From Empire to Republic: Western Art Music, Nationalism, and the Merging Mediation of Saygun’s Op.26 Yunus Emre Oratorio by Ozgecan Karadagli A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Music University of Alberta © Ozgecan Karadagli, 2017 Abstract This dissertation focuses on Western art music during the second half of the 19th century Ottoman Empire and the first half of 20th century in Republic of Turkey in the construction of a national identity, and how it had been used as a part of cultural politics. One of the aims is to contest some misinterpretations on the history and roles of Western art music. Through the Tanzimat (reform) period of the Ottoman Empire, Western art music genres became part of their Westernization policy. However, music was not a part of state ideology. On the other hand, as a big part of culture revolutions, music played an immense role of forging the new national identity of Turkish Republic. This music, under the vision of the founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, was formed through the synthesis of newly constructed Turkish folk music and Western art music techniques. Ahmet Adnan Saygun, as one the first generation of composers of the new state, dedicated himself to creating the new nationalist music of Turkey. This dissertation also argues that Saygun brought together Turkish folk music, Turkish art music and Western art music to compose nationalist music. In doing so, Saygun mediated the aesthetic and cultural traditions of the past and the present as well as broke the artificial art and folk music binary. Lastly this dissertation offers an analysis of the first section of Op.26 Yunus Emre Oratorio, one of Saygun’s most well-known pieces based on the eponymous Anatolian mystic Yunus Emre, to show that through combining musical materials from different periods of Turkish history Saygun created his musical mediation. ii Canım anneme… iii Acknowledgements I was very fortunate during my long PhD journey that I found ample support and encouragement from my family and the faculty. I would like to thank my parents for their constant love and support. Without their support, wisdom, and encouragement I would not have been able to pursue my dreams. My father would have been proud and pleased had he lived to see this. I am truly thankful to my supervisor committee and the faculty. I wish to thank my supervisor Dr. Michael Frishkopf for his positive attitude and support even during the most impossible situations. I would also like to extend my appreciation to Dr. Christina Gier, whose support was there from day one. I was very fortunate to have Dr. Jacques Despres in my committee, who provided wonderful insight on my analysis. I also want to thank Dr. Julia Byl and to Dr. Sonia Seeman for being part of my committee and their critical suggestions. My gratitude also goes to Dr. Maryam Moshaver and Dr. Federico Spinetti whose assistance helped me in the early years of this project. I am also thankful to Stephen, my husband, who has given me his friendship, encouragement, and love from the moment we met, and my dearest Lara, my daughter, who gives me the reason not to give up. iv Table of Contents Abstract ...................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................................... iv List of Illustrations .................................................................................................................... vii List of Musical Examples .......................................................................................................... viii Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 1 Background ................................................................................................................................ 6 Theories of Nationalism ..........................................................................................................10 Turkish Nationalism ...............................................................................................................14 Turkish History from the Late 19th Century to the Early 20th ...................................................19 Chapter 2: Music in the Ottoman Empire ...................................................................................26 Music of the Ottoman Empire before Western Influence ..........................................................27 Sultan Mahmut II and the Military Band.............................................................................31 Muzıka-i Hümâyûn ..............................................................................................................31 The Tanzimat period -- The First Theatres and Opera Houses of Beyoğlu .................................35 Dolmabahçe Palace Theatre.................................................................................................39 Gedikpaşa Theatre ..............................................................................................................41 Osmanlı Theatre .................................................................................................................42 Freedom and the Constitution .................................................................................................45 Yıldız Palace Theatre ...........................................................................................................46 Dikran Çuhacıyan and the First Turkish Opera ......................................................................48 Birth of Turkish Opera and Operetta ..................................................................................50 The İstibdat period ..............................................................................................................53 Chapter 3: National Culture and National Music ........................................................................57 Folk Idioms as National Music ................................................................................................58 National Music in Turkey 1923-1945 .......................................................................................62 The Turkish Five ....................................................................................................................70 Chapter 4: Saygun: Between Two States .....................................................................................78 Ahmet Adnan Saygun and His External Creative Influences ....................................................78 Özsoy: the First Opera of the Republic .................................................................................80 Saygun-Bartók Collaborations ................................................................................................83 Historical and Linguistic Connections between Hungary and Turkey ...................................84 Bartók’s Research on Turkish Folk Music ...........................................................................87 v The Field Trip ....................................................................................................................92 Bartók’s Findings on Turkish Folk Music ............................................................................94 Bartók’s influence on Saygun..................................................................................................96 After Bartók ........................................................................................................................ 100 Using Folk Sources as Pedagogical Tool ............................................................................. 102 Chapter 5: Mediating the Past: Yunus Emre, His Words, and Message ...................................... 107 Turkish Art Music and Mevlevi Affiliations .......................................................................... 107 Ottoman Era Perceptions of Yunus Emre.............................................................................. 112 Post-Republic Perceptions of Yunus Emre ............................................................................ 114 Literary and Linguistic Background ..................................................................................... 116 Current Interpretations of Yunus Emre ................................................................................ 120 The Nationalist Reading .................................................................................................... 122 Heterodox Reading of Yunus Emre ................................................................................... 124 Humanist Interpretation ................................................................................................... 127 The Functions of Yunus Emre’s Hymns ................................................................................ 128 Symbols and Imagery ........................................................................................................... 133 Form ................................................................................................................................... 135 Recurrent themes of Yunus Emre ......................................................................................... 136 Chapter 6: Op. 26 Yunus Emre Oratorio: