Melodies Across Time: Exploring Connections and Context in Eastern Black Sea Popular Music

Abstract

The Eastern Black Sea region of Turkey, imbued with a wealth of cultural and historical narratives, boasts a musical heritage characterized by distinctive instruments, vocal styles, and polyphonic structures. This music is a testament to the region's rich identity, intricately woven through the tapestry of time by diverse cultural influences and significant historical events. This research is grounded in the endeavor to unravel the intricate connections within this musical sphere, particularly through the perspectives of intertextuality and hypertextuality. Intertextuality highlights the nuanced dialogues between various musical compositions, offering an enriched view into their intrinsic associations. Hypertextuality, a concept introduced by Gerard Genette and later applied to music by Serge Lacasse, broadens this dialogue, revealing the intricate networks formed through actions such as covering, remixing, and translation. The investigation delves into these dynamics, especially in the popular tunes of the Eastern Black Sea, leveraging analytical techniques from musicology, cultural studies, and media studies. The objective is to understand how intertextuality and hypertextuality amplify the vibrancy and appeal of Eastern Black Sea melodies, shaping their fundamental essence, significance, and worldwide appeal. We aspire to foster profound comprehension of these multifaceted ties, illuminating their role in characterizing the region’s musical and cultural landscapes. This probe contributes a fresh perspective to the ongoing debates in musicology and cultural studies, underscoring the imperative for an all-encompassing and prolonged methodology in musical inquiry, accentuating the power of intertextuality and hypertextuality in grasping the nexus between music and the wider cultural, social, and historical backdrops. This meticulous scrutiny is expected to not only enrich scholarly conversations but also to unveil the myriad of components steering the evolution and impact of the Eastern Black Sea’s abundant musical heritage.