[Kitabu İlmi'l-musiki ala vechi'l-hurufat] - [كتاب علم الموسيقي على وجه الحروفات]

This material is held atBritish Library Asia, Pacific and Africa Collections

  • Reference
    • GB 59 Or 14353
  • Dates of Creation
    • 1233
  • Name of Creator
  • Language of Material
    • Turkish
  • Physical Description
    • 1 text 41 ff Material: White laid European paper. Foliation: European, 41 ff. Dimensions: 193 x 126 mm; text area 155 x 72 mm. Pricking and Ruling: Red text frames; 19 lines; catchwords. Rubrics and underlinings in red. Script: Intermediate between rıka and talik. Watermarks: Bird watermark. Binding: Endpapers tinted orangeish-ochre and light blue. Binding: original black morocco with gilt-tooled borders; rebacked in the BL.

Scope and Content

This manuscript is part of Dimitrie Cantemir's (26 October 1673-21 August 1723 CE) treatise on classical Islamic music. Cantemir was a historian, philosopher, and writer, and is referred to in Turkish sources as Kantemiroğlu. Alongside his political activities and his scholarship, Cantemir gained renown as a theorist of Turkish music. He was an expert in playing the tanbur and composed musical pieces in the Turkish tradition. Cantemir penned his Kitabu İlmi'l-musiki ala vechi'l-hurufat ('The book of the science of music according to the alphabetical notation') in 1703-4 CE, dedicating it to Sultan Ahmet III. The work is known in Turkey as Kantemiroğlu edvarı ('Cantemir's book of the rules of music'). The part of Cantemir's treatise in the present manuscript concerns the makamlar (makamat), or modes. Cantemir gives his own classification and description of the makamat, under seven categories. However, he also gives some account of a number of earlier authorities' classifications. Cantemir classes the makamat as follows:. 1. Makamat of nerm ('low, bass') perdeler; 2. Those of tez ('high, treble') perdeler; 3. Those of perdeler ranging from nerm to tez. 4. Those ranging from tez to nerm; 5. Compound makamat; 6. A makam known by name only; 7. Terkibat (compounds) employed as makamat; The manuscript features gold text frames on ff 2v-3r (text frames are otherwise in red). 2v carries a small illumination with arabesque in gold and red. The colophon is on f 41r, and mentions the date of copying as 1233 AH/1817-18 CE. The work was probably copied in Istanbul.

Access Information

Not Public Record(s)

Available for research unless otherwise stated

Related Material

A great deal has been written on Cantemir, and there are several translations and editions of his works. See the bibliography of Ioana Feodorov, 'Cantemir, Dimitrie,' in EI3 (dx.doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_ei3_COM_24379). On Kantemiroğlu, see also Mihai Maxim, 'Kantemiroğlu (Dimitrie Cantemir),' TDVİA, 24 (2001), and specifically on his music Eugenie Popescu-Judetz, 'Kantemiroğlu (Dimitrie Cantemir),' TDVİA, 24 (2001) and Popescu-Judetz, Prince Dimitrie Cantemir: theorist and composer of Turkish music (Istanbul: Pan, 1999). See also Cem Behar, Kan Dolaşımı, Ameliyat ve Musıkî Makamlar. Kantemiroğlu (1673-1723) ve Edvâr'ının sıradışı müzikal serüveni (İstanbul: Yapı Kredi Yayınları, 2017). On the nature of the makam system, see (but with caution) J.-Cl. Ch. Chabrier, 'Maḳām', EI2, VI:96-104. The bibliography also lists several works on Turkish music.

Bibliography

An edition with a facsimile, transcription, Turkish translation and notes has been produced by Yalçın Tura, Kitābu 'İlmi'l-mūsīḳī 'alā vechi'l-ḥurūfāt = Mûsikîyi harflerle tesbît ve icrâ ilminin kitabı (İstanbul: Yapı Kredi Yayınları, 2001). Also see the bibliographies of Feodorov, 'Cantemir, Dimitrie,' and Popescu-Judetz, 'Kantemiroğlu (Dimitrie Cantemir).'