Turkish Crescent

About the Turkish Crescent (featured in Haydn’s Symphony 100 and other places): Much of the modern orchestra’s percussion comes from Turkish military bands. First European military bands imported Turkish musicians. Then they assigned Turkish instruments to black performers dressed in exotic Eastern garb.

Turkish music, in the sense described here, is not the music of Turkey, but rather a musical style that was occasionally used by the European composers of the Classical music era. This music was modelled—though often only distantly—on the music of Turkish military bands, specifically the Janissary bands.

An important impetus for Turkish music occurred in 1699, when Austria and Ottoman Empire negotiated the Treaty of Karlowitz. To celebrate the treaty, the Turkish diplomatic delegation brought a Janissary band along with other performers to Vienna for several days of performances.

Although the Janissary sound was familiar in Europe during the 18th century, the Classical composers were not the first to make use of it; rather, the first imitators were military bands. The cultural influence at first involved actual importation of Turkish musicians, as Henry George Farmer relates:

Turkish music, in the sense described here, is not the music of Turkey, but rather a musical style that was occasionally used by the European composers of the Classical music era. This music was modelled-though often only distantly-on the music of Turkish military bands, specifically the Janissary bands.