The military music of the Janizary guards of the Turkish sultans.

In the wake of the Ottoman invasion of Eastern Europe in the 16th century, this type of music—raucous, loud, and enlivened by strong rhythms—captured the imagination of European writers, painters, and musicians. They were impressed by the large Turkish drums, cymbals, and crescent, the last known popularly as JINGLING JOHNNY.

This type of music was adopted by the military bands of Poland, Russia, and Austria in the first half of the 18th century. Big drums, triangles, and cymbals alla turca (in the Turkish style) served the purpose of providing exotic color in the "oriental" operas of CHRISTOPH WILLIBALD GLUCK and WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART. FRANZ JOSEPH HAYDN used the Janizary rhythms in his Military Symphony, which includes triangles, cymbals, and a bass drum in the second movement. The famous rondo finale of Mozart's Piano Sonata in A major, K. 331, is marked "alla turca."