Jane Brown and Dr. Cynthia Finlayson, Art History with Curatorial Studies
The money I received for this grant was originally to go towards a trip to Syria in which I would research the instruments in the Azeem palace complex. Due to political conflicts during the time I was to leave, my research was conducted instead in United States. Because of the change in plans, my topic shifted to specific instruments of the Ottomans and their depiction in their art.
Music has been an endearing way to express to others what cannot be said through words. Since time began, humankind has desired a means of producing these sounds of the soul. The people who lived in the Middle East during the time of Muhammad, as well as those living there following his death, found music to be an important part of life. They used it as a call to prayer, celebrate weddings, follow them to battle, and to entertain. Because Muhammad never expressly mentioned whether or not music was appropriate for those who feared Allah, many arguments arose to when and where it should be used. Despite these arguments, I found that much of the art produced from Islamic contexts indicates that the musician was still actively involved in life’s rituals.
Instruments I saw used frequently and depicted often are the ud, qanun, and nay. The ud is an instrument limited to four strings which were each a different color and represented a different element: yellow bile, blood, phlegm, and black bile. Many of the depictions I found of it were in emotional settings. The qanun is an instrument which is a trapezoidal box with twenty-four triple strings. My research of this instrument found it depicted in scenes of celebration. The nay, a flute made from a reed, I found depicted in many sufi ceremonies.
Around the 13th century music was developed and played by certain members of the Ottoman’s Janissary forces which later influenced those in the West. I found their prominence in the many depictions in art from this era. The Janissaries were an elite group of men taken from prisoners of war, slaves, and many Christian youths. They were usually selected as children and given training for military and administrative duties in the Ottoman Empire. The Janissary band was made up of giant kettle drums, small timpani, and many other instruments. The music these forces played was called Mehter music which is very similar to what we know today as the “Turkish march.” This band would accompany the Ottoman armies into battle and provide the adrenaline rush needed to conquer the enemy. The crusaders were so impressed by the music they heard that they brought back their own copy to Europe, influencing and setting an example for later European military bands.
Some of the rewarding aspects of doing this research were studying the art and music of Syria, as well as coming to understand better the religion of Islam.