Greek Orthodox Music in Ottoman Istanbul

"This book . . . is a welcome addition to the field of Greek-Ottoman studies in the nineteenth century because it offers a sustained analysis of the much neglected theme of 'Greek-Orthodox' music in the troubled and complicated late Ottoman period."

~Historein

"Greek Orthodox Music in Ottoman Istanbul broadens and renews the research field of late Ottoman and Modern Greek musical and cultural history."

~Middle Eastern Studies

"This is a thoroughly researched, erudite, and original examination in Ottoman-Greek studies/history, which is also relevant to broader scholarship through the connections it builds with the history of European, Byzantine, and ancient music, ethnomusicology, and cultural studies."

~American Historical Review

"This book is a great contribution to the fields of historical ethnomusicology, religious studies, ethnic studies, and Ottoman and Greek studies. It offers timely research during a critical period for ethnic minorities in the Middle East in general and Christians in particular as they undergo persecution and forced migration."

~Journal of the American Academy of Religion

"Overall, the book impresses me as a sophisticated work that avoids the standard nationalist views on the history of the Ottoman Greeks."

~Risto Pekka Pennanen, University of Tampere, Finland

"Highly recommended for academic libraries."

~Music Reference Services Quarterly

"Merih Erol's careful examination of the prominent church cantors of this period, their opinions on Byzantine, Ottoman and European musics as well as their relationship with both the Patriarchate and wealthy Greeks of Istanbul presents a detailed picture of a community trying to define their national identity during a transition. . . . Her study is unique and detailed, and her call to pluralism is timely."

~Mehmet Ali Sanlikol, author of The Musician Mehters

"Merih Erol's investigation of Greek Orthodox constructions of identity in the final decades of the Ottoman Empire does not only open up a new venue for the debates on the modern Ottoman social history but also offers ethnomusicological perspectives for various fields of social research in other geographical areas."