THE ROLE OF TURKISH PERCUSSION IN THE HISTORY AND ...

(zurna), fifes (ney), a pair of kettledrums (kos), bass drums (daval - carried at the player’s
waist, heads to the side and struck with a double-headed stick on one head and a switch on the
other), two pairs of small cymbals (zil), one large pair of cymbals, and a triangle (large, most
likely with metal rings strung on the base which jingled when the instrument was struck). As
Turkish music spread westward, Austria and France joined the craze. By century’s end,
England too had included bass drums, cymbals, and tambourines in the Royal Artillery Band.
Turkish crescents were added to these bands by 1805. 7
While the Turkish influence was first felt in the military band, it soon found its way
into the orchestral scores of Western composers when Turkish instruments caught their eyes
and ears in the mid 1760s. As one historian said, “It was . . . this so-called ‘Turkish Music’
that opened the eyes of the great composers, beginning with Mozart and Beethoven, to the
possibilities of a new tone color and fresh rhythmic devices in the wider realm of orchestra
music.” 8 In the narrowest sense, the Europeans considered Turkish percussion as the
combination of bass drum, cymbals, and triangle. This was evidenced in the significant early
works noted for the incorporation of Turkish influences. The music played by these
instruments, before their inclusion in the orchestra, was not written down. Even after the
entry of Turkish percussion instruments into the orchestral ensemble, not every work
composed alla turka had printed percussion parts provided by the composer. Consequently,
most information about Turkish music concerns the instruments on which it was played. 9
7 Harrison Powley, Encyclopedia of Percussion, s.v. “Janissary Music” ed. John H. Beck.
8 Ibid., 46.
9
The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed. Stanley Sadie, 3rd ed., s.v. “Janissary music,” by
Michael Pirker.
6