Sounding Roman

Sounding Roman narrates the vibrant use of music to challenge long-term marginalization of Turkish Roman ("Gypsies"). Descriptions of weddings, recording studios, rehearsals and concerts enable readers to witness the emergence of new social identities and political responses as Roman musicians bring new musical forms and styles into local and world music markets.

Sonia Tamar Seeman is an ethnomusicologist at the University of Texas, Austin. She has conducted field research and worked with Romani professional musicians in Macedonia since 1985 and in Turkey since 1995, and consulted with human rights organizations. In addition to producing and facilitating recording projects, she is also founder and director of Middle Eastern Ensemble "Bereket" at the University of Texas, Ask-I Mesk and an active performer on Turkish G clarinet and Turkish kanun.

- Figures and Charts - Acknowledgements - Notes on Transliteration - About the Companion Website - 0. Prelude: Sounding Social Identity - 1. Towards a History of Social Construction: - The Formation of Romani Groups in the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires - 2. Romani Professional Entertainers in the Ottoman Empire: - Melody Players and Merriment Makers - 3. Inscribing "çingene" in Late Ottoman Cultural Forms - 4. Exnominating Turk, Hyper-nominating "çingene": - Musical Representations of Ethnicity and Turkishness in the Early Republic - 5. From çingene Accompanist to Instrumental Soloist: The New Roman Stars - 6. Recording "Roman": Sonic Representations on 45 rpm Recordings - 7. The Poetics of Singing Roman: - Metaphoricity to Mimesis in Roman Dance Songs - 8. Presenting Turkish Roman: - World Music and Musical Cosmopolitanisms - 9. Politicizing Roman and the Folklorization of Ethnicity - 10. Conclusions and Openings: - The Promise and Limitations of Musical Plurality - Notes - References - Index