Fortnightly Update #13
Welcome to the thirteenth music update of the year
For the most part it seems that I managed to power through and finish off the Ottoman peace theme, with only minor detail remaining. Have a listen below and look out for the release at some point in the future!
Nevertheless, I will continue the series and talk a little bit about themes. If you listen to both the war theme and peace theme you will identify three key motifs:
The "call-to-arms" theme. Perfect fifths, often rapid. Like a horn call (see war theme). This piece opens with it very slowly on the strings (0:00 - 0:24), but otherwise it can be heard at places like 1:07, 1:16 and grandly from 2:12 - 2:21. This is intended to reflect the expansionist thoughts of the historic Ottoman realm, though in the peaceful context it is more about how they successfully integrated their new lands.
The "main" theme, e.g. at 1:22 - 1:55 and modified in various ways throughout. This is where the fifths are born from. The longer melody is intended to give character to the Ottomans and tell a story of struggle, rise and fall. It is modified in various ways to portray the mood of the music. In this piece it is gentle and curious, with a march-like rhythm pushing forward to represent the endless quest into the future and the pursuit of technological progress. In the war piece it is a lot more rapid, aggressive and fragmented.
The "Arabic" theme. This is distinctly at the end of some passages, such as 0:46, 1:33 - 1:39 and 2:50 - 3:02. In this piece it is more gentle and warming, but int he war theme it is often with an odd combination of instruments and unexpected notes. It is intended to add the middle-eastern flavour of the Ottomans and their culture, but it intentionally does not drive the piece.
With these three themes it can be seen how a story can be told with the music. The opening is like the musings of a small underdog, followed by the search and identification of a cultural and national identity. Then growth and progress, rapid and fierce, leading to the climax at 2:18, which is the peak of the Ottoman Empire. Everything after that represents the confused decline of the country…. to its eventual end.
Enjoy!
p.s. war theme given here for reference and your ease of thematic comparison!
- Utopia