The Signature in Saygun’s Music: Chromatic Tetrachord or Chromatic Dorian Mode
Adnan Saygun was a composer and an ethnomusicologist with significant research and publications. The relationship and interplay between these two identities of Saygun have been emphasized in works about him. Nevertheless, the theoretical bond between Saygun’s musical works and academic publications...
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| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Istanbul University Press
2022-06-01
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| Series: | Konservatoryum |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://cdn.istanbul.edu.tr/file/JTA6CLJ8T5/7CC787DB5AC24A60B8C1A11CDB37691D |
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| Summary: | Adnan Saygun was a composer and an ethnomusicologist with significant research and publications. The relationship and interplay between these two identities of Saygun have been emphasized in works about him. Nevertheless, the theoretical bond between Saygun’s musical works and academic publications has not been scrutinized thoroughly. Based on the information that Saygun included in his various publications on ancient Greek modal theory, which he considered the fundamental theoretical source of Turkish folk music, this study aims to draw attention to and explain the special place of the “chromatic Dorian mode,” which he uses frequently from his earliest works onward. The author compiles the thoughts of Saygun and the people he interacted with during his education in Paris related to the subject and summarizes the necessary theoretical information to comprehend the place of the mode and its scale in ancient Greek modal theory. Then, the paper presents different usage types of the scale within examples from the composer’s selected works. Finally, the author makes determinations and comments about why and for what purpose Saygun may have used this scale. Considering the facts symbolized by the chromatic Dorian mode scale in the historical and ethnomusicological context and the fact that it is an indispensable sound material in Saygun’s œuvre, one can argue that this scale is a signature aspect of the composer’s music. |
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| ISSN: | 2618-5695 |