Ottoman Classical Music: History and Transformations with Mehmet Uğur Ekinci

74.      Music of the Ottoman Court

While the Ottoman Empire was undoubtedly home to rich and diverse musical traditions, the subject of Ottoman music has often evaded historical analysis due to the scant nature of pre-nineteenth century sources on the subject. In this podcast, Mehmet Uğur Ekinci provides a general outline of the history of music during the Ottoman period along with its various waves of transformation and discusses his upcoming publication of Kevserî Mecmûası, an eighteenth century musical treatise that provides a rare glimpse of notation in Ottoman music before the nineteenth century. We also provide a number of recordings of Ottoman music composed during different periods.


MP3 File

Mehmet Uğur Ekinci is a PhD student at SOAS in London and a professional kanun player (see academia.edu)

Chris Gratien is a PhD candidate studying the history of the modern Middle East at Georgetown University (see academia.edu)

For pictures of Ottoman musicians and instruments check out our album on Flickr:

Citation: "Ottoman Classical Music: History and Transformations," Mehmet Uğur Ekinci and Chris Gratien, Ottoman History Podcast, No. 74 (October 13, 2012) http://www.ottomanhistorypodcast.com/2012/10/ottomanempiremusichistory.html.

Podcast Track List:

Hicaz Mandra                           Composer: Unknown
Artists: Mehmet Uğur Ekinci (kanun), Khyam Allami (ud), Jacob Olley (ney), Vasilis Sarikis (percussion)
Live performance, London, 2010.

Rast Peşrev                                Composer: Unknown
Artist: Bezmara Ensemble           Album: Splendors of Topkapı

Hicaz Şarkı (Divan, Kalender)    Composer: Sultan Mahmud II
Artist: Golden Horn Ensemble    Album: Sultan Bestekarlar

Rast Şarkı                                   Composer: İsmail Dede Efendi
Artist: Concerto Köln & Sarband Ensemble   Album: The Waltz: Ecstasy and Mysticism

Mahmudiye Marşı                      Composer: Giuseppe Donizetti
Artist: Aydın Karlıbel                 Album: Piyano İçin Bir Türk Tarihi Albümü

Bayati Peşrev                            Composer: Prince Seyfeddin Osmanoğlu
Artist: Mehmet Uğur Ekinci    
Live performance, Columbus, OH, 2007.

Musical ensemble at the court of Süleyman the
magnificient from Süleymannâme
http://tinyurl.com/d4nkf55

Select Bibliography

Behar, Cem. Aşk Olmayınca Meşk Olmaz. İstanbul, 2003.

Ekinci, Mehmet Uğur. “The Kevserî Mecmûası Unveiled: Exploring an Eighteenth-Century Collection of Ottoman Music.” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society (Third Series) 22: 2 (2012): 199-225.

Ezgi, Subhi. Nazari, Ameli Türk Musikisi, 5 vols. İstanbul, 1933-1953.

Feldman, Walter. Music of the Ottoman Court. Berlin, 1996.

Reinhard, Kurt and Ursula Reinhard. Musik der Türkei, 2 vols. Wilhelmshaven, Locarno, Amsterdam, 1984.

Signell, Karl. Makam: Modal Practice in Turkish Art Music. Seattle, 1977.