THE ISSUE OF POLYPHONIC MUSIC

In regard to polyphonic music being able to have an influence on our nation, first of all the music belonging to us must be selected, ensuring they are appreciated and understood by our nation. There are some tasks for the composers. Atatürk trusted in the young musicians educated in the western countries to improve our music. He probably had many ideas from the different regions conderning the solutions. He invited the young composers from time to time and listened to their opinions and considered them. I personally suppose that they probably had proposed the orchestration of little and short themes inspired by folk music sources to improve musical instruments and polyphonic music. This has been understood by the remarks of Atatürk on this subject.

The important thing was to get the people used to polyphonic music. The trend of presentation of musicpoor quality had been going on for a long time because of the willingness of the people to listen. The reality is that the people were obliged mostly to accept what was offered to them. However this attitude perpetuates the people’s willingness to accept poor quality. The artist must be the person who is charged with the improvement of the people’s preferences and is not under necessity of producing works of poor quality, in other words, must have a personality capable of educating the people. Especially the musical works must be censored by excellent taste. Determination of standards of taste, improving the understanding of art and tastes and to elevate them to a high level are the important task of real artists.

In polyphonic sound, a good understanding must be reached in accordance with the Turkish understanding and in keeping with Atatürk’s principals.

In the direction pointed out by the Atatürk: “The works can be measure of the innovations” sufficient efforts have not been made, unfortunately.

In every respect, Atatürk had pointed out that the new works were needed to mark an epoch in Turkish music orientated towards the West originating in an authentic Turkish concept of music.

A nation doing theirs own literature, music must use theirs own enthusiasm, theirs own melodies, in their works. If they do not and if they do not use their own possibilities they can not lead the community with other materials originating from abroad. It is a reality that a nation to maintain its level and to reach a contemporary level, to find a place and to take an important place among the other nations of world, is be possible by relating to their own culture and by owning to their culture.

The artists are the presenters of their fine arts, using the themes originating in folklore in accordance with the civilised communities’ improvements. Of course it is necessary to adopted polyphone music, even the electronic music. Folklore is one of the sources of innovation. The countries having reached the modern superior level in arts have shown in their history of music how they used the folklore sources, and executed the main principles to mark and to improve a new national epoch.