Muzica militară în scrierile lui Cantemir
Military Music in Cantemir's work

Summary/Abstract: This study aims to clarify some issues investigated to a lesser degree in the musicological literature. The military music of the time was an important part of the scholastic concerns of Dimitrie Cantemir. As part of the Ottoman army, it has a rich history, and becomes established in the military life as early as the blossoming period of the classic medieval Muslim civilization. Starting with the second half of the XVIth century, the Oriental music begins to quickly establish itself in the culture and the artistic practice in the Romanian Principalities, as the Turkish influence (political, economic, military) increases on the entire society. Judging by the information provided by D. Cantemir in his Description of Moldavia, it may be inferred that the urban milieu (first of all, the ruler's court and nobility's saloons) was the primary place of expression of Muslim art. This expansion occurs through the so-called “musica turcica” (according to D. Cantemir), meaning through the immediate participation of Turkish military music which was called tabulhanea or mehterhanea. According to his observations, the milieu of the military music manifestation was quite varied - at military trainings, on the battlefield, at the rulers' inauguration to the throne, at their dismissal, at official events, at major ceremonies, at feasts, at divan's meetings, which took place at the ruler's courts, for the participation to visits, at the receipt of major officials of the Ottoman Empire, at the reconfirmation for the throne. All these indicate the importance of military music in the social, political and cultural life of the Ottoman Empire, Muntenia and Moldova. From this point of view, the works of D. Cantemir are a valuable source of documentation on this issue.

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