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

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CHAPTER 4<br />

SUBSEQUENT <strong>HISTORY</strong> <strong>AND</strong> USE <strong>OF</strong> <strong>TURKISH</strong> <strong>PERCUSSION</strong><br />

<strong>IN</strong>STRUMENTS <strong>IN</strong> <strong>THE</strong> ORCHESTRA<br />

The positive result of the Turkish influence on the orchestras of the<br />

nineteenth century was that percussion instruments as an entire section were<br />

then accorded a place in instrumental music ensembles. Not only the timpani,<br />

but now a variety of percussion instruments of numerous timbres were<br />

available for composers to use in various ways. 1<br />

The nineteenth century and the first quarter of the twentieth century represent a<br />

segment of time necessary for the maturation of the Turkish percussion instruments accepted<br />

into the orchestra. It was during this period that each of the standard instruments of the<br />

percussion section was gradually weaned from its past standard usage and introduced to a<br />

variable degree of independence. With the exception of the Turkish crescent, every member<br />

of the Turkish percussion section included in the orchestra was to undergo changes during this<br />

period of time that led composers to see the bass drum, cymbals, triangle, and tambourine<br />

more autonomously. These instruments were given solos of different types, and were<br />

accorded some individuality, functioning not only as a homogeneous group, but also in<br />

combination with other orchestral instruments. 2<br />

The bass drum, seen in Figure 21, gradually began to assume a more modern<br />

appearance by the beginning of the nineteenth century. Berlioz refers to two forms of the bass<br />

drum: a deep, two-headed instrument known as the long drum in which the depth of the shell<br />

was greater than the diameter of the heads, and a shallow Turkish drum of larger diameter,<br />

also with two playable heads.<br />

1 Gangware, The History and Use of Percussion Instruments in Orchestration, 206.<br />

2 Ibid., 256-57.<br />

44

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