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By AARON HOWARD
Thu, Dec 29, 2011
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Many people know that Istanbul was the capital of the Ottoman Empire for five centuries. But, most forget the city also was capital of the Roman (Byzantine) Empire before that for 10 centuries. Thus, if one wanted to explore Istanbul’s many-layered communal history through music, you’d have to start with Greek Orthodox Church and Byzantine secular music. Then, one might visit Crusader songs.
After that, comes the Ottoman period, with classical court music, Sufi ceremonial music, folk songs of the Sephardic Jewish, Greek, Armenian and Turkish communities. We’d end up in the 20th century, with urban Turkish popular music.
Such a musical journey actually exists. It’s on an American double CD, “A Story of the City: Constantinople, Istanbul.” The 40 musical pieces on the CD are performed by seven different musical ensembles, all of who function as part of Dunya.
Dunya is a Boston-based musicians’ collective. Its goal is to present a contemporary view of a wide range of Turkish traditions, alone and in interaction with other world traditions, through performance, publication and other educational activities. Consisting of a core ensemble and as many as 35 musicians in different groups, Dunya is heading into its 10th year. At the heart of Dunya is the collective’s president, Mehmet Ali Sanlikol.
The earliest stratum of Istanbul’s music that has come down to us is the Byzantine sacred music of Constantinople, said Sanlikol. People in those days cared differently for sacred music than they did for secular music, he said. So, it’s no surprise the Byzantine legacy is better preserved.
“The first musical notations were chant notations,” Sanlikol said. “And, it was a universal aesthetic in those days to preserve sacred music. However, the Byzantine tradition does not tell us, note for note, how it was sung back then. Staff notation has changed. It has gone through stages of evolution. It was only at the beginning of the 19th century that an advanced version of notation came forward. Until then, pieces were preserved as small formulaic notations meant for experts. Of course, the oral tradition has been an important factor in the Middle East. Between the oral tradition and some of these notations, we can say: here is something that has come to us from that early time.”
A large number of non-Muslims came to live in Constantinople, after it became the capital of the Ottoman Empire. In contrast to being banished and burned in the Christian West, Jews in Constantinople (and in most of the empire) lived in peace. The Ottoman Empire pursued a policy of accommodation (istimalet). The Ottomans accepted diversity. And, when it came to urban folk music, that diversity was reflected musically. Each minority community had its own language, instrumentation and repertoire.
“That’s absolutely true,” concurred Sanlikol, “although in the repertoire, there was a huge amount of overlap. For example, you find one song in Ladino and the same song in Greek and Turkish. Those songs are Istanbul songs. The minority communities lived in their own neighborhoods. But, they spoke to each other. When I ask my friends, they tell of their grandfathers who barely could converse in Turkish. They knew some Turkish, but the system of the Ottoman Empire let them speak their own language and conduct business in their own language, unless it involved trade – then speaking Turkish became necessary.”
When it came to Turkish classical music – that is, the Ottoman court tradition – minority communities played a major role. For example, on the CD, Sanlikol cites the Jewish music teacher Tanburi Isak. He was the tanbur teacher of Sultan Selim III, one of the most groundbreaking composers of Ottoman music.
“To this day, the compositions of Isak are classics of Ottoman music. He composed in the Turkish language.
“Ottoman Jewish music would include two categories. The first category is secular folk music, which would have been in Ladino with Greek and Turkish and Hebrew mixed in. It contains all kinds of urban folk traditions. On the CD, our version of ‘La rosa enfloresse’ is based on the first recording of Haim Effendi, performed in an Istanbul folk tradition.
“The second category of Ottoman Jewish music is maftirim. This is sacred music that was performed in the synagogue on Shabbat morning. Maftirim became a distinguished style in the 17th century. At first, composers would take Turkish classical and folk songs, mostly secular music, and adapt them to the lyrics of devotional poetry (piyutim). Remember: there were no instruments in the synagogue.
“About a century later, you see a shift. Ottoman Jews begin interacting with upper-class Sufi musicians and the Mevlevi, the so-called whirling dervishes. This was a period when the Mevlevi started contributing to the development of Ottoman classical music more than any other Sufi order. They placed great emphasis on music, especially the ney (ancient flute). The Ottoman Jewish musicians started hanging out with these guys (the Mevlevi). The result was Mevlevi ritual music started making its way into the synagogue. Nowhere else was there a musical interaction between Jews and Muslims that was as intense. We know of many stories of how dervishes went to the synagogue to hear the music there – and vice versa.”
Sanlikol has lived in Boston the last 18 years. He came to the U.S. when he was 18 and received all of his higher education here.
“I’ve never lost my connection to Turkey,” he added, “and, it’s been growing, because Boston allows that. The CD was a result of coming up with diverse programming for our organization, Dunya. It’s a family and the family includes Byzantine cantors, Syriac chanters, Jews, Armenians, Americans and European early-music experts. We look at Istanbul/Constantinople differently than other people. It has such a story to tell.”
To find out about Dunya and “A Story of the City,” visit dunyainc.org
