"Turkish music", in the sense described here, is not really music of Turkey, but rather a musical style that was occasionally used by the European composers of the Classical music era. This music was modeled — though often only distantly — on the music of Turkish military bands, specifically the Janissary bands.
"Turkish" music is always lively in tempo, and is almost always a kind of march.
When "Turkish" music was scored for orchestra, it norma...
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"Turkish music", in the sense described here, is not really music of Turkey, but rather a musical style that was occasionally used by the European composers of the Classical music era. This music was modeled — though often only distantly — on the music of Turkish military bands, specifically the Janissary bands.
"Turkish" music is always lively in tempo, and is almost always a kind of march.
When "Turkish" music was scored for orchestra, it normally used extra percussion instruments not otherwise found in orchestras of the Classical period: typically, the bass drum, the triangle, and cymbals. These instruments really were used by the Turks in their military music (see Janissary Music), so at least the instrumentation of "Turkish" music was authentic. Often there is also a piccolo, whose penetrating tone adds to the outdoor atmosphere.
It seems that at least part of the entertainment value of "Turkish" music was the perceived exoticness. The Turks were well known to the citizens of...
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