ABSTRACT
The idea of an ‘Arab style’ entered Turkish musical discourse in 1928, 1 joining the by-then well-established debate on cultural Westernization. According to O’Connell: ‘musical styles associated with Sufi religious houses, Christian drinking establishments, and gypsy festivities were scrutinized for their non-Turkish attributes, labeled for their discursive interest, and vilified for their heterodox character.’ The term ‘Arabesk’ appears in the 1950s, partly signifying its Western meaning (girift tezyinat – ‘highly wrought ornamentations’) and partly signifying ‘Arab style’ more generally. 2 Later in the 1960s the term began to be applied to various popular musical practices springing up in the nightclubs, eventually sticking to Orhan Gencebay. His ‘Bir Teselli Ver’ (of 1969), which might be described as a mix of Western popular, popularized Turkish art music and Turkish folk music, is often referred to as the first Arabesk hit.
