, many of them extremely old, dating back to the
14th century; many are newer, however, with late 19th century
songwriter Haci Arif Bey being especially popular.
Commonly used instruments in Turkish classical music are
the oud, tanbur, ney, kanun, and darbuka.
Turkish classical music is taught in conservatoires, the
most respected of which is Istanbul's Üsküdar Musiki
Cemiyeti. The most popular Turkish classical singer is Münir
Nurettin Selçuk, who was the first to establish a lead
singer position. Other performers include Bülent Ersoy,
Zeki Müren, and Zekai Tunca.
20th century classical history
Parallel to this, some radical and practical actions were
taken, such as the transfer of the former Mizika-i Hümayun
(Imperial Orchestra) from Istanbul to the new capitol of the
state Ankara, and renaming it as Riyaset-i Cumhur Orkestrasi
(Orchestra of the Presidency of the Republic. The name would
later be changed to Cumhurbaskanligi Senfoni Orkestrasi or
Presidential Symphony Orchestra) in 1924; founding of a new
school for the training of Western style music instructors
in 1924, renaming the Istanbul Oriental Music School as the
Istanbul Conservatory in 1926, sending talented young musicians
abroad for further music education (these students include
well-known Turkish composers such as Cemal Resit Rey, Ulvi
Cemal Erkin, Ahmet Adnan Saygun, Necil Kazim Akses, Hasan
Ferit Alnar), and finally the founding of the Ankara State
Conservatory with the aid of the German composer and music
theorist Paul Hindemith in 1936.
Again on Atatürk's order, a wide-scale classification
and archiving of samples of Turkish folk music from around
Anatolia was launched in 1924 and continued until 1953 to
collect around 10,000 folk songs. Hungarian composer Béla
Bartók visited Ankara and the south-eastern Turkey
in 1936 within the context of these works.
Atatürk's restriction of Arab and Persian influenced
music policy in 1934 was misinterpreted by the bureaucrats,
and turned into a full-scale ban on the Ottoman classical
music, which was abolished about a year later by Atatürk
himself. By 1976, sanat (a form of classical art music) had
undergone a renaissance and the State Conservatoire in Istanbul
was founded to give classical musicians the same support as
folk musicians. The 1980s saw President Turgut Özal liberalize
media regulations, and pop, rock, hip hop and arabesk music
made inroads into mainstream Turkish music. Kurdish language
music was also allowed for the first time, and religious Sufi
music, especially Mevlevi ayin (whirling dervishes).
Turkish influence on Western classical music
European classical composers in the 18th century were fascinated
by Turkish music, particularly the strong role given to the
brass and percussion instruments in Janissary bands. Joseph
Haydn wrote his Military Symphony to include Turkish instruments,
as well as some of his operas. Turkish instruments were also
included in Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony Number 9. Mozart
wrote the "Ronda alla turca" in his Sonata in A
major and also used Turkish themes in his operas. Although
this Turkish influence was a fad, it introduced the cymbals,
bass drum, and bells into the symphony orchestra, where they
remain.
Jazz musician Dave Brubeck wrote his "Blue Rondo á
la Turk" as a tribute to Mozart and Turkish music.
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