Constantinople
The early music ensemble Constantinople, based in Montreal, emphasizes the connection between Western traditions and the music of the eastern Mediterranean in its programming, which has been internationally successful. Including original compositions by the group's artistic director, Kiya Tabassian, Constantinople's programs have been heard in more than 140 cities in some 30 countries.
Constantinople was formed in Montreal in 1998 by brothers Kiya and Ziya Tabassian; Kiya Tabassian, who was trained in both Persian classical music and early music from the West, has remained as artistic director, also playing the Persian setar lute. The group has also included Persian and Turkish percussion, Renaissance strings and winds, and brass instruments of various kinds, depending on the repertory being played. Constantinople has appeared at major venues in North America, Europe, and the Arab world, including the Berlin Philharmonie, the Fes Festival of World Sacred Music in Morocco, and the Onassis Cultural Center in Athens. The group has attracted an all-star set of collaborators from a wide variety of traditions, including early music singers Marco Beasley and Suzie Le Blanc, Mandinka griot player Ablaye Cissoko, and klezmer ensemble the Klezmatics. The group members write: "As musician-inventors and musician-travelers, we endlessly replay our utopias, with Babel as backdrop. The territory to explore is infinite: cultures and memories whose lines we like to shift so that they finally converge. Furthermore, we make migration and the mixing of cultures our territory." Constantinople's regular programs include "Under the Persian Musical Sky," "Itinerant Gardens," and "The 13-Petaled Rose."
Constantinople has recorded some 15 albums on a great variety of themes, including Sephardic Jewish music, music of 17th century Mexico, and traditional music of Quebec. Constantinople's music has been released mostly on the Analekta and ATMA Classique labels, but the group moved to Glossa for the 2020 release La Porta d'Oriente, featuring music from the Ottoman court transcribed by Ali Ufki (ca. 1610-1675).
© James Manheim /TiVo
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Discography
20 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Il Ponte di Leonardo
Marco Beasley, Constantinople, Kiya Tabassian
Klassiek - Released by Glossa on 19 mei 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Jardins migrateurs
Constantinople, Ablaye Cissoko
Wereldmuziek - Released by Ma Case Records on 13 nov. 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
La porta d'oriente
Marco Beasley, Constantinople, Kiya Tabassian
Kamermuziek - Released by Glossa on 26 jun. 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
In the Footsteps of Rumi
Ghalia Benali, Constantinople, Kiya Tabassian
Wereldmuziek - Released by Glossa on 20 mei 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Horizons lointains
Wereldmuziek - Released by Constantinople on 3 mrt. 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Passages
Wereldmuziek - Released by Buda musique on 15 jul. 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Constantinople: From Castille To Samarkand
Klassiek - Released by ATMA Classique on 1 jan. 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Premiers Songes - Early Dreams
Klassiek - Released by Analekta on 29 mrt. 2011
24-Bit 88.2 kHz - Stereo -
Constantinople: Memoria Sefardi
Klassiek - Released by ATMA Classique on 1 feb. 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Constantinople Terres Turquoise
Constantinople, Françoise Atlan
Klassiek - Released by ATMA Classique on 1 feb. 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Carrefour de la Méditérranée
Constantinople, Ensemble En Chordais, Ghada Shbeir, Imane Homsy, Kyia Tabassian, Kyriakos Kalaitzides
Klassiek - Released by ATMA Classique on 1 jan. 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Constantinople: Music of the Middle Ages and of the Renaissance
Klassiek - Released by ATMA Classique on 1 jul. 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
...Cette ville étrange
Wereldmuziek - Released by Dreyer Gaido on 6 sep. 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Constantinople: Li Tans Nouveaus
Klassiek - Released by ATMA Classique on 1 mrt. 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Constantinople: Terra Nostra
Constantinople, Jose Angel Gutierrez, Teresita de Jesus Islas
Klassiek - Released by ATMA Classique on 20 aug. 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ay Amor
Constantinople, Françoise Atlan
Klassiek - Released by ATMA Classique on 2 mei 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Que Le Yable Les Emporte - Songs From Quebec
Constantinople, Bernard Simard, Normand Miron
Klassiek - Released by ATMA Classique on 1 jan. 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
CONSTANTINOPLE: Terra Nostra (Constantinople)
Wereldmuziek - Released by ATMA Classique on 20 aug. 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Soutouro
Constantinople, Ablaye Cissoko
Wereldmuziek - Released by Ma Case Records on 13 nov. 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Fleuve (Fleuve Saint Louis)
Constantinople, Ablaye Cissoko
Wereldmuziek - Released by Ma Case Records on 13 nov. 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo