The Musical Performance Presented for Sultan Abdülaziz at the Crystal Palace - As an Example Using Music as a Diplomatic Tool

Year 2018, Volume: 2 Issue: 1, 32 - 48, 30.06.2018

Hikmet Toker , Halil İbrahim Erbay

https://doi.org/10.33906/musicologist.439311

Abstract

There are many examples in music history of
using music as a political and diplomatic tool. 
Governments and monarchs used music for getting positive diplomatic
results and similar purposes. This article first aims to give an elaborative
account of one such case. The case is a musical event organized in Crystal
Palace for the imperial guest, Sultan Abdülaziz. The article also gives details
about Sultan Abdülaziz, his musical vision, and his travel around Europe, as
well as the Crystal Palace as the venue of the event.

Several aspects of the event – historical,
musical, and political, will be taken into consideration. The conclusion, while
analyzing the findings, provides a comparative examination of similar examples
about using music as political and diplomatic apparatus in both countries along
their own history.

Keywords

Ottoman Music, Music and Diplomacy, Music and Politics, Crystal Palace, British Music History

References

• Aksüt, Ali Kemali. (1944). Sultan Abdülaziz’in Mısır ve Avrupa Seyahati [Sultan Abdülaziz’s Journey to Egypt and Europe], İstanbul: Ahmet Saidoğlu Publications.
• Aracı, Emre. (1998). Londra Crystal Palace’ta Abdülaziz Şerefine Verilen Konser [The Concert Performed in the Crystal Palace in the Honour of Abdülaziz]. Toplumsal Tarih. Vol: 29-33.
• Aracı, Emre. (1998). “Luigi Arditi ve Türk Kasidesi’nin Çözülen Esrarı” [Luigi Arditi and the Solved Mystery of the Turkish Kaside]. Toplumsal Tarih. 10(57): 23-27.
• Aracı, Emre. (2007). Ahmet Adnan Saygun Doğu-Batı Arasında Müzik Köprüsü [Ahmet Adnan Saygun: A Musical Bridge Between East and West]. İstanbul: Yapı Kredi Yayınları.
• Burton, Nigel, and Keith Horner Horner. (2001). “Luigi Arditi”. Vol. 1, in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed. Stanley Sadie: 866-867. London.
• Butler, Katherine. (2015). Music in Elizabeth Court Politics. London: The Boydell Press.
• Dallam, Thomas, and John Covel. (1892). Early Voyages and Travels in the Levant. Ed. J. Theodore Bent, F.S.A and F.R.G.S. London: Hakluyt Society.
• Küçük, Cevdet. (1998). Abdülaziz (Sultan) [Sultan Abdülaziz]. Türk Diyanet Vakfı İslam Ansiklopedisi. 1: 472. İstanbul: Türk Diyanet Vakfı Publications.
• Mahiet, Damien. (2011). “The Concert of Nations: Music, Political Thought and Diplomacy in Europe, 1600s-1800s”. PhD Dissertation, Cornell University, City: Country.
• Musgrave, Michael. (1995). The Musical Life of the Crystal Palace. London: Cambridge University Press.
• Örenç, İlknur Yıldız. (1998). “Hariciye Teşrifatçılığı Defteri (1846-1880)” [Register of Foreign Office Protocols (1846-1880)]. Master Thesis, Marmara University, Istanbul: Turkey
• Toker, Hikmet. (2016). Elhan-ı Aziz [Melodies of [Sultan] Aziz]. İstanbul: Milli Saraylar Daire Başkanlığı.
• Pall Mall Gazette. (1867, July 17). “Sultan and his Music”, p.4.
• The Bath Chronicle. (1867, July 11). “Foreign Intelligence (Turkey)”, p.6.
• The Era. (1867, July 21). “Visit of the Sultan to the Crystal Palace”, p.10.
• London Evening Standard. (1867, July 17). “The Sultan”, p.3.