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Live Concert – Castille to Samarkand

Live Concert – Castille to Samarkand

Ensemble Constantinople & Accademia del Piacere Friday, April 1, 2022 | 7:30 pm Kay Meek Arts Centre - this concert will be live streamed for 48hrs from April 1, 2022 at 7:30 PM.

The 15th and 16th centuries have been described as “The Golden Age of Spanish music”, but they were also prolific periods for musicians in the Persian courts and throughout the Ottoman Empire. This journey from Castille to Samarkand brings into dialogue the music of the Spanish renaissance with Persian/Ottoman masterpieces taken from manuscripts unearthed in monasteries and palace libraries, such as Topkapi.

 This concert is generously supported by Tony & Margie Knox and The RPC Family Foundation.

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Live Concert – Kalhor & Tabassian in Dialogue

Live Concert – Kalhor & Tabassian in Dialogue

Kayhan Kalhor, Setar & Kiya Tabassian, Setar | Friday, June 3, 2022 7:30 p.m. at The Kay Meek Centre for the Performing Arts I Saturday, June 4, 2022 7:30 p.m. at the The Roundhouse This concert will be live streamed for 48hrs from June 3, 2022 at 7:30 PM.

Due to demand, Kay Meek has made more seats available for June 3 performance.

From dawn to dusk, music reigns among the stars of Persian civilization. The traditional music of Iran, unique to the Orient, is the fruit of a mystical heritage with a fascinating capacity for constant regeneration. For this unique concert, Kayhan Kalhor, an uncontested master of this tradition, joins Kiya Tabassian on a journey through an immense musical universe. Carrying on tradition while uncovering the future, they make poetry that sings of times both old and new, and contribute to a culture that is in full swing.

The intensely spiritual and emotional improvisations of Kalhor and Tabassian, steeped in the traditional music of Iran, are said to bring listeners to a trance-like state. The ancestry of the setar can be traced to the ancient tanbur of pre-Islamic Persia. It is made from thin mulberry wood and its fingerboard has more than 20 moveable frets. Setar is literally translated as “three strings”; in its present form, however, it has four strings. Because of its delicacy and intimate sonority, the setar is the preferred instrument of Sufi mystics.

” Rather than a duel, the two setarists’ ninety or so uninterrupted minutes onstage turned out to be a clinic in how to build something transcendent.” New York Music Daily 

Details...Tickets June 4Tickets June 3
Clair-Obscur: Corsican Polyphony feat. Constantinople & A Filetta

Clair-Obscur: Corsican Polyphony feat. Constantinople & A Filetta

Friday, December 3, 2021 | 5:30 pm & 7:30 pmPacific Spirit United Church (formerly Ryerson Church)

Constantinople partners with the seminal Corsican polyphonic singing group A Filetta, to create an enchanting sonic tableau where light and shadow meet, through sacred and secular songs from the rich Corsican musical tradition. Polyphony by the prodigious vocalists of A Filetta, as well as songs and music orchestrated by Kiya Tabassian, will come together in a deeply moving concert.

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Mandinka Pilgrimage feat. Constantinople & Ablaye Cissoko, kora

Mandinka Pilgrimage feat. Constantinople & Ablaye Cissoko, kora

Friday, September 24, 2021 | 7:30 pmKay Meek Arts Centre

From the 12th century up to today, the Griots, known as “the Bards of West Africa”, have transmitted their music and knowledge from generation to generation through a sophisticated and unbroken oral tradition. This concert explores the epics of the Mandinka Kingdom, together with the griot master of the kora, Ablaye Cissoko. Montreal’s Ensemble Constantinople will support Cissoko with their signature flair to create a cosmopolitan sound that blends West Africa with Persia.

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The Crossroads of Cantemir feat. Ensemble Constantinople

The Crossroads of Cantemir feat. Ensemble Constantinople

Wednesday, April 21 2021 | 7:30 PM

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.

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Metamorfosi feat. Ensemble Constantinople

Metamorfosi feat. Ensemble Constantinople

Wednesday May 19, 2021 | 7:30PM

For this concert, Ensemble Constantinople has taken the liberty of reinventing the music left by Italian early baroque composers such Kapsberger, Monteverdi and Rossi. In response to these beautiful works, Constantinople will interpret a few masterpieces from the Polish composer at the Ottoman court, Ali Ufuki, as well as new compositions by Constantinople music director, Kiya Tabassian. The ensemble aims to create a dialogue that recreates the spirit of the cultural exchanges between Venice and Eastern capital cities, such as Constantinople. The spontaneous changes, sharp contrasts and unusual rhythmic groupings in this program provide fertile ground for the musicians of Constantinople, who always welcome the chance to free themselves from the cultural codes of old Europe. 

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In Search of Music from the Qajar Dynasty | EMV DCH

In Search of Music from the Qajar Dynasty | EMV DCH

Wednesday October 14, 2020 | 7:30PM

Saeed Farajpouri is among the greatest performers of the Iranian Kamanche (Spike Fiddle).  For this performance he is joined by Doctor Amir Koushkani, who is a researcher and master performer of the Iranian Tar (Long-necked lute) along with Hamin Honari on the Tombak (Goblet drum). These musicians come together to present Iranian music in a manner that is faithful to the style of music which would have been presented during the Qajar Dynasty of Iran (1789-1920).  

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Origins – Music of the Tang Dynasty | EMV DCH

Wednesday November 25, 2020 | 7:30PM

All of the works on this programme are taken from traditional Chinese repertoires and feature traditional Chinese instruments with a special focus on music from the Tang Dynasty. This programme is designed as an introduction to Chinese classical music for EMV’s audience. Though the Vancouver-based musicians of Silk Road Music Ensemble are not playing on period instruments, in collaboration with EMV, they have begun to explore the notion of historically informed performance practice for future seasons. They are already in the process of making contact with specialists in China who we plan to co-present in Vancouver in coming seasons. 

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