Early Music Seattle presents CONSTANTINOPLE: Dimitrie Cantemir – The Composer Prince
$50 ($40 senior; $20 student)
- Kianoush Khalilian, ney
Note: Due to unforeseen change of plans, the program originally scheduled for April 23, "Constantinople & Marco Beasley: Il Ponte Di Leonardo," has been cancelled. Ensemble Constantinople will present a different production than originally scheduled on the Town Hall stage.
Ensemble Constantinople performs the music of Dimitrie Cantemir (1673-1723), a Moldavian prince, scholar, composer, and diplomat. A fascinating historical figure, Cantemir's compositions are considered part of the Ottoman music repertoire. More influential though are the over 350 instrumental works that he preserved in his book, Edvar-i Musiki, using his own innovative notation system, which remains as one of the most important collections of 16th- and 17th-century Ottoman and Middle Eastern music.
Constantinople
Kiya Tabassian, setar and voice
Tanya LaPerrière, viola d'amore
Didem Basar, kanun
Kianoush Khalilian, ney (reed flute)
Patrick Graham, percussion
Viewing online: This concert will be recorded and then offered for viewing one week later after some light editing. The YouTube link will remain active for 3 weeks after the link is sent. Virtual tickets are $35; streaming ticket buyers will be notified via email with a link to the video and a PDF of the program.
About Constantinople
Constantinople is a musical ensemble that chose the journey—geographical certainly, but also historical, cultural and inner—as its cornerstone. It draws inspiration from all sources and aims for distant horizons. Inspired by the ancient city illuminating the East and West, Constantinople was founded in 1998 in Montreal by its artistic director, Kiya Tabassian.
Since its founding, the ensemble promotes the creation of new works incorporating musical elements of diverse musical traditions around the world, drawing from medieval manuscripts to a contemporary aesthetic, passing by Mediterranean Europe to Eastern traditions and New World Baroque. Underpinned by a spirit of research and creation, Constantinople has joined forces with leading international artists such as singers Marco Beasley, Françoise Atlan, Savina Yannatou and Suzie Le Blanc; the Mandinka griot Ablaye Cissoko; the Greek ensemble En Chordais, the Belgian duo Belem and the American group The Klezmatics; sarangi virtuoso Dhruba Ghosh, Syrian clarinettist and composer Kinan Azmeh, and Iranian kamancheh master Kayhan Kalhor.
Regularly invited to perform in international festivals and prestigious concert halls, such as the Salle Pleyel in Paris, the Berliner Philharmonie, the Fes Festival of World Sacred Music in Morocco, the Rencontres musicales de Conques in France, the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto, the Cervantino Festival in Mexico, the Festival de Carthage in Tunisia, the Onassis Cultural Centre-Athens and the BOZAR in Brussels, Constantinople is acclaimed by the public, music professionals and critics alike. The ensemble has 19 albums to its credit on labels Analekta, Atma, World Village, Buda Musique, MaCase, Glossa, and Dreyer Gaido. Over the past fifteen years, Constantinople has created nearly 50 works and travelled to more than 240 cities in 54 countries.
Kiya Tabassian, setar & Artistic director |
Didem Başar, kanun |
Patrick Graham, percussion |
Tanya LaPerrière, baroque violin & Viola d'amore |
Pierre-Yves Martel, viola da gamba & double bass