Aida Islam

The Rumelian Repertoire in the Music Culture of the Turkish Community in Macedonia Today

Introduction

This paper is part of a larger study concerning the continuing tradition of Ottoman music in the music culture of the Turkish population in Macedonia.

The music culture of the urban Turkish community is of various genres. This is a result of the intertwining of the traditional and contemporary music trends and tastes, as well as the mixing of cultures in a multinationally structured society. Thus, the music repertoire of the Turkish population integrates songs from the Macedonian music repertoire during all celebrations (weddings and circumcisions). During these occasions it is not uncommon to employ two different orchestras (Turkish and Macedonian), which permits an equal representation of the repertoires of both languages.

Thus, urban Turkish music consist of the following music genres:

1. Artistic (urban) music- Rumelian music
2. Popular music in Turkish
3. Popular Macedonian music
4. Popular international music

Bearing in mind that our interest is to establish a relationship between Ottoman music and today’s Turkish music in this region, this text will only cover the Rumelian repertoire as a product of Ottoman music.

For this purpose we formed a database of preserved Rumelian songs. These songs are an important part of the general contemporary music culture of the Turkish population in Macedonia.

Therefore, the beginning of this paper will focus on the significance of Rumelian music in Turkish music culture. Through the short presentation of the database this paper proceeds in analyzing the music and non-music segments of the songs in the database.

1. Rumelian repertoire

The music in the Rumelian region is marked by specific features which are not identical those of the remaining regions of Turkish culture. In fact, this music genre differs from the Anatolian folk music and is characterized by its relation to Turkish classical music. Many of the most important works in Turkish music originate from these regions. (Öztuna, Y. 1976: 247).

It is commonly assumed that this music was created in the 18-19^th centuries (known as the “late classical period” 1700-1880) when along with the large music forms, other works in the form of lyric songs were written. (www.tuerk-uelkuem.net/tsm.html).

Many of these songs were written by prominent musicians, who remained anonymous. These songs belong to the classical tradition and are considered the lightest of all repertoires in Turkish music in general.

The quantity of this repertoire is difficult to establish. However, bearing in mind the vastness of this region, as well the long Ottoman rule over the Rumelian territories, it is logical to assume that this is a large repertoire. According to some sources it contains several hundred songs, according to other, a thousand.

1.1. Classification by regions

It is extremely difficult to classify the Rumelian songs by regions owing to the fact that this type of repertoire was present not only through the Rumelian region, but also through other parts of the Turkish Empire, such as Anatolia. (Öztuna, Y. 1976:186).Thus, there were instances of conflicting information regarding some of the songs of the database. Such an example is the song “Fincanı taştan oyalar”; according to some sources, it originates from Rumelia (Nuş, A. 1996:118), according to other from Eskishehir (Eskişehir) (www.turkstudent.net), or from the regions Kars, Sivas or Trabson (Trabzon) in Turkey (www.turkuler.com). Another example is the song “Düriyem”. Although it is known as a Rumelian song (Nuş, A. 1996:105), another source claims that it originates from Zonguldak (www.turkuler.com).

According to our analysis of this category, most of the songs are considered Rumelian (49). This category notes the songs for which had different information

regarding their origin. About 12 songs originate from several parts of Thrace (Edirne, Kırklareli, Lüleburgas, Tekirdağ, Evreşe, Kırcalı, etc.). Four songs have been marked as originating from Prizren, whereas the remaining 24 songs originate from different parts of Macedonia (Skopje, Palanka, Bitola, Ohrid, Gostivar, Shtip, Tetovo and Kochani) (see table 1).

Table 1

2. Presenting the database

When creating this database our goal was to record the present situation regarding the Rumelian repertoire in the music culture of the Turkish population of Macedonia. Apart from collecting the popular songs of the everyday life of the Turkish population, we also attempted to find songs that have been almost forgotten.

We collected the material by:

- recording the performers (audio or video)

- listening to previously recorded audio or video material.

The first method resulted in video recordings of performances by professional or amateur musicians. However, this method did not always prove successful, since many of the performers resisted being recorded. Some of the recordings show faces of people who are not the main interpreters of the song. Because of these difficulties, this method was used for the collection of a small percentage of data.

The second method proved more beneficial. Listening to the material recorded during various occasions such as weddings, engagements, circumcisions, concerts, etc., not only helped collect a large number of songs and variations of songs.

By implementing these methods and the above-mentioned criterion, we managed to collect 88 songs in the database. We also included the variations of the songs, which increased the number of songs to 192.

We used the previous IRAM databases to define the fields of our database, making changes where necessary. The fields included in this database will be presented at the end of this paper.

3. Analysis of the repertoire

After the presentation of the database, the following part of the paper will focus on the analysis of the music and non-music elements of the repertoire of our interest.

3.1. Analysis of the lyrics

The basic element which makes Rumelian music different from Turkish classical music is the lyrics. Unlike the classical repertoire lyrics – works from classic literature (Divan edebiyati), the Rumelian song lyrics are reminiscent of popular folk literature. Rhyming (aruz vezni) is rarely used, whereas the structure of the verses depends on the number of syllables (hece vezni).

Our analysis regarding the number of syllables in the first verses of the stanzas shows that 8 and 11-syllabic structures are most commonly used. Most of the songs consist of two stanzas. The stanzas contain 2-3 verses and a refrain. Thus, the structure of the song is ABCB.

The themes of the lyrics vary. The songs which sing of heroes, love towards nature or the beloved, nostalgia etc., are wreathed with warm lyricism (Öztuna, Y. 1976:186).

The categorization according to theme is as follows:

- lyrical – joyful

- lyrical – sad

- heroic

- everyday life

What was particularly interesting in the analysis of this element was the absolute dominance of the joyful lyrical songs. From a total of 88 songs in the database, 76 are of this sort (see table 2).

Table 2

There are five songs in the category of sad lyrical songs. These songs sing of nostalgia for the home land (“Yüksek yüksek tepelerde ev kurmasınlar”) or death of the beloved (“Deryalar”).

Although the theme of heroes is most exploited in Rumelian literature, we only encountered one such song when collecting the material. This is the song “Debreli Hasan” in which the heroic deeds of the hero Hasan are praised (Turkish eşkiya = thief who helped the poor).

In the last category we classified the songs which describe everyday life (“Horozum” My Rooster, “Tahir Aga”, etc.)

The predominance of joyful lyric songs in the database can be interpreted as a result of:

- the predominance of lyric love songs in the Rumelian repertoire in general

- the songs with such content are more frequent in the urban music life, especially in the repertoires which cover cheerful events such as weddings, circumcisions and engagements.

Bearing in mind the vast geographic area Rumelia covers, apart from the Turkish language, other dialects appear in the songs. Our research shows that most of the songs use the literary Turkish language, some use the dialects from these regions: “Kalk gildem Şazo” – Skopje, “Tahir Aga” – Ohrid, “Bir evler yaptırdım” – Prizren, etc.

Table 3

During our research we came upon songs performed in dialect, even though the original versions of the songs are sung in the literary language. These transformations of the lyrics are probably a result of the insufficient knowledge of the literary language, or the prevailing habit of using everyday language.

3.2. Analysis of the music elements

3.2.1. Tonal structure – makams

The music system of the Rumelian songs is similar, and often identical to Turkish classical music. Unlike folk music (especially in rural Turkey) which does

not always comply with the rule of using the makams (e.g. beginning in one and ending with another makam, not using some tones from the tone series, disregarding the functions of the main steps, etc.), Rumelian music agrees with almost all classic rules (www.rumeliturkuleri. Türk Musikisinde Rumeli Türküleri).

Rumelian music is generally based on the makam system. Considering the large number of Rumelian songs, it is easy to conclude that the number of makams used is also large and various.

The Rumelian songs included in our database feature the following makams: Uşşak, Hüseyni, Humayun, Hicaz, Eviç, Kürdi, Rast, Buselik, Hüzzam, Mahur, Saba, Segah, Uzzal, Kürdi-li Hicazkar, Neva, Süz-i Dilara and Acem Aşiran. Most of the makams belong to the group of simple makams (Uşşak, Hüseyni, Hicaz, Humayun, Rast, Kürdi, Buselik, Neva, Uzzal), whereas a smaller number belong to the transposed (Mahur, Acem Aşiran, Kürdi-li Hicazkar) and the complex makams (Eviç, Saba, Hüzzam, Süz-i Dilara and Segah).

Our analyses prove that most of the songs of the database have been written in the makams Uşşak (23), Hicaz (13), Humayun (11), Kürdi (9), Hüseyni (8) and Hüzzam (5) etc.

According to the data we found regarding the features of the makams, the Ussak makam is characterized by its warm lyricism and rationality (Özkan, I.H. 1987:120). The makam Uşşak (from the Arab word “aşık” – in love) is the most widely used makam in Turkish music. Apart from being used in the folk repertoire, Turkish classical music counts over 1400 works written in this makam. The lyrical sound of the makam is suitable for both secular and spiritual music.

Table 4

We defined the makams with the help of the song scores.

3.2.2. Rhythmic patterns – usuls

One of the main features of Turkish music is the great variety of rhythmic patterns (usuls) which range from two to 124 metric units. Apart from the small usuls (2-15 metric units), Turkish music feature many large usuls (over 15 meters).

The Rumelian repertoire is composed of small usuls. The rhythmic patterns of the songs from the database are: Aksak 9/8 (34), Sofyan 4/4 (25), Devr-i Hindi 7/8 (15), Nim Sofyan 2/4 (6), Türk Aksağı 5/8 (5), Devr-i Turan 7/8 (1), Aksak Semai 10/8 (1) and Yürük Semai 6/4 (1) (see table 5).

Table 5

The analysis of the usuls shows that six out of eight rhythmic patterns belong to the irregular rhythmic patterns. Irregular rhythms, according to the prominent musicologist Müzaffer Sarısözen, are the most beautiful and rich component of Turkish folk music. (Yılmaz, N. 1996:95).

According to the data gained, it can be concluded that the Rumelian repertoire, which comprises our data base, the irregular rhythmic structures prevail, which are specific for the Turkish music in general. Furthermore, irregular rhythmic structures correspond with the prosodic structure of the folk poetry found in Rumelian songs.

3.2.3 Form

The most widely used vocal form in Rumelian music is the türkü form. It differs from the türkü form used in other Turkish folk music because in Rumelian music it is closer to the şarkı form found in classical music. In fact, türkü is a free variation of the şarkı form.

The analysis of the forms from the songs of the database did not consider the instrumental introductions or interludes. The main reason for this practice was the fact that the instrumental parts often depend on the skills of the instrumentalist.

The analysis of songs showed that the türkü form most commonly consists of the two-part song (a b). This form appears in several versions, but in most of the examples each of the parts consists of four bars. Apart from the two-part forms, there were also examples of singe forms (a), as well as more complex songs with various thematic materials (a b c).

3.3. Analysis of the remaining elements

3.3.1. Different versions of the songs

We integrated all the different versions we discovered with the purpose of presenting a larger range of interpretations. Thus we covered the different types of performances of the urban regions throughout the Republic (a cappella, vocal interpretations accompanied by traditional, contemporary or combined instruments). From the 88 songs that compose our database, 26 have several versions.

The number of versions corresponds to the popularity of the song. Therefore, the songs with the most versions are in fact the most popular songs sung at different occasions. These include: Vardar ovası (12 versions), Kalk gelin anım (10 versions), Çifte çifte paytonlari (10 versions).

The analysis of this category provides grounds for conclusions which concern the ways of transmitting such cultural heritage. We can conclude that even though many versions of the melodies from this genres exist, they in fact do not differ greatly. Hence, we can classify this music as “music transmitted without particular changes” (according to the classification of Nettl B. 1930:193).

3.3.2. Transcription

One of the main features of Turkish music practice is the oral transmission of the repertoire. Nevertheless, apart from this practice which plays an essential role in the study of the repertoire, a large part of Rumelian music has been transcribed by the western standards of notation, using suitable symbols to mark the microstructures found in Turkish music. Several musicologists, ethnomusicologists and folklorists are mainly responsible for the transcription of several hundred Rumelian songs during last century.

From the total number of the songs in our database, 65 were already transcribed, whereas we transcribed the remaining 23.

We found different transcriptions for some of the songs, which is expected if we consider the fact that this music tradition has been orally transmitted.

It is important to note that most of the interpretations correspond to the transcriptions.

3.3.3. Authorship

This is one of the most commonly discussed issues in the folk music tradition, debating whether this music was created by individuals or by the “people” (see Bary P. 1914: 67-76).

As far as Rumelian music is concerned, all sources point to the fact that the songs have been created by prominent composers of the 18^th and 19^th century. In fact, the most notable representatives of tradition exhibited an interest in the “popular taste” and composed light melodies in the türkü, köçekçe and tavşanca forms (instrumental dance forms). Hamamizade İsmail Dede (1778-1946) is at the very top of tradition and is well known for his Rumelian türkü and köçekçe. Buhurizade Mustafa İtri (-1712) is one of the founders of the Ottoman tradition and composed many melodies in the türkü form that have unfortunately not been preserved. Mustafa Çavuş (18^th century) is one of the best representatives of urban music, his compositions linking the elite and popular tastes (Aksoy, B.)

Bearing in mind that the authors of these works remained anonymous, Rumelian music in general is considered anonymous.

3.4. Analysis of the interpretations

3.4.1. Interpreters of the music

Professional musicians and amateurs are the promoters of music in any given society. Our analysis of this issue shows that the musicians in the urban areas in fact have not been institutionally educated. Most of them have been educated through the non-institutional forms of music education, the so-called culture and art societies. These prove particularly significant for the continuity of music tradition in society.

The analysis regarding interpretation of music according to sex shows that most songs are sung by male vocalists (with instrumental accompaniment). This is a result of the predominance of male vocalists in the music groups which perform at various music events.

Table 6

The female vocalists usually perform in ensembles or groups. The changes in the socio-cultural structures in society accounts for the small number of such performances. The modernization of society is one of the main reasons for various changes in the traditional customs. Thus, in the past, during weddings, circumcisions or other such customs, men and women were divided in separate groups. Today, in the rural regions, this has transformed into a custom of creating mixed ensembles. Consequently, the female performing groups (usually consisting of violin, dajre, or just several dajres) give their place to the male vocal-instrumental groups.

3.4.2. The structure of the performing groups

The following structures of performing groups appear in the database:

- vocal groups (a-cappella)

- instrumental ensembles

- vocal-instrumental ensembles which have several forms:

a) vocal- instrumental groups with traditional instruments

b) vocal-instrumental groups combining traditional instruments and a synthesizer

c) vocal-instrumental groups with a synthesizer and one acoustic instrument

d) vocal-instrumental groups with a saz orchestra

e) vocal-instrumental groups with one instrument (dajre, kanun, saz, dzumbus)

Table 7

The presented data indicates that the Rumelian repertoire is mainly performed by vocal-instrumental ensembles. These ensembles vary in the structure of their instrumental accompaniment. In opposition to the past tradition, when instrumental ensembles mainly consisted of acoustic instruments, today (from the 1990s and onwards) the synthesizer is more commonly used as the main instrument for accompaniment. There are several reasons for this: 1) the young people who play traditional music instruments (especially those that are most difficult to master such as kanun, ut and dzumbus) is steadily decreasing; 2) the development of technology has caused the development of new electronic instruments that substitute the traditional acoustic instruments. Although this substitution not always suits the needs of the music and stylistic features of this music genre, it is permeating into the music practice of the entire region.

3.5. Repertoire and surrounding

The style of all music is determined by the configuration of historical, geographic and linguistic factors. The continuing existence of the Rumelian repertoire in these regions speaks of the persistence of the Ottoman music tradition.

All music traditions are subject to constant change. However, the variations occurring in Rumelian music are not considered as changes, since the quality of the repertoire has not altered significantly.

The changes are evident in the quantity of the repertoire. In fact, after the promotion of other genres by the public media, the number of Rumelian songs of the urban repertoire is constantly decreasing. Likewise, the 88 songs of our database are in fact a small quantity of songs if we consider that the Rumelian repertoire consists of several hundred songs.

In order to obtain a clear representation of the Rumelian repertoire within the entire Republic, in addition to the capital Skopje, research was carried out in other towns in eastern and western Macedonia. It became evident that the region does not affect the differences in the repertoire. In fact, a group of approximately 15 songs (such as: Çifte çifte paytonlari”, “Kalk gelin anım”, “Vardar ovası”, “Kalk gidelım Şazo” etc.) are found in the music repertoires of all the towns in the country. Several other songs characteristic of the urban region add to this “universal” repertoire.

3.5.1. The presence of the Rumelian repertoire

In addition to other music genres, Rumelian music is present in the everyday music life of the Turkish population in Macedonia. It is broadcast on a daily basis on the public media programs in Turkish.

Apart from the media, Rumelian songs also appear on public celebrations (engagements, weddings and circumcisions). These occasions show the popularity of a particular group of songs that we will refer to as “wedding songs”. This is a standard repertoire equally present in all urban areas in Macedonia.

The Rumelian music is also heard at public presentations, such as concerts by various music ensembles. The culture and art societies are the usual performers of this type of music, who also contribute to the continuing preservation of this repertoire.

Conclusion

The research concerning the presence of the Rumelian repertoire in the music culture of the Turkish population in Macedonia led to the following conclusions:

- Rumelian repertoire is an essential part of the everyday music life of the Turkish population, even though with time this repertoire slowly decreases and some of the songs lose their popularity or are forgotten.

- the contemporary interpretation of the songs notes a transformation triggered by the change in the use of the music instruments. Traditional instruments are commonly substituted by contemporary electronic instruments (usually the synthesizer) which are not always suitable for grasping the style and spirit of this repertoire.

Presentation of the database fields

Composition:

duration

title

lyrıcs incipit

language

regıon

topıc

author

Performer:

performer

age of performer

structure of performing groups

drone

Recording material:

date

place

environment

equipment

carrier

mono/stereo

archive

Transcription:

score – print/ manuscript

title

editor

publisher

notator

place

year

Digitization

Year

Place

Equipment

Carrier

Format

Bibliography

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Coşkun Armağan. Türk Halk Müziğinin Yapısı

Nettl, Bruno. 1930. The Study of Ethnomusicology. University of Illinois Press

Nuş, Aluş. 1996. Rumeli Türküleri. İstanbul: Say yayinlari

Özkan, İsmail Hakkı. 1987.Türk Musikisi Nazariyatı ve Usulleri. İstanbul: Ötüken

Öztuna, Yılmaz. 1976. Türk Musikisi Ansiklopedisi. Istanbul: Milli Eğitim Basımevi

Yılmaz, Niyazi. 1996. Türk Halk Müziğinin Kurucu Hocası Muzaffer Sarısözen. Ankara: Minpa Matbaacılık

www.rumeli turkuleri. Turk Musikisinde Rumeli Turkuleri.

www.turkmusikisi.com/cinucen-tanrikorur/makam.htm.

www.tuerk-uelkuem.net/tsm.html - Türk klasik (Sanat) Müziği

www.turkuler.com

www.turkstudent.net