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 nearly 300 cities in some 59 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 20 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). In between further Glossa releases, the Supraphon label issued Pilgrimage: Musical Journey of Krystof Harant to Jerusalem, a 2024 collaboration between Constantinople and Cappella Mariana, and Dialogos: Francis of Assisi Meets Malik Al-Kamil, with the Holland Baroque Society, arrived on PentaTone Classics in 2026. ~ James Manheim