Aşkın İ., Akat A.
Musicologist: An International Journal of Music Studies, vol.9, no.2, pp.509-542, 2025 (Scopus, TRDizin)
Abstract
This study examines how the musical transformations that emerged during the modernization process of the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century especially the activities of Musika-i Hümâyûn were connected to the idea of Ottomanism. The research focuses on how the marches composed between 1828 and 1913 and performed by Musika-i Hümâyûn or military bands, were positioned within the identity-building processes of the period. In this context, the study evaluates whether these marches functioned as a symbolic space that combined cultural elements with the rituals of the modern state.
The study was designed as a historical and analytical investigation within a qualitative research framework. Using the document analysis method, archival materials, march scores, newspapers, official publications and secondary literature were reviewed; the data were analyzed through a descriptive approach, considering the social and political context of the time. In the analysis, music is treated not only as an aesthetic field, but also as a form of expression linked to cultural transmission, collective imagination and modern state practices.
The findings show that this march repertoire combined local melodic elements with the language of modern ceremonies, supporting the identity discourses of the period. In this sense, the marches can be seen as musical examples with strong representative power that reflect the cultural dimension of Ottoman modernization. The results do not aim to explain the idea of Ottomanism completely, but they reveal that its traces can be observed on musical and symbolic levels.