Turkish Music

Classical Music

Ottoman court music has a large and varied system of modes or scales known as makams, and other rules of composition. A number of notation systems were used for transcribing classical music, the most dominant being the Hamparsum notation in use until the gradual introduction of western notation. Turkish classical music is taught in conservatories and social clubs, the most respected of which is Istanbul's Üsküdar Musiki Cemiyeti.

Different pieces of music can be arranged in certain ways to create a fasıl, which is a suite of music consisting of a prelude, postlude and a primary section which begins with and is punctuated by improvisatory pieces called Taksim. However shorter şarkı compositions, precursors to modern day songs, are a part of this tradition, many of them extremely old, dating back to the 14th century; many are newer, with late 19th century songwriter Haci Arif Bey being especially popular.

Composers and Performers

Other famous proponents of this genre include Sufi Dede Efendi, Prince Cantemir, Baba Hamparsum, Kemani Tatyos Efendi, Sultan Selim III and Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent. The most popular modern Turkish classical singer is Münir Nurettin Selçuk, who was the first to establish a lead singer position. Other performers include Bülent Ersoy, Zeki Müren, Müzeyyen Senar and Zekai Tunca.

Ottoman Harem music: belly dancing

From the makams of the royal courts to the melodies of the royal harems, a type of dance music emerged that was different from the oyun havası of fasıl music. In the Ottoman Empire, the harem was that part of a house set apart for the women of the family. It was a place in which non-family males were not allowed. Eunuchs guarded the sultan's harems, which were quite large, including several hundred women who were wives and concubines. There, female dancers and musicians entertained the women living in the harem. Belly dance was performed by women for women. This female dancer, known as a rakkase, hardly ever appeared in public.

This type of harem music was taken out of the sultan's private living quarters and to the public by male street entertainers and hired dancers of the Ottoman Empire, the male rakkas. These dancers performed publicly for wedding celebrations, feasts, festivals, and in the presence of the sultans.

Modern oriental dance in Turkey is derived from this tradition of the Ottoman rakkas. Some mistakenly believe that Turkish oriental dancing is known as Çiftetelli due to the fact that this style of music has been incorporated into oriental dancing by Greeks and Romany people, illustrated by the fact that the Greek belly dance is sometimes mistakenly called Tsifteteli. However, Çiftetelli is a form of folk music of local origin, whereas rakkas, as the name suggests, is possibly of a more mideastern origin. Dancers are also known for their adept use of finger cymbals as instruments, also known as zils.

Romani influences

Roma are known throughout Turkey for their musicianship. Their music brought Turkish classical motifs to the public, when it began to play in meyhanes or tavernas. This type of fasıl music with food and alcoholic beverages is often associated with the underclass of Turkish society, though it also can be found in more respectable establishments in modern times.

Another Roma influence has been on the fasıl itself. Played in the music halls, the dance music or oyun havası as required at the end of each particular fasıl has been incorporated with Ottoman rakkas or belly dancing motifs. Popular musical instruments utilised here are the clarinet, violin and darbuka. Mustafa Kandıralı is a well known fasil musician.