ISTANBUL TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES CULTURAL MEMORY, IDENTITY AND MUSIC: ARMENIANS OF TURKEY Ph.D. THESIS Burcu YILDIZ Department of Music Music Programme Anabilim Dalı : Herhangi Mühendislik, Bilim Programı : Herhangi Program JUNE 2012 ISTANBUL TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES CULTURAL MEMORY, IDENTITY AND MUSIC: ARMENIANS OF TURKEY Ph.D. THESIS Burcu YILDIZ (409062007) Department of Music Music Programme Thesis Advisor: Prof. Ş. Şehvar BEŞİROĞLU CoAnabilim-Advisor: Dalı Doç. : Dr.Herhangi Robert Mühendislik,REIGLE Bilim Programı : Herhangi Program JUNE 2012 İSTANBUL TEKN İ K ÜNİVERSİTESİ SOSYAL BİLİMLER ENSTİTÜSÜ KÜLTÜREL BELLEK, KİMLİK VE MÜZİK: TÜRKİYE ERMENİLERİ DOKTORA TEZİ Burcu YILDIZ (409062007) Müzik Anabilim Dalı Müzik Programı Tez Danışmanı: Prof. Ş. Şehvar BEŞİROĞLU EşAnabilim Danışman: Dalı Doç. : Dr.Herhangi Robert Mühendislik, REIGLE Bilim Programı : Herhangi Program HAZİRAN 2012 Burcu YILDIZ a Ph.D. student of ITU Graduate School of Arts and Social Sciences student ID 409062007, successfully defended the dissertation entitled “CULTURAL MEMORY, IDENTITY AND MUSIC: ARMENIANS OF TURKEY”, which she prepared after fulfilling the requirements specified in the associated legislations, before the jury whose signatures are below. Thesis Advisor : Prof. Ş. Şehvar BEŞİROĞLU .............................. İstanbul Technical University Co-Advisor : Doç.Dr. Robert REIGLE .............................. İstanbul Technical University Jury Members : Prof. Songül KARAHASANOĞLU ............................. İstanbul Technical University Prof. Dr. Arzu ÖZTÜRKMEN .............................. Boğaziçi University Prof. Dr. Martin STOKES .............................. St. John’s College, Oxford Prof. Dr. Ayhan EROL .............................. Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi Doç. Dr. Belma KURTİŞOĞLU .............................. İstanbul Technical University Date of Submission : 9 May 2012 Date of Defense : 5 June 2012 v vi To my family, vii viii FOREWORD This research started a long time ago and I benefited tremendously from the generosity and assistence of many people. It is really hard to express all the personal debts accumulated throughout the years in a page. I would first like to express sincere appreciation to my thesis committee for their ongoing patience, support and commitment to my project: Ş. Şehvar Beşiroğlu, Robert Reigle, Arzu Öztürkmen, Songül Karahasanoğlu, Martin Stokes, Belma Kurtişoğlu and Ayhan Erol. I thank my friends for their accompaniment in my journey to Armenian music: Saro Usta, Ari Hergel, Melissa Bilal, Sevan Garabetoğlu, Tamar Nalcı, Onur Günay, Esra Berkman and Tolgahan Çoğulu. My deepest thanks to Pakrat Estukyan and Aram Kerovpyan, for sharing their vast knowledge and advice in my research process. I have also been fortunate enough to receive plenteous support and advice of all the members of Sayat Nova Choir. It was a great privilage to sing with them. The names you see in the appendix A are the voices that carry this work. Specifically, however; I would like to thank Onnik Dinkjian, Arto Tunçboyacıyan, Hasmik Harutunian, Hayko Garabetoğlu, Sarkis Erkol, and to all my interviewees for opening their lives and hearts. I am deeply grateful to Ara Dinkjian for his generosity in openning his heart and treasured personal archive to me. Additionally, I would like to express my gratitute to the Institutions that generously supported my research, including Istanbul Technical University, Folklore Club of Boğaziçi University, Boğaziçi Performing Arts Ensemble, Aras Publishing, Agos Newspaper, Anadolu Kültür and Kalan Music. Also thanks to Seda Grigoryan, Mariah Barrett, Deniz Demirtaş, Brenna MacCrimmon, and Çiğdem Özdemir for their contribution in the editing process of this dissertation. Finally, I would like to thank my parents and my brother for their unwavering support. Words cannot express my gratitude to my husband... To those who inspired me to do this work, to those who helped me conduct it, I am deeply indepted. June 2012 Burcu YILDIZ ix x TABLE OF CONTENTS Page FOREWORD ............................................................................................................İX TABLE OF CONTENTS .........................................................................................Xİ ABBREVIATIONS................................................................................................ Xİİİ LIST OF TABLES...................................................................................................XV LIST OF FIGURES.............................................................................................. XVİİ SUMMARY .............................................................................................................XİX ÖZET .......................................................................................................................XXİ 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................... 25 1.1 A Personal Journey to ‘Armenian Music’ ....................................................... 25 1.2 Initial Reactions to The Research Topic.......................................................... 37 1.3 Main Questions and The Chapters................................................................... 44 1.4 Research Methods and The Process................................................................. 51 2. CREATING THE NATION: ARMENIAN MUSIC IN THE LEGACY OF KOMITAS VARDAPET......................................................................................... 63 2.1 An Overview of Armenian Music Historiography .......................................... 63 2.1.1 5th - 7th centuries........................................................................................ 66 2.1.2 10th - 15th centuries.................................................................................... 69 2.1.3 19th - 20th centuries.................................................................................... 70 2.1.3.1 Notation ............................................................................................. 71 2.1.3.2 Invention of ‘national’ folk song: Canonizing the repertoire through folk songs collections..................................................................................... 72 2.1.3.3 Westernization: Emergence of polyphony and the choral tradition .. 74 2.2 Komitas as The Icon of Armenian National Music ......................................... 77 2.3 The Legacy of Komitas Vardapet.................................................................... 80 2.4 The Spirit of National Folk Song..................................................................... 88 2.5 Armenians Have A ‘Unique’ Music ................................................................ 93 2.5.1 Armenian way of harmony ..................................................................... 102 2.5.2 National intonation in Armenian folk singing ........................................ 109 2.5.3 Melodic structure .................................................................................... 110 2.5.4 The regional dialects, nature and peasant’s folk life .............................. 112 3. CULTURAL RECOVERY WITHIN A ‘MUSICKING’ SOCIETY............ 115 3.1 The Period of “Collective Amnesia” and Its Reflections on Music .............. 115 3.1.1 Millet system and national identification process in the Ottoman Empire ......................................................................................................................... 115 3.1.2 Foundation of Turkish nationalism and creating homogeneity by demographic engineering................................................................................. 119 3.1.3 An overview of music politics in the process of founding Turkish nationalism....................................................................................................... 130 3.1.4 Historical background of the Armenians in Turkey ............................... 136 xi 3.1.5 The period of collective amnesia ............................................................ 142 3.2 Re-inventing Armenian Music and Dance in 1970s: Yerki Bari Khump Tradition............................................................................................................... 148 3.2.1 Cultural exchange with other Armenian communities: The influence of Soviet Armenia ................................................................................................ 148 3.2.1.1 Music in yerk bar performances: ‘Soviet style’ Armenian folk music ...................................................................................................................... 157 3.2.2 Limitations in freedom of expression ..................................................... 162 3.3 Singing as Social Activity: Musicking from Community Gatherings to the Stage..................................................................................................................... 166 3.3.1 Musicking in Sayat Nova Choir.............................................................. 166 3.3.2 Echoes of Anatolian Armenian musics: Knar......................................... 173 3.3.2.1 Bridging between ‘Anatolian-ness’ and ‘Armenian music’: Mihran Toumajan and Hayreni yerk u pan............................................................... 179 3.3.3 Speaking to ‘wider’ society of Turkey through musicking..................... 182 4. RECOVERY OF TRADITIONAL: PERFORMING