WHAT IS COMMON BETWEEN ISLAM, MOZART & CROISSANTS?

Geert Wilders and other bigots should concentrate on the commonalities of our Abrahamic religions,

The Janissaries were the elite fighting force of the Ottoman Empire. When they advanced into battle it was to shrill and alarming war music. But what made them more terrifying was the slow rolling stride of their march in which for every two steps forward, they took one step sideways. This inexorable advance in strict formation, utterly contemptuous of the hails of enemy arrows and javelins, served to confuse and then terrify their opponents, who often broke and ran before these ferocious shock troops actually reached their ranks. 

Janissary Music influenced Mozart & Beethoven

The military march music of the Janissaries is characteristic because of its powerful, often shrill sound combining bass drums, horns (boru), bells, the triangle and cymbals (zil), among others. Janissary music influenced western classic musicians like Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven. The Janissary Music is still played at state, military and tourist functions in modern Turkey by the Mehter Band and the troops that accompany.  “Let’s try to move back to the year 1683.

During the second siege of Vienna by the Turkish army, a group of bakers hear soldiers tunneling under their kitchen and alert the authorities of the impending danger. Following the expulsion of the would-be invaders, they are rewarded with a special privilege: baking a special pastry in the shape of the crescent which ornamented the Ottoman flag.  While the croissant made its first appearance, the fashion of coffeehouses spread from Istanbul to the European capitals. The fear of centuries had, with the decline of the Ottoman Empire, made way for a kind of fascination with all things Turkish.  “During their retreat from Vienna, the Janissaries seem to have left behind some of their musical instruments near the monastery of Kremsmunster in Graz. Johann Joseph Fux (1660-1741), one of the leading figures of the Austrian Baroque and resident of the area at the time, composed some works emulating ‘Mehter’ music. Although quite forgotten nowadays, it is possible that these are the forerunners of the ‘Alla Turca’ style so familiar from the music of Haydn and Mozart.

The influence of the Janissaries did not stop at the introduction of percussion instruments into the orchestra. Composers also attempted to imitate the character of the music. This is best exemplified by Mozart’s opera ‘The Abduction from the Seraglio.’  “The fashion of ‘Orientalism,’ as it came to be known in the 19th century, spread to all art forms including painting, literature, architecture and even furniture-making.  “The Sinfonia a Tre by Fux (with its curiously titled movements: Turcaria, Janichara, Posta Turcica, etc.) Written by Mozart before ‘The Abduction from the Seraglio’ and like it, set in the harem of an Ottoman palace. 

“While Turkish music was influencing the classical masters of the 18th century, a group of painters (later referred to as the ‘Bosphorus Painters’) who took up residence in Istanbul were creating the school of ‘Orientalism’ in the visual arts. Painters such as Melling, van Mour and Hilair had direct experience of the East. Those who did not travel had their sources in literary figures such as Lord Byron, Lamartine, Guatier and de Nerval. An exhibition of work by Orientalist painters can be seen during the event.

The reaction by a contemporary Turkish artists to Orientalist paintings can also be seen in the massive work of Bedri Baykam entitled ‘Ingres, Gerome, This is My Bath.’  Turkish music (style) References:?  Godfrey Goodwin – Janissaries  ?  David Nicolle – Janissary

?  1911 Encyclopedia Brittanica   http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Janissaries