In 1403, Clavijo, ambassador of King Henry the 3rd, journeyed from the Spanish region of Castile to the central Asian city of Samarkand and back over a period of 34 months. With Clavijo’s awe-inspiring travel diary as a guide, Montreal-based instrumental ensemble Constantinople takes their audience on a fascinating musical voyage along the Silk Road, featuring ancient sounds from Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Armenia, Persia, and Uzbekistan. With authentic instruments, Constantinople will reveal the rich musical heritage and traditions of this golden age at The Banff Centre’s Margaret Greenham Theatre, Friday, April 13.
Since coming together in 1998, Constantinople has sought to creatively interpret and express the music of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. The group studies historical manuscripts in addition to pursuing the living oral traditions of near and Middle Eastern cultures. They play existing music as well as their own creations based on traditional styles and early rhythmic and harmonic structures. Constantinople has been described by Classic Today.com as having a sound that “will strike most Western ears as pleasingly exotic.”
The ensemble uses early European instruments such as the lute, medieval harp, viola da gamba, vielle, recorder, and cornetto, alongside instruments from the Middle East such as the setar (a plucked stringed instrument from Persia), the tombak, daf and dayereh (Persian percussion instruments), and the oud (one of the most ancient instruments of the Middle East and the Mediterranean, and the ancestor of the European lute).
Constantinople is made up of musicians Kiya Tabassian, Saeed Kamjoo, and Ziya Tabassian, and features the widely heralded voice of Françoise Atlan. The group has performed for appreciative crowds in Canada, Mexico, Europe, and the Middle East. They have nine CDs to their credit and are frequently broadcast on the CBC/Radio-Canada radio network.
The Banff Centre’s winter/spring 2007 Playbill Series wraps up with Sursaut Dance Company (April 14), Eric Bibb (April 19), Carlos del Junco (April 22), and Jesse Cook (May 5 and 6).
Tickets for all Banff Centre events are available through The Banff Centre Box Office: 1-800-413-8368 or 403-762-6301.
For more information on the winter/spring 2007 Playbill Series:
http://www.banffcentre.ca/events/playbill/
