A woman figure in the transition from the Empire to the Republic: Safiye Ayla

The transition from the Ottoman Empire to the Republic marks an important period in the history of Turkey. With the social, cultural and economic changes that took place in this period, the way of understanding of the society and the way of life in parallel were also witnessed to changes. In this period, with the liberation of women and their visibility in social areas, women were able to find an environment that allowed them to realize themselves in music and performing arts. With this thesis, a historical and biographical view from the Ottoman Empire to the Republic of Turkey was tried to be realized in terms of the woman figure in Turkish music, in particular Safiye Ayla, who is one of the first muslim and Turkish women performer to record and one of the symbolic woman performers of this transition period. By giving place to the opinions of performers and competent people in the field of classical Turkish music, the concepts of style and attitude in classical Turkish music have been tried to be defined. In classical Turkish music, the interpretation elements that guide us in revealing the performer's interpretation features and style are discussed, and the ornaments that are frequently used in voice performance are explained. Interviews were made with Safiye Ayla and the artists who contributed to the field of classical Turkish music in her time, and information about Ayla's artistic life was conveyed. Researcher and author Murat Bardakçı evaluated Ayla's art life under four main headings in his biographical book "Safiye" and this periodical division determined the constraints of our study. Ayla performances were approached from a periodic perspective, works that would reveal Safiye Ayla's style and identified with her were selected, performance recordings transcrioptions have been done, and it was aimed to clarify Safiye Ayla's style within the framework of classical Turkish music interpretation elements. This study is a performance analysis study rather than a dictation study. Safiye Ayla's style, which differs from other studies in classical Turkish music, in which she is the subject of performance is handled through the performance records that differ regarding different periods of the artist, and the stylistic features of Ayla are tried to clarify accordingly. In this regard, it is thought that this thesis will be a source for other studies on classical Turkish music performance and Safiye Ayla in the field and will shed light on classical Turkish music performers.