Vertical Dimension of the Chromatic Dorian Mode Scale in Saygun’s Music: A Scrutiny Regarding the Origin of the [3, 5, 3] Chord
Orhan Veli ÖzbayrakThe contents of Saygun’s various publications, in which he provides theoretical information on the modal structure of Turkish folk music, and the solmization book titled Töresel Musıki (Modal Music), which should be considered in the context of these publications, show that he has modally associated Turkish folk music with the ancient Greek musical system. The mode scales (töres) included in these publications also form the basis of the composer’s works from a modal point of view. One scale that Saygun included in only one of these publications, Alaca Dor Terkibi (Dorian scale in the chromatic genus), also possesses unique compositional sound material, for it is used frequently by the composer throughout his numerous works. This begs the question of whether the composer might have also used this scale as harmonic material.
Karadeniz and Berki determined that the chord structure they formulated as [3,5,3] and its derivatives are frequently found in Saygun’s works and stated that, in light of an anecdote they quoted, the source for this is the Bestenigâr scale. However, this chord and its derivatives can also be obtained from some other scales the composer also uses, including the chromatic Dorian mode, and this study asserts that the [3,5,3] chord, a signature of Saygun according to Karadeniz and Berki, may have emerged from another scale, which essentially seems the genuine underlying signature.
Saygun’un Müziğinde Alaca Dor Töre Dizisinin Dikey Boyutu: [3, 5, 3] Akorunun Kökenine İlişkin Bir İrdeleme
Orhan Veli ÖzbayrakSaygun’un Türk halk müziğinin modal yapısı üzerine kuramsal bilgiler verdiği çeşitli yayınlarının ve bu yayınları bağlamında düşünülmesi gereken Töresel Musıki başlıklı okuma kitabının içerikleri, bir budun müzikbilimci olarak kendisinin Türk halk müziğini ve bu müzik geleneğini içine yerleştirdiği “Akdeniz havzası” müziklerini modal bakımdan antik Yunan mod kuramıyla ilişkilendirdiğini göstermektedir. Bu yayınlarda yer verdiği ‘töre’ dizileri aynı zamanda modal açıdan bestecinin yapıtlarının da temelini oluşturur.
Saygun’un bu yayınların sadece birinde yer verdiği ‘Alaca Dor Terkibi’, yapıtlarının yatay boyutunun vazgeçilmez ve uzun erimli ses malzemelerinden biri, belki de en dikkat çekenidir. Bestecinin bu diziyi kullanma gerekçesinin salt bir müziksel tercihe veya beğeniye dayanmadığı, bazı budun müzikbilimsel ve kültürel olgulardan kaynaklandığı düşünülmektedir. Bu durum, bestecinin anılan diziyi bir armonik malzeme olarak da kullanmış olup olmadığı sorusunu akla getirir.
Karadeniz ve Berki, [3,5,3] şeklinde formülleştirdikleri akor yapısının ve türevlerinin, Saygun’un yapıtlarında sıklıkla bulunduğu saptamasını yaparken bir anekdota dayanarak bunun kaynağının Bestenigâr dizisi olduğunu belirtmiştir. Ancak bu akor ve türevleri, Saygun’un kullandığı ve yapısında eksilmiş sekizli veya büyük yedili bulunan başka dizilerden de elde edilebilmektedir. Bununla birlikte, eksilmiş sekizlinin artmış birlinin çevrimi olması, söz konusu akor yapılarının, alaca Dor töre dizisinden de elde edilmiş olabileceği olasılığını akla getirmekte ve bu çalışma Saygun’un bir imzası olarak nitelendirilen [3,5,3]’ün altında bir başka ‘imza’nın bulunduğunu savlamaktadır.
Adnan Saygun is one of the most important central figures of 20th-century Turkish music and has made many theoretical and ethnomusicological studies in addition to his productive career as a composer. He has published these in such publications as books, articles, and conference papers. His publications titled Musıki Temel Bilgisi Kitap IV (Fundamentals of Music, Book IV) (1966) and Béla Bartók’s Folk Music Research in Turkey (1976), in which he gave theoretical information on the modal structure of Turkish folk music, and the solmization book titled Töresel Musıki (Modal Music) (1967), which can be considered a kind of supplementary gradus due to containing musical examples based on the content of the former one, show that Saygun as an ethnomusicologist had based his theoretical understanding on the ancient Greek modal theory while explaining the basics of Turkish folk music and the music of the Mediterranean Basin, which he regarded as a cultural superset of Turkish musical tradition in terms of modality. When examining these publications in detail and comparing them with the works of the composer, the modal scales (töres; an interesting and unique word choice for mode, which the composer himself solely used in Turkish musical terminology) included in these publications are seen to form the basis of the composer’s works from a modal point of view.
One scale, the Alaca Dor Terkibi (Dorian scale in the chromatic genus) that Saygun included in only his Töresel Musıki, is one of the indispensable and long-term sound materials of the horizontal dimension of his works and is perhaps the most striking. The composer’s reason for using this scale is thought to be based not solely on a pure musical preference or taste but to have been due to some ethnomusicological and cultural phenomena, especially the instability of the 2nd and 6th scale degrees in Turkish folk music, which are referred to in his aforementioned publications and many others. This situation leads to the question of whether the composer might have also used this scale as harmonic material, for it is almost constantly present to a greater or lesser extent in the composer’s œuvre.
Karadeniz and Berki (2016) determined the [3,5,3] chord structure they had formulated, as well as its derivatives [3,3,5] and [5,3,3] to be frequently found in Saygun’s works and stated the origin for this to be a traditional Turkish music maqam, the Bestenigâr scale, which they positioned as the “fundamental scale” of the composer’s musical understanding in light of an anecdote they had quoted. This study compares some of the information in this anecdote and the way it was conveyed with the theoretical information Saygun had included in his publications and, by pointing out some of the inconsistencies and contradictions that emerged as a result, justifies why the Bestenigâr scale could not have been fundamental to the composer’s modal understanding. Still, the aforementioned chord structure can also be obtained from some other scales, such as the Neveser and the Nikriz (disjointed Hypohicaz and disjointed hypo[Hicaz+Phrygian] modes respectively according to Saygun’s terminology), which the composer also used and have a diminished eighth or major seventh in their structure. Additionally, the fact that the diminished eighth is an inversion of the augmented prime suggests the possibility that this chord and its derivatives may have been derived from a more fundamental scale: the chromatic Dorian mode scale. Therefore, this study asserts that the [3,5,3] chord, a signature of Saygun according to Karadeniz and Berki, may have been emerged from another underlying signature, by recalling the following words the composer had said to one of his students, which spontaneously and concisely express his mystical Weltanschauung and persona: “Nothing is as it seems.”