Western Staff Notation in the Context of Nineteenth-Century Ottoman Music

Abstract

In the 19th century, the performative repertoire of Ottoman art music was recorded in numerous sources using different notation techniques. While the semantics of Hampartsum notation has been well studied, there are no corresponding studies on the use of Western staff notation in the Ottoman music context in the period from about 1830 to 1880. This paper develops an approach to the interpretation of 19th-century Ottoman music manuscripts using Western staff notation on the basis of notational comparisons. The results of the studies already allow for a semantically correct transcription, but above all, they are intended to stimulate further research.