Turkish music has passed through many stages along its journey from the depths of history to the present day. Of these stages, the one about which we have the most information is period of the Ottoman Empire. Within this Empire, a musical culture developed among the urban ruling class, who lived separately from the common people, in the environment of the palace, in mansions and yalis (luxurious waterside mansions on the shores of the Bosphorus). This musical culture was a high tradition, nourished by divan literature. The mystical orders of Islam that existed within Ottoman culture also contributed to the development of this music. Within such an elite atmosphere, this urban upper-class music developed and from the 16th century on produced musical masterpieces, becoming one of the greatest musical cultures of its period. Founding a close relationship with the Arabic and Iranian music that existed close by and within the same cultural realm; and especially the musical techniques practiced in the Byzantine churches of Istanbul, this music continued its development, taking the surrounding cultures increasingly under its influence.
Though this music is known today as “Turkish Classical Music” or “Turkish Art Music,” the adjective “Turkish” began to be used upon the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the founding of the modern nation state of Turkey. Up until that time, Greek, Armenian and Jewish musicians who were also part of the Ottoman system of “millets” (ethnic/religious classifications) contributed to this music as well. Consequently, though the overriding influence on this music was Turkish, no need was felt to call it “Turkish music.” In addition, the practice that emerged within the western enlightenment of classifying music into strict genres was unknown. The terms “classical” or “art” that have been applied to this music are purely the reflection of a westernized approach to Turkish music. Despite this, the general public now uses the terms “Turkish Art Music” or “Turkish Classical Music” for traditional composed music, or systematized music of the urban elite with no sense of irony.
This musical heritage is built on a theoretical foundation extending back at least a thousand years, and has undergone much evolution on the way to its present form. As a result of its being considered a musical genre detached from the masses, it was disparaged by intellectual circles during the last century; however it has again become the subject of much attention.
MAKAM
Turkish art music can be considered within the makam music that is common from Central Asia to the entire Mediterranean basin. Turkish music is a monophonic musical tradition founded on the principle of makam. Makam is the most important concept in Ottoman-Turkish music as in all modal musical traditions; in other words, the usul, rhythm is of secondary importance since a melody can fulfil the requirements of a makam without being subject to restrictions of rhythm. As a matter of fact, musical forms or performance with no fixed rhythm constitute a significant aspect Turkish music.
Makam is a concept that cannot be defined in a simple, straightforward way. It is a complex phenomenon, especially in Turkish music. Such complexity results from the variety and instability of the elements that shape its very structure. To be able to understand in a most satisfactory way what kind of formation makam is, one should first make a distinction between the theoretical definition of a given makam and its true identity arising in practice. There may be several differences between makams as defined in theory books and their practised version(s). Although it is a fact that every theoretical definition introduces a generalization, hence imposes a certain limitation, some of those differences may be a sign of subtle points of performance which the theory has not included and conceptualised yet. Theoretical knowledge is only a preliminary framework that introduces a general notion on makams, which is a significant starting point. However, music based on the concept of makam is primarily a genre that exists through composing and performing.
In theoretical terms, makam is defined first by its scale, that is, the tones or notes which lend themselves to the makam in question. Yet the practice often goes beyond the scope of the very scale shaped by its given tones. The upper and lower extensions of a makam may be regarded as tones belonging to the same scale. Although in general it may said that a makam uses the same tones both in the upper and lower extensions, it is possible that it may use extensions more than one, meaning that the extensions are not always symmetrical, in other words, the tones employed in the first octave do not always coincide. This kind of alteration, which should be regarded as a characteristic aspect of makam music, attests to the fact that scale as a principle determinant of makam in this particular case is given up. Over four hundred makams exist in Turkish music; however the vast majority of these are no longer in use today.
