Research Article

The Pythagorean Shift In The Ottoman Musical Writings

Volume: 4 Number: 4 December 31, 2019
EN TR

The Pythagorean Shift In The Ottoman Musical Writings

Abstract

It has been discussed throughout history whether we can examine and explain music autonomously or heteronomously. A current example of this is the debate that took place in recent years in Istanbul around the usage of maqam Nihavend in call to prayers (ezan). Some of the musicians and reciters (müezzin) objected to this usage of Nihavend on the grounds of its supposed secularity rather than examining its autonomous qualities. This article aims to discuss the autonomous-heteronomous approaches in Ottoman music through thirteen different musical writings, from Yusuf Kırşehri’s Risale-i Musiki (1411) to Haşim Bey’s Mecmua (1853). Early Ottomans and the Muslim philosophers before them, were greatly aware of the Pythagorean doctrines such as ethos and the Harmony of the Spheres, in which the music is studied heteronomously. However, an opposite line to Pythagoreanism, Aristoxenianism had also immense influence on the musical writings of Muslim philosophers and the early Ottomans. With the rise of Turkish musical writings in the 15th century, there was a shift from the autonomous approach of Aristoxenianism. The argument of this article is that this shift allowed the Pythagoreanism to dominate the musical thought in the following centuries and even today. This was not a success of the heteronomous approach of Pythagoreanism but the result of the loss of connection with the Aristoxenian tradition.

Keywords

References

  1. Abdülbaki Dede, Nâsır. Tedkik-ü Tahkik. trans. Yalçın Tura. İstanbul: Pan Yayıncılık, 2006.
  2. Akdoğan, Bayram. Fethullah Şirvani ve “Mecelletün Fi’l-Musika” Adlı Eserinin XV. Yüzyıl Türk Musikisi Nazariyatındaki Yeri. Ankara: Ankara Üniversitesi, Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü, Doctoral Thesis, 1996.
  3. Arısoy, Mithat. Seydi’nin El-Matla Adlı Eseri Üzerine Bir Çalışma. İstanbul: Marmara Üniversitesi, Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü, Master’s Thesis, 1988.
  4. Aristotle. Metaphysics. trans. Hugh Lawson-Tancred. London: Penguin Books, 1998.
  5. Arslan, Fazlı. İslam Medeniyetinde Musiki. İstanbul: Beyan Yayınları, 2015.
  6. Arslan, Fazlı. Safiyüddin-i Urmevi ve Şerefiyye Risalesi. İstanbul: Atatürk Kültür Merkezi Başkanlığı, 2017.
  7. Bardakçı, Murat. Fener Beyleri’ne Türk Şarkıları. İstanbul: Pan Yayıncılık, 1993.
  8. Barker, Andrew. Greek Musical Writings: Volume 2, Harmonic and Acoustic Theory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004.

Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

-

Journal Section

Research Article

Publication Date

December 31, 2019

Submission Date

November 14, 2019

Acceptance Date

December 25, 2019

Published in Issue

Year 2019 Volume: 4 Number: 4

APA
Koytak, H. T. (2019). The Pythagorean Shift In The Ottoman Musical Writings. Turkish Academic Research Review, 4(4), 571-596. https://doi.org/10.30622/tarr.646983
AMA
1.Koytak HT. The Pythagorean Shift In The Ottoman Musical Writings. tarr. 2019;4(4):571-596. doi:10.30622/tarr.646983
Chicago
Koytak, Hakkı Talha. 2019. “The Pythagorean Shift In The Ottoman Musical Writings”. Turkish Academic Research Review 4 (4): 571-96. https://doi.org/10.30622/tarr.646983.
EndNote
Koytak HT (December 1, 2019) The Pythagorean Shift In The Ottoman Musical Writings. Turkish Academic Research Review 4 4 571–596.
IEEE
[1]H. T. Koytak, “The Pythagorean Shift In The Ottoman Musical Writings”, tarr, vol. 4, no. 4, pp. 571–596, Dec. 2019, doi: 10.30622/tarr.646983.
ISNAD
Koytak, Hakkı Talha. “The Pythagorean Shift In The Ottoman Musical Writings”. Turkish Academic Research Review 4/4 (December 1, 2019): 571-596. https://doi.org/10.30622/tarr.646983.
JAMA
1.Koytak HT. The Pythagorean Shift In The Ottoman Musical Writings. tarr. 2019;4:571–596.
MLA
Koytak, Hakkı Talha. “The Pythagorean Shift In The Ottoman Musical Writings”. Turkish Academic Research Review, vol. 4, no. 4, Dec. 2019, pp. 571-96, doi:10.30622/tarr.646983.
Vancouver
1.Hakkı Talha Koytak. The Pythagorean Shift In The Ottoman Musical Writings. tarr. 2019 Dec. 1;4(4):571-96. doi:10.30622/tarr.646983