A COLLECTIVE VIEW TO FOLK MUSIC STUDIES OF MEDITERRANEAN REGION

Abstract

There have been made many compilations, researches, studies and publicationsabout Mediterranean Region, which is very rich and colourful in terms of TurkishFolk Music. Some of them consist of compilations and studies intended for revealingmusical folklore of this region directly, and the other ones consist of sections issuedin common publications related to music, folk culture and dances of our country.First compilation work regarding musical folklore of Mediterranean Region, whichholds a special place thanks to its specific music, dances and musical instrumentsamong our range of local music, was carried out in 1926 by Darü-l Elhan (todaycalled as Istanbul Municipal Conservatory). During the first one of these compilationexcursions, arranged to various regions of our country between 1926 and 1929,there were also compiled 18 folksongs from Adana region. Following this, AnkaraState Conservatory arranged 13 compilation excursions between 1937 and 1952.Sixth one of these excursions covering all cities and regions of our country wasmainly carried out in Mediterranean Region in 1942 and there were 426 folksongscompiled. Moreover, during the second excursion in 1938, 80 folksongs from Maraş,73 folksongs from Adana; during the tenth excursion in 1946, 90 folksongs fromAntalya and 44 folksongs from Mersin have been compiled. In later years, asignificant portion of this compiled folkloric material has been published andbroadcasted by Istanbul Municipal Conservatory and Turkish Radio Television. In thereport written in the nature of a framework, all those studies related to regiontogether with their contents have been introduced, classified, examined and judgedwith the understanding of “critical publication/édition critique.