European-centered interaction mechanisms in Turkish makam music vocal performances: 20th century example

Abstract

The establishment of the Republic of Turkey is an important stage in approaching maqam music traditions from different frameworks of thought and in introducing new regulations with aesthetic determination. The advantages provided by the Republic and the innovation movements that took place thanks to the reforms that centered on European civilizations in terms of ideas, created new formal lines in the theoretical and practical/performative fields of Turkish music, which differ from traditional understandings in some places. It can be said that some practices, which create a different perspective from the previous century, especially in the vocal performance of classical Turkish music, create remarkable perspectives on the way to the principle/ideal of presenting a traditional music in a more European attitude, without interfering as much as possible with its essence. Wide-ranging arrangements ranging from music theory to education and training, from voice usage techniques to diction, from styles and attitudes to solo and choir performance, have been put into practice by radio, conservatories and classical choirs, and have been supported by both institutional and some personal initiatives, helping to establish new aesthetic understandings that affect the course of performance. has prepared the ground. Re-reading this historical course from an aesthetic perspective, specifically in Turkish vocal music, provides extremely rich materials on the axis of musicology as the main subject of investigation and research aim of this study. In this regard, the article has been discussed on the axis of qualitative research method and scanning model due to the general scope and unique nature of the subject; The main focus of the study is to scan first-hand written documents and thus investigate the subject in detail, in a holistic perspective and from a comparative perspective. The idea of concretizing, supporting, comparing and verifying the frameworks of ideas created from basic written sources with sensory materials has been taken into consideration throughout the article. Based on this, it is thought that Westernization movements, which are the main intellectual basis of the "evolution" of vocal music on the axis of classical music in its performance dimension, will bring a different perspective to the performance dimension, which is an incomplete research branch of the history of Turkish music.