Kanto (music)
Encyclopedia
Kanto is a popular genre of Turkish music.
and theater had a profound effect on Turkish culture during the early 20th century. The terminology of music and theater derived from Italian. In the argot of the improvisational theater of Istanbul the stage was called "sahano", backstage was referred to as "koyuntu", backdrops depicting countryside as "bosko", the applause as "furi", and the songs sung as solos or duets between the acts and plays were called "kanto" (as was the case with their Italian counterparts, the Turkish troupe members played songs and music before the show and between the acts to peak people's interest and draw in customers). Kanto were based on traditional eastern makam
but performed with western instruments.
and Direklerarası (after the neighbourhoods of Old Istanbul).
, Shamiram Kelleciyan, and Peruz Terzekyan (all of them performed during the period following 1903).
"Everyone thought Peruz was the most flirtatious, most skillful and the most provocative. The seats closest to the stage were always crammed full... They said of Peruz, 'she is a trollop who has ensnared the heart of many a young man and has made herself the enemy of many. 'Her songs would hardly be finished when chairs, flowers, bouquets and beribboned letters. Come flying from the boxseats. It seemed the building would be shaken to the ground."
Direklerarası in comparison to Galata was a more refined center of entertainment. Direklerarası was said to be quite lively at night during the month of Ramadan (or Ramazan in Turkish). It was there that the troupes of Kel Hasan and Abdi Efendi and later that of Neshid gained popularity. Under the influence of these masters kanto had its golden years.
The troupes' orchestras featured instruments such as the trumpet
, the trombone
, the violin
, the trap drum
and cymbal
s. The orchestra would start to play contemporary popular songs and marches about an hour before the beginning of main show. This intermission music ended up with the well known İzmir Marşı (Izmir March); a sign that the show time was approaching. The play began as soon as the musicians had taken their places at the side of the stage.
Prominent artists include: Peruz, Shamran, Kamelya, Eleni, Küçük and Büyük Amelya, Mari Ferha and Virjin.
(Istanbul Greek) and Armenian women who performed both in musical and non-musical theatre. Institutions such as Darulbedayi (Istanbul City Theatre) and Darulelhan (Istanbul Conservatory of Music) had trained musicians that turned out to work as kanto artists.
Before the 1930s, Western lifestyle and western art had put pressure on the traditional Turkish formats which were marginalized. The operetta
, the tango
and later the charleston
, and the foxtrot overshadowed kanto. Kanto's popularity began to fade, the centers of entertainment shifted and the theaters of Galata and Direklerarası were eventually closed. Turkish female artists who were not receptive to kanto's typical ribaldry chose to turn away from it.
, Cümbüş Mehmet and Mildan Niyazi Bey. The makams were the same but the instrumentation had changed. Kanto were now accompanied by cümbüş
(a fretlees banjo
-like instrument) the ud
(a fretless lute
), and calpara (castanets). Foxtrot, charleston
, and rumba
rhythms were fusioned with the typical kanto forms.
Female soloists from this period include: Makbule Enver, Mahmure, and Neriman; Beşiktaşlı Kemal Senman was the most sought after male singer for duets.
Nurhan Damcıoğlu is an example of a contemporary (post 1980s) artist labeled as a kanto singer.
Terminology
Italian operaItalian opera
Italian opera is both the art of opera in Italy and opera in the Italian language. Opera was born in Italy around the year 1600 and Italian opera has continued to play a dominant role in the history of the form until the present day. Many famous operas in Italian were written by foreign composers,...
and theater had a profound effect on Turkish culture during the early 20th century. The terminology of music and theater derived from Italian. In the argot of the improvisational theater of Istanbul the stage was called "sahano", backstage was referred to as "koyuntu", backdrops depicting countryside as "bosko", the applause as "furi", and the songs sung as solos or duets between the acts and plays were called "kanto" (as was the case with their Italian counterparts, the Turkish troupe members played songs and music before the show and between the acts to peak people's interest and draw in customers). Kanto were based on traditional eastern makam
Makam
Makam In Turkish classical music, a system of melody types called makam provides a complex set of rules for composing and performance...
but performed with western instruments.
Theatrical origins
The improvised theatrical pieces were stage adaptations of the Karagöz (shadow puppet) and Ortaoyunu (form of Turkish theatre performed in the open air) traditions, although in a much more simplifled form. The themes explored in these traditional theater arts (as well as their stereotypes) were used as the framework for the new extemporaneous performances of the tuluat ("improvised") theater. In this way, kanto may be considered as the unifying feature of all tuluat theater.Periods
Kanto is usually divided into two periods. The division, particulariy in terms of musical structure, is clear between the early kanto (1900s - 1923) and the kanto of the Post-Republican period (especially after the mid 1930s). It is further possible to identify two styles within the early period: GalataGalata
Galata or Galatae is a neighbourhood in the Beyoğlu district on the European side of Istanbul, the largest city of Turkey. Galata is located at the northern shore of the Golden Horn, the inlet which separates it from the historic peninsula of old Constantinople. The Golden Horn is crossed by...
and Direklerarası (after the neighbourhoods of Old Istanbul).
Early period: 1900s-mid 1930s
The early period kanto tradition was nourished in Istanbul. The same was also true in the Post-Republican period. The city's large and diverse population provided the themes that were the mainstay of kanto. Kanto was heavily influenced by musical theatre, Roma (gypsy) music (which was however often a subject of satire in kanto songs), and Rum music (especially the Istanbul Rum who were so fond of urban forms of entertainment). In other words, kanto was the resuit of cultural exchange and lmost all the early kanto singers were either Rum or Armenian: Pepron, Karakas, HaimHaim
Haim is the surname of:* Corey Haim , Canadian actor* Paul Ben-Haim* Mathilda May , French actress* Soleiman Haim* Tal Ben Haim* :fr:Victor Haïm, French playwright, father of Mathilde May...
, Shamiram Kelleciyan, and Peruz Terzekyan (all of them performed during the period following 1903).
Galata and Direklerarası
Galata was the part of Istanbul where sailors, rowdies, and roustabouts used to frequent. Ahmet Rasim Bey gives a vivid picture of the Galata theaters in his novel Fuhs-i Akit "An Old Whore":"Everyone thought Peruz was the most flirtatious, most skillful and the most provocative. The seats closest to the stage were always crammed full... They said of Peruz, 'she is a trollop who has ensnared the heart of many a young man and has made herself the enemy of many. 'Her songs would hardly be finished when chairs, flowers, bouquets and beribboned letters. Come flying from the boxseats. It seemed the building would be shaken to the ground."
Direklerarası in comparison to Galata was a more refined center of entertainment. Direklerarası was said to be quite lively at night during the month of Ramadan (or Ramazan in Turkish). It was there that the troupes of Kel Hasan and Abdi Efendi and later that of Neshid gained popularity. Under the influence of these masters kanto had its golden years.
The troupes' orchestras featured instruments such as the trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
, the trombone
Trombone
The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
, the violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
, the trap drum
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
and cymbal
Cymbal
Cymbals are a common percussion instrument. Cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys; see cymbal making for a discussion of their manufacture. The greater majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sound a...
s. The orchestra would start to play contemporary popular songs and marches about an hour before the beginning of main show. This intermission music ended up with the well known İzmir Marşı (Izmir March); a sign that the show time was approaching. The play began as soon as the musicians had taken their places at the side of the stage.
Prominent artists include: Peruz, Shamran, Kamelya, Eleni, Küçük and Büyük Amelya, Mari Ferha and Virjin.
1923 - mid 1930s: decline in popularity
After the 1923 formation of the Turkish Republic, there were changes in the cultural life of Turkey. It was a period of rapid transformation and its effects were widespread. Turkish women had finally won the freedom to appear on the stage, breaking the monopoly previously held by RûmRûm
Rûm, also Roum or Rhum , an indefinite term used at different times in the Muslim world to refer to the Balkans and Anatolia generally, and for the Byzantine Empire in particular, for the Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm in Asia Minor, and referring to Greeks living outside of Greece or non-muslims...
(Istanbul Greek) and Armenian women who performed both in musical and non-musical theatre. Institutions such as Darulbedayi (Istanbul City Theatre) and Darulelhan (Istanbul Conservatory of Music) had trained musicians that turned out to work as kanto artists.
Before the 1930s, Western lifestyle and western art had put pressure on the traditional Turkish formats which were marginalized. The operetta
Operetta
Operetta is a genre of light opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter. It is also closely related, in English-language works, to forms of musical theatre.-Origins:...
, the tango
Tango (ballroom)
Ballroom Tango is a ballroom dance that branched away from its original Argentine roots by allowing European, American, Hollywood, and competitive influences into the style and execution of the dance....
and later the charleston
Charleston (dance)
The Charleston is a dance named for the harbor city of Charleston, South Carolina. The rhythm was popularized in mainstream dance music in the United States by a 1923 tune called "The Charleston" by composer/pianist James P. Johnson which originated in the Broadway show Runnin' Wild and became one...
, and the foxtrot overshadowed kanto. Kanto's popularity began to fade, the centers of entertainment shifted and the theaters of Galata and Direklerarası were eventually closed. Turkish female artists who were not receptive to kanto's typical ribaldry chose to turn away from it.
Themes
The kanto singers of this period were also composers. The songs had simple melodies combined with lyrics that described the tensions between men and women, or explored love themes, or just reflected local events of the time. The compositions were in well-known makams such as Rast, Hüzzam, Hicaz, Hüseyni and Nihavent. Kanto songs are remembered both by the names of their interpreters and their creators.Late 1930s and beyond
There occurred a new change of trends after the late 1930s: there was a revival of interest in the kanto form. Although rather far from its fundamental principles a new type of kanto was önce again popular. Kanto was not anymore exclusively limited to stage performances; there began to exist records produced in studios. While the lyrics began to include satirical takes on contemporary cultural trends and fashion. The songs were recorded with the 78 rpm phonograph. Columbia was the leading record label that commissioned kanto from Kaptanzade Ali Rıza Bey, Refik Fersan, Dramalı Hasan, Sadettin KaynakSadettin Kaynak
Sadettin Kaynak was a prominent composer of Turkish classical music.-Biography:Born in Istanbul, he became a hafiz at a young age. He completed his music education at the Istanbul University. Later, he traveled to south east Anatolia and researched Turkish folk music there...
, Cümbüş Mehmet and Mildan Niyazi Bey. The makams were the same but the instrumentation had changed. Kanto were now accompanied by cümbüş
Cümbüs
The cümbüş is a Turkish stringed instrument of relatively modern origin. Developed in the early 20th century by Zeynelabidin Cümbüş as an oud-like instrument that could be heard as part of a larger ensemble. In construction it resembles both the American banjo and the Middle Eastern oud. A...
(a fretlees banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
-like instrument) the ud
Oud
The oud is a pear-shaped stringed instrument commonly used in North African and Middle Eastern music. The modern oud and the European lute both descend from a common ancestor via diverging paths...
(a fretless lute
Lute
Lute can refer generally to any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back, or more specifically to an instrument from the family of European lutes....
), and calpara (castanets). Foxtrot, charleston
Charleston (dance)
The Charleston is a dance named for the harbor city of Charleston, South Carolina. The rhythm was popularized in mainstream dance music in the United States by a 1923 tune called "The Charleston" by composer/pianist James P. Johnson which originated in the Broadway show Runnin' Wild and became one...
, and rumba
Rumba (dance)
Rumba is a dance term with two quite different meanings.In some contexts, "rumba" is used as shorthand for Afro-Cuban rumba, a group of dances related to the rumba genre of Afro-Cuban music. The most common Afro-Cuban rumba is the guaguancó...
rhythms were fusioned with the typical kanto forms.
Female soloists from this period include: Makbule Enver, Mahmure, and Neriman; Beşiktaşlı Kemal Senman was the most sought after male singer for duets.
Themes
Among the themes explored by the new kantocu (singer(s) or composer(s) of kanto), the most frequent subject of satire was the new role of women after the formation of the Republic. Songs like "Sarhoş Kızlar" (Drunken Girls) or "Şoför Kadınlar" (Female Drivers) were written in revenge for all the suffering women had endured at the hands of men in the past. Other songs with similar themes include "Daktilo" (The Typewriter) (which brought to mind the newly formed Secretaires Society), "Bereli Kız" (The Girl with the Beret), "Kadın Asker", and "Olursa" (If Women Were Soldiers).Contemporary use of the term
Kanto had a tremendous impact on contemporary Turkish popular music. However, the word Kanto eventually became more of a generalized umbrella term than a precise definition of a musical genre. Any tune that does not follow any conventions, or any song that appealed to the trends and tastes of the time it is released is labeled kanto. Any music instrumented in a novel way is also labeled kanto.Nurhan Damcıoğlu is an example of a contemporary (post 1980s) artist labeled as a kanto singer.
See also
- CantataCantataA cantata is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir....
- Arabesque musicArabesque musicArabesque or Arabesk is a genre termed so by Turkish musicologists for Arabic-style music created in Turkey. The genre was particularly popular in Turkey in the decades from the 1960s through 1990s. As with Arabic music itself, its aesthetics have evolved over the decades...
- RebetikoRebetikoRebetiko, plural rebetika, , occasionally transliterated as Rembetiko, is a term used today to designate originally disparate kinds of urban Greek folk music which have come to be grouped together since the so-called rebetika revival, which started in the 1960s and developed further from the early...
- LaïkóLaïkóLaïkó ), is a Greek music genre. Also called folk song or urban folk music , in its plural form is a Greek music genre which has taken many forms over the years...
- Longa (Middle Eastern music)Longa (Middle Eastern music)A longa is a genre in Turkish music that was adapted from the Romanian music, also influenced by the Byzantine music, with many elements of syrtos dance in the late 19th century...
- FasılFasilThe fasıl is a suite in Ottoman classical music. It is similar to the Arabic nawba and waslah.A classical fasıl generally includes movements such as taksim, peşrev, kâr, beste, ağır semâ'î, yürük semâ'î, gazel, şarkı and saz semâ'î, played continuously without interludes and interconnected through...
- Ortaoyunu