Contemporary Studies on the History and Performance of Ottoman Music Based on 19th-Century Hampartsum Notation Sources
Conference (Hybrid) – Workshop – Concert (Hybrid)
February 25-26, 2025
Orient-Institut Istanbul
Galip Dede Cd. No:65 Beyoğlu/İstanbul
Organized by Ersin Mıhcı & Nihan Tahtaişleyen
Resounding New Possibilities for Performing Ottoman Music: The CMO Editions
Since 2015, the DFG-funded project Corpus Musicae Ottomanicae (CMO) has been establishing a research infrastructure for critical music and text editions of nineteenth-century Ottoman musical sources. These sources include manuscripts in Hampartsum and staff notation, as well as song text collections. At the same time, the project has catalogued a comprehensive body of relevant research data and made it available online and open access.
Now in its 10th year, in collaboration with the Orient-Institut Istanbul (OII), the Istanbul Technical University Turkish Music State Conservatory (ITU TMDK), and the Ottoman Turkish Music Research Group (ITÜ, OTMAG) the CMO for the first time organizes an event that brings together scholars, performers, and students to explore ways to use the CMO critical editions for professional music performances. This event will take place between February 25–26, 2025 and consist of three sessions:
The first day starts with four panels that deals with questions and problems related to historical Ottoman makâm music sources. Speakers from different disciplines, such as musicology and music performance as well as researchers of Ottoman literature, will talk about the history of music archives, the theory and practice of Ottoman music, topics related to vocal music and güfte, and discuss scholarly music editions for other music notations that were all used in the Ottoman context. The talks will be in Turkish and English and can be followed on Zoom. The second day will start with a master class for invited students who, under the supervision of experienced music performers and academics, will have the chance to study and work on specific performance-related questions that may occur while bringing a musical piece from the manuscript source to the stage. The second day will conclude with a master concert: Prof. Ruhi Ayangil and his ensemble will bring to the ear an exclusive selection of rare songs from CMO music editions. As the title of this event already suggests, this three-part event aims to foment the interdisciplinary exchange of ideas between scholars and performers and thus facilitate new readings and approaches to known and less-known Ottoman pieces by using CMO Editions.