Music of Turkey: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 14:31, 15 April 2006

Revision as of 14:37, 15 April 2006

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{{Turkishmusic}}

[[Image:Mehterhane.jpg|left|thumb|[[Ottoman military band]]]][[Turkey]] is a country on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea, and is a crossroad of cultures from across [[Europe]], [[North Africa]], the [[Middle East]], the [[Caucasus]] and [[South Asia|South]] and [[Central Asia]]. The '''music of Turkey''' includes elements of [[Balkan music]], [[Music of Central Asia|Central Asian folk music]], [[Arabic music|Arabic]], [[Persian music|Persian classical music]], modern European and American [[popular music]] and even the ancient [[Byzantine music]]. It in turn has influenced these countries through the [[Ottoman Empire]] <ref>[http://www.lesartsturcs.com/music/ Les Arts Turcs: Art & Culture Centre]</ref>.

The roots of traditional music in Turkey spans across the centuries to a time when the [[Seljuk Turks]] colonized [[Anatolia]] and [[Persia]] in the [[11th century]] and even before pre-Turkic influences, while much of its modern popular music can trace its roots to the emergence in the early 1930s drive for Westernization <ref>Stokes, Martin. "Sounds of Anatolia" in the ''Rough Guide to World Music, Volume 1'', pp 396-410</ref>.

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Folk music or ''Türkü'' generally deals with subjects surrounding daily life in less grandiose terms than the love and emotion usually contained in its traditional counterpart, Ottoman court music <ref>[http://www.turkmusikisi.com/osmanli_musikisi/the_ottoman_music.htm The Ottoman Music, by Cinuçen Tanrıkorur]</ref>. Most songs recount stories of real life events and [[Turkish folklore]], or have developed through song contests between troubadour poets <ref>Erderner, Yıldıray. "The Song Contests of Turkish Minstrels: Improvised Poetry Sung to Traditional Music" in the ''Milman Parry Studies in Oral Tradition'', p 36</ref>. Corresponding to their origins, folk songs are usually played at weddings, funerals and special festivals.

Regional folk music generally accompanies folk dances, which vary significantly across regions. For example, at marriage ceremonies in the Aegean guests will dance the [[Zeibekiko|Zeybek]], while in other [[Rumelia|Rumeli]] regions the upbeat dance music [[Tsifteteli|Çiftetelli]] is usually played, and in the southeastern regions of Turkey the [[Turkish_folklore_dances|Halay]] is the customary form of local wedding music and dance <ref>Stokes, Martin. "Sounds of Anatolia" in the ''Rough Guide to World Music, Volume 1'', pp 396-410</ref>.

[[Greeks]] from [[Thrace]] and [[Cyprus]] that have adopted çiftetelli music sometimes use it synonymously to mean [[belly_dancing|oriental dance]], which indicates a misunderstanding of its roots. Çiftetelli is a folk dance, differing from a solo performance dance of a hired entertainer.

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=== Folk instruments ===

Folk instruments range from string groups as [[baglama|bağlama]], bow instruments such as the [[kemenche]] fiddle (a type of stave fiddle), and percussion and wind, including the [[zurna]], [[ney]] and [[davul]]. Regional variations place importance on different instruments, e.g. the [[darbuka]] in [[Thrace|Rumeli]] and the [[kemenche]] (a type of stave fiddle) around the [[Black Sea]] region.

[[Image:Turkish_baglama.jpg|thumb|right|Turkish baglama]]

The folklore of Turkey is extremely diverse. Nevertheless, Turkish folk music is dominantly marked by a single musical instrument called [[saz]] or [[ba&#287;lama]], a type of long-necked [[lute]]. Traditionally, saz is played solely by traveling musicians known as ''ozan'' or religious [[Alevi]] troubadours called ''a&#351;&#305;k'' <ref>[http://www.alevism.net/music.html Alevism.net]</ref>.

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The region of [[Rumelia|Rumeli]] or ''Roumelia'' is used to indicate the part of Turkey which is in Europe, namely provinces of [[Edirne]], [[Kirklareli]], [[Tekirdag|Tekirdağ]] and the western part of Istanbul Province. Folk songs from this region share similarities with Greek folk music, especially from the ethnic minorities and natives of [[Thrace]]. [[Northern_Cyprus|Cypriot]] folk music also shares folk tunes with this region, e.g. the Çiftetelli dance. These type of folk songs also share close similarities with Ottoman court music <ref>[http://www.lesartsturcs.com/music/classical_center.html Istanbul Folk Songs]</ref>, strengthening the suggestion by some that the distinction between court and folk music wasn't always so clear <ref>[http://www.turkmusikisi.com/osmanli_musikisi/the_ottoman_music.htm The Ottoman Music, by Cinuçen Tanrıkorur] <small>Tanrıkorur makes the argument that argues that differences between the traditionl music genres stemmed from the cultural clash between the East and the West since the Tanzîmat Era (1839-1908).</ref>. However, it could arguably be that folk songs from Istanbul were closely influenced by its locality, which would include Ottoman rakkas and court music.

The Turkish islands in the [[Aegean_islands|Aegean]] and cities like [[Izmir]] share similar motifs, such as the [[Zeibekiko|Zeybek]] dance.

{{listen|filename=Istanbul_ciftetelli_folk_music.ogg|title="Çiftetelli"|description=An example of Istanbul folk music}}

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Southeastern regions carry influences from [[Kurdish music]], [[Zaza|Zaza motifs]] and [[Armenian music]]. These usually include epic laments.

== Turkish Soundtrack Music==

http://eski.ucansupurge.org/newhtml/festival/2004/belkisozener/belkisozener1.php

===Performers===

*[[Belkis Ozener]]

*[[Sevim Sengul]]

== Popular music ==

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The biggest Turkish pop star of the [[20th century]] is probably [[Sezen Aksu]]. Her popularity is credited with allowing Turkish pop to have gained ground from its humble beginnings in the early 50s and 60s to the popular genre it is today, by composing a unique Turkish pop sound. She was also one of the greatest advocates for Turkey to enter the [[Eurovision Song Contest]]. It was possibly apt that her protegé [[Sertab Erener]] won the contest in 2003.

The biggest male pop stars in Turkey are arguably [[Tarkan]] and [[Mustafa Sandal]]. Tarkan achieved chart success not only in [[Europe]] but also in [[Latin America]] with his single "[[Şımarık]]", also composed by [[Sezen Aksu]], which has been covered by numerous artists <ref><small>Such as [[Holly Valance]] with the "[[Kiss Kiss (song)|Kiss Kiss]] song.</ref>. Moreover, Mustafa Sandal has topped the charts in some important european countries, so that he has been awarded a [[Gold Record]] for the high sales of his single "Isyankar".

=== Turkish hip hop ===

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=== Underground and Clubs ===

Turkey and especially Istanbul has a thriving underground club scene that isincludes clubs merging the past with the present, utilising traditional motifs with new age sounds and electronic music. [[Mercan Dede]] is one of Turkey's most successful [[Dj]]'s, mixing trance with historical and mystic [[Sufi]] songs, while group [[Baba_Zula|Baba Zula]] are known for its unique sound created by the amalgamation of natural field recordings coupled with traditional and modern acoustic and electronic instruments.

== Music industry ==

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*{{cite web|url=http://www.turkishculture.org/music/folk.html|title=Folk Music: Story of a Nation|work=Turkishculture.org|accessdate=Nov 10|accessyear=2003}}

*{{cite web|url=http://www.alevism.net/music.html|title=Alevi Folk Songs|work=Alevism.net|accessdate=Apr 18|accessyear=2000}}

*{{cite web|url=http://www.discoverturkey.com/english/kultursanat/ozan.html|title=Minstrel Literature|work=Turkish Ministry of Culture|accessdate=Mar 28|accessyear=2005}}

== Notes ==

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*[http://turkishmusic.1.forumer.com Turkish Music Forum]

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