Ottoman influences on European music, part 2

A. Yunus Gencer

Introduction

This is a continuation of the essay entitled Ottoman influences on Euro- pean music in CMR 10, which briefly examines the history and charac- teristics of Turkish music and focuses on the influence of the Ottomans on European music to the mid-18th century. This second part covers the period from the mid-18th to the early 20th century. During this time, there was a crescendo, followed by a decrescendo, in the frequency and inten- sity of Ottoman-related concepts being utilised by European composers, with a climax occurring in the works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756- 91). After Mozart’s death, as Europeans came into contact with various other ‘exotic’ cultures, and as Ottoman power declined further in the 19th century, Ottomania slowly but steadily died away. As it was dying, a reverse influence began, this time Europe being the influencer, and the ‘eternal state’ being the influenced. The reigns of reforming sultans such as Mahmud II (r. 1808-39) and Abdülaziz (r. 1861-76) saw increas- ing interest in European culture and music, as well as the reforming of the military bands (Janissary mehteran), which were the main element that had influenced European composers in the first place. Following the collapse of the empire, the succeeding Turkish Republic made consider- able efforts to Westernise the music scene in the country. It not only founded new conservatoires and orchestras solely devoted to teaching and playing European classical music, but went so far as to forbid Turk- ish classical and folk music education in its music institutions from 1926 to 1976.

Alla turca in the classical period

The creative application of Ottoman themes in French baroque music1 was followed in Vienna by a well-known composer of the early classical period, Christoph Willibald Gluck (1714-87). He employed

1 In the works of J.B. Lully and J.P. Rameau. A. Yunus Gencer 57

Ottoman-influenced material in his La rencontre imprévue (‘The unex- pected encounter’), composed in 1763,2 which may have been one of the most Turkish-sounding operas until Turks themselves started compos- ing operas. First, in this work all the main characters have Middle East- ern names, such as Ali, Balkis, Amine and Osmin: the character Osmin is the servant of the protagonist Ali, who is trying to save his beloved Rezia from the sultan’s harem. Ali and Rezia plan to escape from the harem disguised as pilgrims to Mecca, which hints at the original title of the libretto of the opera.3 Second, there is extensive use of piccolos, triangles and other percussion instruments, and of ‘left… left… left, right, left’ rhythms. Third, Gluck ventures into the world of scale manipulation as he aims to create a Turkish sound, which is truly extraordinary for his time. For example, in the melodic line in the aria Castagno, cast- agna – je vous demande pardon, he uses many G-sharps descending from B-flats, and C-sharps descending from E-flats, forming melodic lines with a diminished 3rd interval, which is the defining characteristic of some of the most used makams in Turkish music, including one of the daily calls to prayer. The raised 4th interval occurs in two pentachords that are used to make up makams; both nikriz and pencgah makams constitute a raised 4th interval, while the first also has a flat 3rd. It is possible to lay hicaz tet- rachord over the nikriz pentachord to come up with a scale very similar to what Gluck was using. So could it be possible that he heard this scale in a diplomatic ceremony, or in some way obtained solid information about the characteristics of Turkish music? Furthermore, the orchestra plays completely in unison at the beginning of the aria, mimicking the monophonic (or heterophonic) texture of Turkish music. It is fascinating to see how dedicated Gluck is in creating a Middle Eastern flavour. Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) also composed music for the same sub- ject as Gluck’s opera, using the Italian version and naming it L’incontro improvviso (1775).4 Haydn was one of the first composers to notate the percussion parts properly in the score. Like Gluck, Antonio Salieri (1750-1825) played with pitch alteration in his overture to Axur, re d’Ormus,5 composed and premiered in 1787. He raises the G to G-sharp in a D major setting, thus using a raised 4th degree. This, according to American musicologist Thomas Bauman, is

2 Its libretto was written by the French librettist Louis Hurtaut Dancourt. 3 Alain-René Lesage’s 1726 comédie en vaudevilles with the title Les pèlerins de la Mecque (‘The pilgrims to Mecca’) was adapted into an opera libretto by Dancourt. 4 It was translated to Italian by the Austrian librettist Karl Frieberth. 5 Axur is a reworked Italian version of Tarare, which is in French.