American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies (ASECS)

Turquerie and Eighteenth-Century Music

Author(s): Eve R. Meyer
Reviewed work(s):
Source: Eighteenth-Century Studies, Vol. 7, No. 4 (Summer, 1974), pp. 474-488
Published by: The Johns Hopkins University Press. Sponsor: American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies
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and
Turquerie
Eighteenth-Century
Music
EVE R. MEYER

IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY, turqueriewas in fashion.For an

one mightattendthetheaterto see thelatest

evening'sentertainment,
playor operabased on a Turkishthemeor go to a maskedball wearing an elaborateTurkishcostume.'At home,one mightrelax in a
TurkishrobewhilesmokingTurkishtobacco,eatingTurkishcandy,
Turkishtale. Authors,in theiradvenand readingan ever-popular
turnedto Orientalsubjects
turenovelsand heroicdramas,frequently
Eastern
and substituted
emperors,tsars,and sultansforthe more
and fratricide
of Turkey's
Westernrulers.The treachery
traditional
past and the menace of the OttomanEmpire to Europe provided
emotionallychargedmaterial,and the passionatetales of seraglio
intrigueintroduceda sensualityand luxuriousnessthathad been
(It was assumedthatOrientalswereinlackingin Westernliterature.
herently
more amorous,moreimpulsive,and moreindulgentthan
Europeans.)
theubiquitoustales
Undertheinfluenceof contemporary
fiction,
of antiquitygraduallyrelinquishedtheirhold on operaticlibrettos,
dewhileheroicOrientalromances,involvingviolence,unrestrained
sire,and religiousconflict,
figcame intoprominence.A significant
ure in operaticproductionswas SuleimanI (1520-1566), who was
of thesultans;he led his armiesto
themostillustrious
undoubtedly
imposingconquestsand was greatlyadmiredby his subjects.Even
the eventsof his
embellishments,
withoutthe customaryfictitious
fortheyinvolvedpassion,ambition,jealreignweremelodramatic,
ousy,and murder.Suleiman'swife,Roxelane,fearedthather childrenwouldbe murderedby Mustafa,theheirto thethrone(son of
1 For a colorfuldescription
in Turkishdress,acof a processionof masqueraders
companiedby a noisyband playing"Turkish"music,see Karl Dittersvon Ditterstrans.A. D. Coleridge(London,1896; firsted. Leipzig,1801),
dorf,Autobiography,
pp. 166-67.

474

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"TURKISH MUSIC"

475

Suleimanand a favoriteslave), if she did not eliminatehim first.

RoxelaneconvincedthesultanthatMustafawas planningtokillhim,
and,as theresultofhermachinations,
Suleimanorderedthedeathof
hisson.How could sucha taleofintrigue
failto inspiredramatists?2
Of themanyeighteenth-century
operaticsettingsof Solimano,two
thatattainedconsiderablepopularity
werebyHasse (Dresden,1753)
andPerez(Lisbon,1757).
Mohammed11(1451-1481), theambitiousconquerorwhois consideredthe real founderof the OttomanEmpire,employedstem
measuresto eliminaterivals,includingthe murderof his brother,
materialformanyauthors,inand theeventsof his reignfurnished
in
cludingBandello and Montaigne.His defeatof Constantinople
1453 was thebasis oftheoperaMuhammedHIbythenotedGerman
composerReinhardKeiser(1693). Most unusualin operatictraditionwas theadaptationof a contemporary
event,as in JohannW.
Franck'sCara Mustapha(1686), whichdealtwiththesiegeofVienna
only threeyears earlierby Mohammed IV's grand vizier,Kara
Mustafa.The dramaticdefeatofSultanBayazidI (Bajazet) byTimur
(Tamerlane),the greatTartarconqueror,in the battleof Angora
toEurope,sinceTimur'svictory
(1402) was ofgreatsignificance
problockto theexpansionoftheOttomanEmpire.Of
videda temporary
betweenTimurand Bayathenumerousoperasbased on theconflict
is Handel'sTamerlano(1724).4 The opera
zid,3themostoutstanding
concernsthesultan'scaptivityand thehumiliations
thathe and his
familyendured,but theromanticaspect-a love triangleinvolving
his daughterAsteria,Andronico(son of the Greek emperor),and
The moststriking
Tamerlano-is also givenprominence.
rolein the
whose
opera is thatof Bajazet,5
grandmomentis his magnificent
2 Suleimanfirst
appearedon theEuropeanstagein ProsperoBonarelli'splaySoliman,1619.
3 The following
composersmade settingsduringthe eighteenth
and earlynineteenthcenturies:Bajazet--Andreozzi,Bernasconi,Cocchi, Duni, Gasparini,Generali, Jommelli,Leo, Marinelli,Westmoreland;Tamerlane(o)-Chelleri(Keller),
Cocchi, Gasparini,Gini (Giai), Gugielmi,Handel, Leo, Mayr, Myslivecek,Paer,
Piovene,Porpora,Porta,Reichardt,Sacchini,Sapienza,A. Scarlatti,Scolari (two
settings),
Tadolini,Vivaldi,Winter,
Ziani;BalazetundTamerlan-Foertsch.
4 The libretto
byNiccoloHaymis derivedfroman earlierTamerlanobyAgostino
Piovene(1710) and an anonymous
revision(1719) calledII Bajazet.
5 Bajazetwas one of thefirstmajortenorrolesin operatichistory.
Whilethehero
in lateroperaswas usuallya tenor,baroquetradition
relegatedtenorsto onlyminor
parts.

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476

EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY STUDIES

deathscenewhenhe commitssuicideby takingpoison. It has been

dramaticscenes in all
describedas "one of the mostpowerfully
Baroque opera."6
was theheroof Albania's struggleforindeAn ideal protagonist
pendencefromTurkey,Scanderbeg(1403-1468). He was originally
a warriorin theTurkisharmy,but,afterMurad II's forcesinvaded
Albania and murderedScanderbeg'sfamily,he foughtagainstthe
(This elementparticularly
Ottomansand convertedto Christianity.
was
the
He
subjectofone ofFrance's
Western
audiences.)
appealedto
heroicTurkishoperas,thetragedielyriqueScandermostimportant
berg(Scanderbeg),librettoby Houdar de La Motte and musicby
FrancoisRebel and FrangoisFrancceur(1735). The operacoversthe
yearsScanderbegwas a captiveoftheTurks,anditresemblesTamerlano in thatthehistoriceventsformthebackgroundfora dramatic
was visuallyone of themost
tale oflove and jealousy.7Scanderberg
of theheroicTurkishoperas,withelaboratescenicderesplendent
signsforthemosqueand seragliocourtand gardens;in addition,almosteveryimaginableexoticcharacterwas on display.The charactersin mostexoticoperasof thetime-despitetheirOrientalnames
-tended to speak and act exactlylike Europeancourtiers,
and, altheyusualalludedto actualhistorichappenings,
thoughthelibrettos
and precisedetailsoftheEasternlocale.
lyignoredethnicreferences
of Orientalcharactersand customs
More realisticinterpretations
werenotin evidenceuntilthesecondhalfofthecentury.
Whileplotsbased on historicthemesappealed to operaticaudiby thereadingpublic,particuences,Orientalfictionwas preferred
oftheArabianNightsby,Gallandand theTurklarlythetranslations
ish Tales and PersianTales by Petisde la Croix.The taleswereso
followed,someofwhichpretended
popularthatscoresofimitations
and almosteveryimof Orientalmanuscripts,
to be translations
contributed
toorwas in some
oftheeighteenth
century
portantwriter
of
The
world
these
tales.
and splenfantasy,
by
wayinfluenced
magic,
dor, and themarvelousadventuresdescribedin thenarrativesprothepublic's
vidednaturalmaterialforthepopularstageand satisfied
thatatOne
tale
effects.
for
novel
and
demand
spectacularstage
6 J. MerrillKnapp, "Handel's Tamerlano:The Creationof an Opera,"Musical
56 (July1970),406.
Quarterly,
le h6rosnationalalba7 For further
details,see Fred6ricRobert,"Scanderberg,
nais, dans un op6ra de Rebel et Francceur,"Recherchessur la musiquefran5Vais
classique(Paris,1963),III, 171-78.

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"TURKISH MUSIC"

477

tractedmuchattention
was "Beautyand theBeast,"8themostoutZemiretAzor,withmusic
standing
interpretation
beingMarmontel's
Andre-Modeste
Gretry(1771).9 The
bythenotedFrenchcomposer
success,withrepeatedperformworksoon became an international
ancesthroughout
Europe and evenAmerica,'0and thefablewas so
appealingto audiencesthatadditionalmusicalsettingswere comUmlauff,and Linley." In the
posed by Neefe,Spohr,Baumgarten,
musicaltheatersin the
lateeighteenth
century,
theGerman-language
suburbsof Vienna specializedin producingexoticfairytales and
farces,butthespokendialogue(whichwas sometimesrathercrude)
themusicto theextentthattheworksshouldbe
oftenovershadowed
consideredplayswithmusicratherthanoperas.In othercountries,
too,Orientaltalestendedtobe treatedas musicalplays,and thequalityof the dialogueand themusicalnumbersvariedconsiderably."2
In fiction,
drama,ballet,and opera-in comedyas wellas tragedy
-the aspectofOrientallifethatparticularly
dazzledtheimagination
of theseraglio.
of theeighteenth-century
Europeanwas themystery
Duringthe second half of the century,operas on heroic Turkish
overshadowed
bycomediesandromanceson
themeswerecompletely
Audiences
this most fascinatingand strangeOrientalinstitution.
butby
weretantalizednotonlyby thestoriesand theirimplications
costumesand themagnificent
staging.Severalstantheextravagant
dard seraglioplotswerereliedupon. The librettoof SolimanII ou
Les traissultanes
Favartis thebestexample
(1761) byCharles-Simon
ofthetypewhichcentersaroundtherivalryamongtheharemslaves
or Kadins(highestrankingfemales)forthelove ofthesultan.Favart
crudegenre
is particularly
notedforraisingthelevelof a previously
he is
to one ofcomedicart,and,as director,
producer,and librettist,
8 The familiartaleis aboutAzor,a princewho is transformed
intoa monsterbecause of his vanityand selfishness,
and Z6mir,a beautifulyoungwomanwho restoreshimto a humanbeingthrough
herunselfish
love.
9 It is based on the comedyby P. C. Nivelle de la Chauss6ecalled Amourpar
amour(1742).
10This romanticcomedywas successfully
revivedin recentyearsat the Bath
Festivalin Englandin 1955 and at the CourtTheaterin Drottningholm,
Sweden,
in 1968.
11 See T. Blake Clark, OrientalEngland: A Study of OrientalInfluencesin
Eighteenth
CenturyEnglandas Reflectedin theDrama (Shanghai,1939),p. 99, for
a description
ofthemagicalstageeffects
usedinSelimaandAzor (1776). The libretto
is by Sir GeorgeCollier (fromMarmontel),withsome of the originalmusicby
Gretryandnewnumbers
byThomasLinley.
12 The operas,ballets,and symphonic
worksof thenineteenth
and twentieth
centuriescontinued
to makeextensive
use of Orientalfablesand fairytales.

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478

EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY STUDIES

consideredthefirstmasterof opera comique.Favart based his delightful

rococoentertainment
on a humoroussocial satireofthesame
namein Marmontel'sContesmoraux.The musicalnumbers,
written
by Paul Gilbert,and thedances are of lesserimportance.'3
It is the
livelypace, thebubblinggood humor,theclevercharacterizations,
and thewell-written
versethatcontribute
to thework'ssuccess.Very
briefly,
thestoryconcernsthreeEuropeanconcubineswho are rivals
forSultanSoliman'slove: theSpanishElmire,theCircassianDelia,
and the French Roxelane. (Roxelane, the name of the infamous
Kadin and wifeofSultanSuleiman,is thenamemostfrequently
used
fortheheroinein talesofharemintrigue.)
In theend,thewittyRoxelane,who resistsand eveninsultsthesultan,triumphs
and becomes
sultana.The roleoftheexuberant,
bold RoxelanegaveMme Favart,
whowas an accomplishedsinger,dancer,writer,and actress,an opto displayhertalentsas a comedienne.She createdquitea
portunity
stirbywearingan authentic,
voluptuousTurkishcostume,whichshe
The Favarts,probablyundertheinorderedfromConstantinople.'4
to improvethestagecostumes
fluenceofDavid Garrick,attempted
in Franceby makingthemmorerealistic.'5At thetime,femaleperformersnormallyappeared on stage dressedin the latestfashion;
local colorwas merelysuggestedby variousornamentsor by some
detailofforeignattire.Male "Turkish"dresstendedto be moreauthenticthanthefemale;it includeda turban,sash,and longcaftan,
witha bindingin richmaterial.'6
SolimanII becamea favoriteon themusicalstageand prospered
so well thatit was also done at the Comedie-Frangaise
throughout
ofthecentury
as a verseplaywithoutmusic.'7In transtheremainder
in variousEuropean centers,and several
lation,it was performed
composerswrotetheirown musicalversions:Beck, Blasius,F. A.
in Viennain
Hiller,Kraus,and Siissmayr.18The playwas performed
13 AugusteFont,Favart:L'Opera-comique
et la comedie-vaudeville
aux XVIle et
XVlJIesiecles(Paris,1894; rpt.Geneva,1970),p. 279.
14 Ibid.,p. 226.
15 Favartwrote:"Rienn'estridicule
que de voirdes s6railsmeubles'a la frangaise,
des sultansen perruque.... Ces sortesde superfluites
ajoutentmoins'a la pompedu
spectaclequ'elles ne nuisenta la vraisemblanceet 'a l'illusiontheatrale"(Correspondancede Favart,I, 12,citedin Font,p. 226).
16 TheodoreKomisarjevsky,
The Costumeof theTheatre(New York, 1968),pp.
98-99.
17 PatrickJ.Smith,The TenthMuse (New York, 1970),p. 129.
18 In 1799 Beethovenwrotea set of eightvariations
forpiano on a themefrom
Siissmayr's
operaSolimanderZweiteoderDie dreiSultanninen.

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"TURKISH MUSIC"

479

1770 and at Esterhazapalace in 1777, whereHaydnis believedto

have composedtheincidentalmusicand to have incorporatedthis
No. 63, whichis subtitled"La Roxelane."
musicintohis Symphony
a setofvariationson an old Frenchmel(It is thesecondmovement,
ody,thatsupposedlypresentsa musicalportraitofRoxelane.)19The
on theEnglishstagein Isaac Bickerstaffe's
storyattainedpopularity
workwiththe suggestivetitleof The Sultan,or, A Peep into the
Seraglio(1775). The success of Soliman II and its derivativesresultedin a surfeitof theatricalworkson similarthemes.(An independentgirlso impresses
thesultanthathe eitherliberatesherorgoes
as
to suchextremes givingup his harem,converting
to Christianity,
winein orderto marry
and disavowingtheMoslemban on drinking
her.)
One of thebestromanticTurkishoperasof thelatterpartof the
La Caravanedu Caire (1783). (Egypt,as part
was Gretry's
century
of theEmpire,was consideredin theTurkishgenre.)This workwas
acclaimedthroughout
Europe and receivedfivehundredperformancesin Parisalonebetween1783 and 1829. Two additionalfactors
give thisopera special distinction;
first,Louis XVI is believedto
in writing
thelibretto;and second,it is one of the
have participated
fewworkswhichpairs a European hero withan Orientalheroine.
Anotherharemcomedy,La Rencontreimprevue(The Unforeseen
Meeting),librettoby L. H. Dancourt,based on a vaudeville,Les
Pelerinsde la Mecque,byLesage and D'Orneval,20
was setbya number ofcomposers,includingtwoof themajorcomposersof thecentury.It was thelast and best of Gluck'sFrenchcomic operas (first
in Viennain 1764 and revivedin thiscentury),
performed
and itwas
as
setin ItalianbyHaydnin 1775 L'Incontroimprovviso.
A seraglioplot thatwas particularly
favoredfor its pairingof
exoticismwithsuspensewas therescueof a girlfromtheharem.2"
A
scenario
introduce
a
typical
might
lovelyyoungwoman,abducted
19H. R. RobbinsLandon, The Symphoniesof JosephHaydn (London, 1955),
p. 359.
20 PrinceAli discovers
thathis betrothed,
PrincessR&zia,is beingheld captivein
theharemof theSultanof Egypt.When she learnsthathe is in Cairo, she sends
severalharemgirlsto testhis love by tempting
him;he resistsand all endshappily.
21 Up to theseventeenth
haremwomenin Turkeywereforeigners;
century,
many
of war,otherswerepurchasedas slavesor werepresented
wereEuropeanprisoners
to thesultansas gifts.Circassiangirlswerepreferred
becauseof theirgreatphysical
beauty,and the originalRoxelaneis believedto have come fromthatregionof
Russia.

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480

EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY STUDIES

eitherrecently
or as a child,whois beingheldcaptivebythesultan;22
shestillmaintainsbut is in imminent
dangerof losinghervirtue.A
rescueattemptis made by a loveror close relative,but,in manyinstances,theescape is unsuccessful,
and all are caught.By theend of
the opera,however,afterthevariouscomplicationshave been unraveled,thesultanis eitheroutwitted
or demonstrates
hismagnanimwereprevalent
ityby releasinghis captives.Seraglio-rescue
librettos
in theatrical
workson all levelsofentertainment,
fromthecrudeimprovisedproductionsofthemarketplaceand thefairto thesumptuous spectaclesoftheoperahouse.One ofthepopularvaudevillesof
thethedtre
de la foirewas Achmetet Almanzine,written
by Lesage
of 1728, featuring
andothersfortheFoireSaint-Laurent
Almanzine,
ofSultanSoliman,and herlover,Achmet,whorescuesher
a favorite
himselfas a girlin ordertopenetrate
theseraglio.23
bydisguising
theme-in fact,the
The mostartisticworkon theharem-rescue
aus
chef-d'ouvre
ofall Turkishoperas-is Mozart'sDie Entfiihrung
demSerail(The AbductionfromtheSeraglio),1782.24The libretto,
whichis notequal in qualityto themagnificent
music,is based upon
thestandardrescueschemeoutlinedabove,witha pashain place ofa
forhe
sultan.The characterofPasha Selimis especiallyinteresting,
clichesabout Turkish
encompassesmostof the eighteenth-century
as theamorousTurk,genuinely
in lovewith
rulers.He is viewedfirst
his captive,Constanza.Whenshe refuseshis advances,Pasha Selim
of thecruelTurk,a tyrant
exhibitsthecharacteristics
whoseorders
mustbe obeyedunderpenaltyof tortureor death,and laterin the
opera, when he discoversthatConstanza'srescuer,who has been
Selimrelishesthepleasureofhis
caught,is theson ofhis archenemy,
intendedrevenge.By the end of the opera, he again appears as a
characterratherthan a villain-that role (withcomic
sympathetic
overtones)is assumedby his assistant,Osmin.25Selimfreesthecaptivesand sendsthemessageto hisenemythat"itgaveme fargreater
pleasureto rewardan injusticewithjusticethanto keep on repaying
22 Occasionally
twowomenmightbe seized,as in Martinelli's
La Schiavaliberata,
(1768) and Schuster(1777).
byJommelli
whichwas setoperatically
23 Font,Favart,p. 80.
24 For a studyof the haremtheme,see WalterPreibisch,"Quellenstudien
zu
der International
Musikgesellaus dem Serail,"Sammelbdnde
MozartsEntfiihrung
schaft,10 (1909),430-76.
25 Thereare fewTurkishworkswithout
the inevitableOsman,Osmin,or other
derivative.

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"TURKISH MUSIC"

481

evilwithevil." Easternmoralitytriumphs
overWesternethics,a la
Voltaire,andtheoperaendswitha hymnofpraisetothepasha.
Thisoperais a fineexampleofthetendencyofeighteenth-century
writers
to relegatetheroleofthevillainousTurkto an underling
and
to championthenoble and generoussultanor pasha.26One reason
forthisfriendlier
attitude
was thattheOttomanEmpirewas no longer
a threatto WesternEurope,particularly
afterTurkeyfailedin her
attemptto besiegeVienna in 1683 and was drivenout of Hungary
and Transylvania.
Duringtheearliercenturies,
authorscustomarily
to theOttomansas barbarians,and theimageof thesultan
referred
was of an infideldedicatedto conqueringChristiancivilization-a
man to be feared,to be mocked,or to be admiredforhis sexual
prowess.Priorto theeighteenth
century,
thegeneroussultanmade
onlya fewstage appearances;a significant
exampleis Davenant's
The Siege of Rhodes (1656), in whichSolymanthe Magnificent
is
featuredas thenoble Turk.(This workis consideredto be thefirst
Englishopera.)
The main functionof mostTurkishmusicalproductionswas to
give sensuouspleasure.In France,duringthereignsof Louis XIV
and his successors,theappetiteforOrientalexoticismsdevelopedto
suchan extentthattherewas hardlyan entertainment
withoutat least
wereofteninsertedin balletsand in a new
one. Turkishinterludes
whichwas initiatedwithCampra's
dramaticformcalledopera-ballet,
L'Europe galante(1696)-a seriesof talesinvolvinglove and jealousyin France,Spain, Italy and Turkey.Rameau's famousoperaballetLes Indesgalantes(1735) coupledlove withexoticismin four
26 The character
of Orosmane,an enlightened
monarchwithChristianvirtuesand
thetragicheroofVoltaire'splayZaYre,was one of themostinfluential
grandTurks
in literature.(ZaYrewas adapted operaticallyin an unsuccessfulproductionby
Belliniin 1829 as ZaYra,librettoby Romani.)VoltaireutilizedOrosmaneas theinstrument
throughwhichhe could contrast"the customsof the Frenchwiththe
Turks,theChristians
withtheinfidels,
and,byimplication,
thepastwiththepresent"
(JackRochfordVrooman,"Voltaire'sTheatre:The CyclefromCEdipeto M&ope,"
Studieson Voltaireand theEighteenthCentury,No. 75, ed. TheodoreBesterman
[Geneva,1970],p. 86). Zaire, as wellas subsequent"message"playsand tales,such
as his wittyZadig,showedthe universality
of moralvaluesand condemnedthereforcein European
ligiousintolerancethatVoltaireperceivedas an undermining
civilization(TrustenWheelerRussell,Voltaire,Drydenand Heroic Tragedy[New
York, 1946], p. 91). Pseudo-Oriental
tales were conventional
vehiclesfor giving
moraladviceand forcriticizing
Westernsociety,politics,and religion,but thissermonizingpropensity
was greatlyreducedwhentheyweretranslated
intooperas,for
themusicalstagedoes not lend itselfas well as fictionor dramato philosophical
ideasor to bitingsatire.

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482

EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY STUDIES

Peru,Persia,and a forestin NorthAmerremoteregions:Turkey,27

thatFavartmadea parody
so muchattention
ica. (The workattracted
ofitin 1743). As percustom,no Turkishor otherethnicdanceswere
wasthetambourin,
a livelydance
used,and theonlyhintofexoticism
It did not appear at all
accompaniedby a drumand tambourine.28
charaudiencesthatthenon-Western
strangeto eighteenth-century
theminuet,the
actersin this,as wellas otherballets,shouldperform
courtdances.
gavotte,and similarstylish
thatTurkishsceneswereoften
Turquerieattainedsuchpopularity
insertedin operas,ballets,and playsthathad nothingwhateverto
do withtheOrient.The scenethatsetthemodelforso manyto follow was the Turkishceremonyin Moliere'sLe BourgeoisGentilwithmusicbyLully-in whichthe
homme(1670)-a comedy-ballet
bourgeoisJourdainwas made a "Mamamouchi"(IV.iii). A mission
fromthesultanofTurkeyhad visitedtheFrenchcourttheyearbemannersso fascinatedLouis XIV thathe asked
fore,and theforeign
Moliereto includea Turkishepisodein hisplay.Althoughtheritual,
was intendedas a hoax,therewere
whichwas filledwithbuffoonery,
The Frenchenvoyto theSubat achievingauthenticity.
someefforts
did
the
costuming,and Moli'ereincludeda
lime Porte,d'Arvieux,
fortherecepfewgenuineTurkishphrasestakenfromtheceremony
tionofnovicesintotheorderoftheMerleviDervishes,plustheusual
In addition,Lully added a sprinkling
gibberishand linguafranca.29
The "Mamamouchi"scenewas so successful
music.30
ofpseudoexotic
thatit was repeatedin othercomediesand greatlyinfluencedlater
works.
Europeansin Orientaldisguisedelightedaudiences,and theirextheeighteenth
cenploitationin farcicalscenescontinuedthroughout
Lo
is
in
Goldoni's
successful
comedy
One
example
highly
tury.
27 In thefirst
Pasha Osmanis in love withhis
scene,called "Le Turc g6n6reux,"
Frenchcaptive,Emilie,who,of course,resistshis advances.He provesto be a generousTurk,forhe finallyfreesher and returnsher to her lover,Valere,who has
on thepasha's shoresduringa fiercestorm.In theprefaceto his
been shipwrecked
Fuzelierwrotethatthecharacterof Pasha Osmanwas based on thegenerlibretto,
ous grandvizierTopal Osman,whosestoryappearedin theMercurede France,January1734.
Rameau: His Life and Work (London,
28 CuthbertGirdlestone,
Jean-Philippe
1957),p. 325.
ingredand theburlesqueof otherlanguageswerecustomary
29 Recitturquesque
to thegeneralhilarity.
ientsin scenesofthisnatureand contributed
30 For a discussion
of themusicaldevices,see MiriamK. Whaples,"Exoticismin
1958,pp. 95-124.
DramaticMusic,1600-1800,"Diss. IndianaUniversity

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"TURKISH MUSIC"

483

setbyPallavicini(firstact) and Fischetti

Speziale(The Apothecary),
(secondand thirdacts)in 1729 and byHaydnin 1768. The plotconcernstheintriguesof thwartedyoungloversand climaxeswithan
amusingmarriageceremonyin thethirdact in whichtheentirecast
entersdresseda' la turqueto celebratetheweddingofthetwoleading
ladies to two disguised"Turks" (who in realityare theirlovers).
Countless"Turkish"ceremonialscenes,marches,dances,choruses,
and occasionallysongs providedcolorfuland exotic interludesin
comicoperasand ballets.Even in seriousoperas,similarsceneswere
suchas theScythianchorusand balletin Gluck's
sometimes
inserted,
en Tauride.Thisinterpolation
tragicmasterpiece
Iphig.enie
illustrates
thecommonfunctionof "Turkishmusic"to symbolizeanyheathen
horde.
If a "Turkish"sceneor operawereto be composedby a twentiethcenturymusician,he would probablyutilizegenuineTurkishmelodiesor at leastabsorbcharacteristic
rhythmic
and melodicfeatures
intohisowncreativeendeavors.Transcriptions
ofTurkishmusicand
of performance
descriptions
practiceswereavailablein thevarious
travelbooks; however,eighteenth-century
composerswere not yet
Even a familiarity
concernedwithethnomusicology.31
withTurkish
musicwould not have led themto adopt it withoutconsiderable
modification,
for,as Mozartsaid,thecomposershouldnotoffend
the
ear of thelistener.VisitingEuropeansdiffered
greatlyin theiropinions on theacceptability
of Turkishmusic.Amongthemorefavorable weretheremarksby Lady MaryWortleyMontaguin herletter
fromAdrianople,18 April1717:
I supposeyoumayhavereadthattheTurkshaveno Musicbutwhatis
isfrom
thosewhoneverheardanybut
totheEars;butthisaccount
shocking
andisjustas reasonable
as ifa Foreigner
whatisplay'dinthestreets,
should
takehisIdeas ofEnglishMusicfromthebladderand string,
andmarrow
I canassureyouthattheMusicis extremely
bonesandcleavers.
pathetic....
Tis certain
theyhaveveryfineNaturalvoices;thesewereveryagreable.32
31 A notableexception
was theorganistand pianistAbt Vogler(1749-1814). He
had a romantic
longingforstrangecountries
and traveledextensively
through
North
Africaand theMiddleEast. He was knownforhis improvisatory,
descriptive
keyboardperformances
in whichhe incorporated
nativemelodiesto enhancethetonal
impressions
of his journeys.A few titlesare: "The MohammedanConfessionof
Faith,""Hottentot
Melodyin ThreeNotes,"and "AfricanTerraceSong."
32 The CompleteLettersof Lady Mary Wortley
Montagu,ed. RobertHalsband
(Oxford,1965),I, 351.

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484

EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY STUDIES

Westerncomposersand theiraudienceswerenotyetreadyto give

up theirprejudicesagainsta styleofmusictheyconsideredprimitive
and unappealing.They could muchmorereadilyaccept thevisual
of theEast thanthemusic,withitscharacterartsand theliterature
and waveringpitches,microtones,
isticOrientaluse ofindeterminate
orrhythmic
scale systems,
and non-Western
arabesques,different
In
which
and
triple
meters,
ganizationalprinciples. place of duple
flowof eighteenth-century
European music,
regulatethe rhythmic
formulasto createcomplex
Turkishmusicutilizesdistinctrhythmic
composirhythmic
schemesquiteunlikethesimplepseudo-Turkish
tions.Turkishmusic also consistsof a single,unharmonizedline,
whichEuropeans consideredinferiorto theirharmonicand polyto simulate
phonicstyles;Westerncomposerssometimesattempted
A fewhints
formen'svoicesin unison.33
chousesbywriting
Janissary
of musicalexoticismwereconsideredhumorous.In his letterto his
father(26 September1781) concerningThe Abductionfromthe
Seraglio,Mozartwrote,"Osmin'srageis renderedcomicalbytheuse
of theTurkishmusic,"and in the nextparagraphhe describedhis
Janissarychorusas "short,livelyand writtento please the Viennese."34
The majorTurkishinfluenceon themusicof eighteenth-century
musicof theJanissary
band (the
Europe stemmedfromthemilitary
mehter).In theirbattles,theTurkswereaccompaniedbybands that
helpedthe soldierskeep theirmarchingbeat. One observerwrote,
"No othergenreof musicrequiresso firm,decidedand overpowera beat. The firstbeat of each bar is so strongly
inglypredominant
and
new
with
a
marked
impossibleto
manlyaccentthatitis virtually
get out of step."35The Janissarybands were also part of military
in thefourteenth
century,
was themainTurkish
corps,established
37 The Janissary
bothcaptivesand leviesof Chrisconsistedofforeigners,
force.It originally
military
The corpshad
tianchildren(until1676),but graduallynativeTurkswereadmitted.
military
bodyknownforitsvigorand discipline;howonce beena mostremarkable
and eighteenth
the Janissariesdeclinedin
centuries,
ever,duringthe seventeenth
revolted,and gained such great
men became corrupt,frequently
efficiency-the
powerthattheywerealmostimpossibleto control.SultanMahmudII's abolishment
rebellion.The forcesloyalto the
of thecorpsin 1826 resultedin thefinalJanissary
Sultanwerevictoriousand massacredbetween6,000and 10,000Janissaries.
The Lettersof Mozartand His Family,2nd ed. (New York,
34 EmilyAnderson,
1966),II, 769.
35 L. Schubart,
der Tonkunst"
ed., C. F. D. Schubart's"Ideen zu einerAesthetik
(Vienna,1806),pp. 330-31.

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"TURKISH MUSIC"

485

of themusic'sfunction
tactics.Paul Rycautgave a vividdescription
at theSiegeofViennain July1683. "On the26th,theTurksdesigningto makea furiousAssault,caused all theirwarlikeMusick,such
whichgave a shrillSound,
as Flutes,Cymbals,and brassTrumpets,
to playwiththeirhighestNotes,to encouragetheirSoldiersto make
oftheband in themidstofbattlewas
theOnset."36The significance
Guer."This military
also stressed
by Jean-Antoine
band,whichfolofthearmy,is stationedduringcombatat the
lowsall themovements
sideoftheVisir,and does notstopplayingas longas thebattlelasts,
so as to sustainthespiritof thetroops.If theJanissariesshouldno
longerhearit,theywould augurill forthesuccessof thebattleand
possiblytakeflight."37
At the timeof the crusades,European armiesadopted certain
in themehtercamein the
butthemajorinterest
Easterninstruments,
The first
rulertoreceivea fullmilitary
eighteenth
century.
bandfrom
thesultanwas AugustusII (1697-1704) of Poland. Next,Empress
Anna ofRussiaacquireda band,whichplayedin theceremonycelebratingthesigningoftheRusso-Turkish
TreatyofBelgrade(1739).
soon followedsuit,and by 1770
Austria,France,and othercountries
most armieshad bands featuringTurkishinstruments
and cosFredericktheGreatwentso faras to introducethemintoall
tumes.38
bands.Many of theoriginalmusicianswereTurkish,
his regimental
but when replacementswere needed,black musicians,dressedin
splendidtunicswithcolorfulsashesand highfeathered
turbans,were
employed.(Black "Turkish"musicianscontinuedin England until
the reignof Queen Victoria.)39They contortedtheirbodies vigorouslywhenplaying;however,all thatremainstodayofthosefantasis thesticktwirling.40
ticgestures
Europeanswere fascinatedwiththe new, "barbarous"sound of
forin theeighteenth
thenoisypercussioninstruments,
centuryonly
werecommonlyused in orchestral
music.The Turkish
kettledrums
36 The History
of theTurks,Beginningwiththe Year 1679, Vol. III of Richard
Knolles'The TurkishHistory,6thed. (London,1700),p. 107.
37 Maeursetusagesdes turcs(Paris,1746-1747),II, 258.
38HenryGeorgeFarmer,"OrientalInfluenceson OccidentalMilitaryMusic,"
IslamicCulture,15 (April1941),239-40.
39 HenryGeorgeFarmer,The Rise and Developmentof MilitaryMusic (London,
1912),pp. 72-77.
40 JamesBlades,PercussionInstruments
and TheirHistory(New York, 1970),
p. 266.

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486

EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY STUDIES

tripercussiongroupincludedbass drums,4'
kettledrums,
cymbals,42
and theTurkishcrescent(chaghana)or,
angles,43
largetambourines,
Johnnie-a pole ornamented
as theEnglishcalled it,Jingling
with
horse-tailplumes in different
colors,with several crescentsfrom
whichsmallbells weresuspended.Shawms(oboe-typeinstruments)
werethemainmelodyinstruments.
Fifesand brasseswerealso used,
butthetrumpeters
did notplaytheusualbuglecalls ofWesternmilitarymusic. Accordingto European observers,they occasionally
squealedout a fewnotes.
in performing
The European"Turkish"bandswerenotinterested
genuineTurkishmusic,in adoptingtheTurkishmannerofplaying,
Sulzer ador in adheringto the originalTurkishinstrumentation.
betweengenuineJanissary
music
visedhisreadersthatthedifference
and the "new pieces fromGermanpens [which] appear daily" is
great.He foundthe,German-Turkish
instrumentation,
withits "piccolo, twohorns,a fewbassoons,and someoboes, and themoderate
noiseofthestatelyrollon theordinarydrumwithsparingblowson
thebass drum,and theclashingof the cymbals"to be euphonious,
whilehe complainedofthemehtermusic,withits"noisycaterwaulingoftwenty
greatTurkishdrums,as manyshawms,and nineor ten
Sulzeradmittedthatthegrouphe heardmay
out-of-tune
trumpets."
Guerwas favorably
havehad inadequateperformers.44
impressedby
thelargeensemblehe heard;in fact,he said theyplayedso wellthat
"twoor threehundredproducebuta singlesound."45An interesting
is thatin 1826, whenthesultandisbandedtheJanissaries,
aftermath
whoinstituted
theWesternpseudohe hiredEuropeanbandmasters,
Turkishmilitary
style.
Turkishmusicwas ignoredbymosteighteenthAlthoughauthentic
century
musicians,it did nottakethemlongto incorporatethenew
musicof the day. Classical comintothe nonmilitary
instruments
posers introducedthe batterieturque-especially the bass drum,
cymbals,and triangle-to enhancethe color of theirorchestration.
41 Double-headeddrumsplayedin theOrientalmanner,witha stickon one side
and a switchof twigson theother.
42 Smallerthanthoseusedin modemsymphony
orchestras.
43 Triangleswerenot authentic
Turkishinstruments,
but theybecameassociated
theyusuallyhad
century,
withEuropean"Turkish"music.Untiltheearlynineteenth
section.
metalringson thehorizontal
jingling
44 Franz JosephSulzer, Geschichtedes transalpinischen
Daciens das ist: der
(Vienna,1781-1782),II, 431-32.
Moldau,undBessarabiens
Walachey,
45 Guer,Mwurset usagesdes turcs,
II, 257-58.

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"TURKISH MUSIC"

487

Sometimes
thepiccolo,whichimitatedthehigh,shrillTurkishfife,
was added.The mostfamousmusicalexampleswhichfeature"Turkare Haydn's SymphonyNo. 100, the "Military,"
ish" instruments
and threeworksby Beethoven:the"alla marcia"in theFinale ofhis
No. 9, his "Wellington'sVictory"Symphony,and the
Symphony
TurkishMarchand ChorusofDervishesfromhisincidentalmusicto
The Ruinsof Athens.For thelatterwork,Beethoven'sinstructions
be used. "Turkish"instruwerethateveryavailablenoisyinstrument
mentswerealso employedin Mozart'sAbductionfromtheSeraglio
and in manyoftheTurkishscenesin otheroperasand ballets,espeBy theend
duringthesecondhalfofthecentury.
ciallythosewritten
thebatterieturquewas so fashionablethat
oftheeighteenth
century,
were added to keyboardinstruments
to simulatethe
attachments
soundofthebass drum(a malletwitha paddedheadhitting
thumping
theback ofthesoundingboard),theclangingof thecymbals(strips
the lowerstrings),and thejinglingof the triangle
of brassstriking
and bells(littlemetalballs hammeredby smallrods).Even in works
suchas Mozart's"Rondo alla turca"
without
percussioninstruments,
fromhis Piano Sonata,K. 331, and partof theFinale of his Violin
Concerto,K. 219, certainalla turca"tricks"wereappliedto mimic
thepercussiveeffects.
Orientalmusicwas describedby mosttravelersas monotonous,
ofsinglenotesand shortmotives.To simurepetitions
withpersistent
melodicinlatethis,composersused staticharmoniesand recurring
thirds.
This
cliche
immediately
tervals,especiallyrepeatedleaping
rhythmic
caricaturedthemusicas "Turkish."Constantlyreiterated
weremodeledafterthehypnoticdance styleof thewhirling
patterns
in Mozart's"Rondo alla turca"show
dervishes.The runningfigures
to "Turkishweddingdances and the sharpaca markedsimilarity
commonto Oriental
mehter."
46 Othertechniques
centsofthemilitary
musicwerealso used, such as melodicornaments(grace notes).In
place of Turkishscales, Westerncomposersachieveda semiexotic
betweenmajorand
effect
bytheuse ofminorkeysor rapidcontrasts
minor,pluscertainchromaticintervals.Hungarianand gypsydance
tunes(Hungarywas partof theOttomanEmpireuntiltheTreatyof
Karlowitzin 1699) were incorporatedinto a numberof Viennese
sincetheyutilizedmanyofthe"exotic"de"Turkish"compositions,
46 AlexanderL. Ringer,
"On theQuestionof 'Exoticism'in 19thCenturyMusic,"
StudiaMusicologica,7 (1965), 120.

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488

EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY STUDIES

vices;47however,genuineTurkishmelodiesappear to have been

one hunavoided.MiriamWhaples,who examinedapproximately
between1600 and 1800,
dredscoresofexoticdramaticworkswritten
foundno directevidenceofquotationsfrompublishedtranscriptions
of Turkishor othernon-Europeanmusic.48In lieu of Turkishmelof
odies, eighteenth-century
composerscreateda stylizedsynthesis
Orientalmannerisms,
therebyenrichingthe musicalvocabularyof
thecenturyand pavingtheway forthemoreseriousapplicationof
exoticismto themusicoftheromanticera. The additionof thebatanticipatedtheinterieturqueforpicturesqueand humorouseffects
oftheseinstruments
members
as permanent
ofsymphony
corporation
and twentieth
orchestrasof thenineteenth
centuries.In conclusion,
of Turkishexoticisminto
one shouldrecognizethattheintroduction
musicwas not an isolatedphenomenonbut was
eighteenth-century
part of the preromantic
vogue of Orientalismand the cult of chiand thephilosophyof
noiseriethatpermeatedtheart,theliterature,
theage.
TempleUniversity
in Mozart,"Musicand Letters,37 (October1956),
47 BenceSzabolcsi,"Exoticisms
329-30.
48 "Exoticism
in DramaticMusic,"p. 263.

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