Between Phanar and the Ottoman Court: Greek Composers in Constantinople in 18th Century

With the taking of Constantinople on 29 May 1453, a new capital made its appearance on the scene of the main cultural and artistic centres of the Islamic world. In this new context, Constantinople, although already having a millennial past, suffered from a certain cultural backwardness. Nevertheless, in just a few decades, forms and genres developed that would be typically and exclusively ‘Ottoman’. The birth of a new Ottoman art music (maqām) came about thanks to some particular characteristics that were rather rare in the Islamic world that the article takes into exam. Moreover, the ‘new’ Ottoman Art music was heavily influenced by the aesthetic of the earlier Byzantine tradition and by the presence of many Greek composers coming from the milieu of Phanar. The most renowned are certainly Zaharya Efendi (1680?–1740?) and his student Petros the Peloponnesian, Lambadarios of the Great Church (1735? 1740?-1778). Their life and works conclude and significantly exemplify the article.