Constantinople is a Montreal-based early music and middle eastern music ensemble. The group was formed in 1988 by brothers

Kiya Tabassian Kiya was one of the wives of the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten. Little is known about her, and her actions and roles are poorly documented in the historical record, in contrast to those of Akhenaten's ‘Great royal wife’, Nefertiti. Her unusual n ...

(

setar A setar ( fa, سه‌تار, ) is a stringed instrument, a type of lute used in Persian traditional music, played solo or accompanying voice. It is a member of the tanbur family of long-necked lutes with a range of more than two and a half octa ...

) and Ziya Tabassian (

tombak The ''tombak'' (Persian: تمبک), ''tonbak'' (تنبک), or ''zarb'' (ضَرب) is an Iranian goblet drum. It is considered the principal percussion instrument of Persian music. The tombak is normally positioned diagonally across the torso w ...

). The sétar and tombak are complemented by

viola da gamba The viol (), viola da gamba (), or informally gamba, is any one of a family of bowed, fretted, and stringed instruments with hollow wooden bodies and pegboxes where the tension on the strings can be increased or decreased to adjust the pitc ...

, renaissance

cornett The cornett, cornetto, or zink is an early wind instrument that dates from the Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque periods, popular from 1500 to 1650. It was used in what are now called alta capellas or wind ensembles. It is not to be confused wi ...

, and

daf Daf ( fa, دف) also known as Dâyere and Riq is a Middle Eastern (mainly Iranian) frame drum musical instrument, used in popular and classical music in South and Central Asia. It is also used in Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Iran, Uzbe ...

. In its creations, Constantinople collaborates with prominent figures in the music industry such as

Kayhan Kalhor Kayhan Kalhor ( fa, کیهان کلهر, ku, کەیھان کەڵھوڕ, translit=Keyhan Kelhur, born 24 November 1964) is an Iranian-Kurdish kamancheh and setar player and vocalist composer and master of classical Iranian traditional music. Ea ...

Ablaye Cissoko Ablaye Cissoko is a Senegalese musician, singer and composer, who plays the kora. Career As a solo musician, he has played live shows in several countries, including Portugal, France, Belgium, Senegal, Mali, Canada, Germany, Norway and Russia. ...

Ghalia Benali Ghalia Benali (born 21 December 1968) is a Tunisian singer, songwriter, writer, and graphic designer. Her music has been noted for its links to multiple genres and defining contemporary Arabic music. Benali's southern Tunisian upbringing and fasc ...

Françoise Atlan Françoise Atlan ( in Hebrew, in Arabic) is a French singer and ethnomusicologist, born in a Sephardic Jewish family in Narbonne, France on 27 July 1964. Her father was a lawyer and native of Béjaïa, Algeria, and her mother was a pianist and a ...

Hana Blažíková Hana Blažíková (born 2 December 1980) is a Czech soprano and harpist. She is focused on Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque music, appearing internationally. She has recorded as a member of the Bach Collegium Japan, among many others. Career ...

Shashank Subramanyam Shashank Subramanyam (born 14 October 1978) is a flutist from India and specializes in Indian classical music. The Govt. of France awarded the prestigious Knighthood / title of Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. He is also th ...

, and

Marco Beasley Marco Beasley (26 February 1957, Naples) is an Italian tenor, voice-actor and musicologist. With composer and harpsichordist Guido Morini, Beasley was one of the three founding members of the Accordone early music ensemble in 1984; Stefano Ro ...

. Constantinople produces three or four new works each year and travels to collaborate with top musicians based on project requirements. These creations form the regular season presented in Montreal, Quebec, Ottawa, and Toronto. Subsequently, the works are featured in performance tours across Canada and internationally. Some of these creations are also recorded. Over the years, Constantinople has developed nearly 60 creations, with 21 being recorded, and has toured in more than 290 cities across 57 countries. Two of its most recent creations include "Traversées," featuring

, and "Chants d'Espoir" with

. In 2024, the Constantinople ensemble won the 2024

JUNO Awards The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...

for the Best Classical Album of the Year (Small Ensemble) with Il Ponte di Leonardo.

Historic

The musical ensemble was created in 2001 by the

Iranian-Canadian Iranian Canadians or Persian Canadians are citizens of Canada whose national background is traced from Iran or are people possessing Iranian and Canadian dual citizenship. From the 2016 Canadian census, the main communities can be found in Southe ...

brothers, Kiya and Ziya Tabassian, who arrived in Quebec as teenagers. Kiya Tabassian is the artistic director of the ensemble. Having arrived in Montreal in 1990 at the age of 14, he grew up in Iran. At the age of 12, Kiya Tabassian discovered and immediately became passionate about the setâr. The desire to create and compose music emerged through his practice of the instrument; even at a young age, he reinterpreted pieces from the traditional repertoire of

Persian music Persian music may refer to various types of the music of Persia/Iran or other Persian-speaking countries: * Persian traditional music * Persian ritual music *Persian pop music * Persian symphonic music * Persian piano music See also *Music of Ira ...

. The musical project of Constantinople revolves around a perpetual blending of cultures and encounters between musicians from around the world. Rather than simply recomposing ancient and traditional music, the ensemble focuses on creating entirely new works inspired by various places and periods. Constantinople's first album was released in 2001 under the

ATMA Classique ATMA Classique is a Canadian record label based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1994 by Johanne Goyette, the company has close to 600 titles in its catalogue and distributes in over 25 countries and on the internet. Several recordings released by ...

label. Its discography counts 21 albums in 2023. Constantinople stands as one of the most active Montreal-based ensembles on the international stage, having performed in renowned venues and

festivals A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival co ...

worldwide:

Europe

Berliner Philharmonie The Berliner Philharmonie () is a concert hall in Berlin, Germany, and home to the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. The Philharmonie lies on the south edge of the city's Tiergarten and just west of the former Berlin Wall. The Philharmonie is on ...

(Berlin, Germany) *

Vienna Konzerthaus The Konzerthaus is a concert hall located in Vienna, Austria, which opened in 1913. It is situated in the third district just at the edge of the first district in Vienna. Since it was founded it has always tried to emphasise both traditional and ...

(Vienna, Austria) *

Salle Pleyel The Salle Pleyel (, meaning "Pleyel Hall") is a concert hall in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France, designed by acoustician Gustave Lyon together with architect Jacques Marcel Auburtin, who died in 1926, and the work was completed in 1927 by ...

(Paris, France) *

Oratoire du Louvre The Temple protestant de l'Oratoire du Louvre, also Église réformée de l'Oratoire du Louvre, is a historic Protestant church located at 145 rue Saint-Honoré – 160 rue de Rivoli in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, across the street from the L ...

(Paris, France) *

Institut du Monde Arabe The ''Institut du Monde Arabe'', French for Arab World Institute, abbreviated ''IMA'', is an organization founded in Paris in 1980 by France with 18 Arab countries to research and disseminate information about the Arab world and its cultural an ...

(Paris, France) *

Aix-en-Provence Festival The Festival d'Aix-en-Provence is an annual international music festival which takes place each summer in Aix-en-Provence, principally in July. Devoted mainly to opera, it also includes concerts of orchestral, chamber, vocal and solo instrumenta ...

(Aix-en-Provence, France) * Anopolis World Music Festival (Thessaloniki, Greece) *

Onassis Cultural Center The Alexander S. Onassis Foundation () was created by Aristotle Onassis to honor the memory of his son Alexander, who died at age 24 in an airplane crash in 1973. Aristotle Onassis died in 1975, and had directed in his will that half of his estate ...

(Athens, Greece) *

Philharmonie Luxembourg The Philharmonie Luxembourg, also known officially as the Grande-Duchesse Joséphine-Charlotte Concert Hall (french: Salle de concerts grande-duchesse Joséphine-Charlotte, german: Konzertsaal Großherzogin Joséphine-Charlotte), is a concert hal ...

(Luxembourg) *

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

(London, United Kingdom) * Lavaux Classic (Vaud, Switzerland)

America

* Salle Bourgie (Montreal, Canada) *

Grand Théâtre de Québec The Grand Théâtre de Québec is a performing arts complex in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. It was conceived to commemorate the Canadian Centennial of 1967 and the Quebec Conference, 1864, one of the key meetings leading to the Canadian Confedera ...

(Quebec, Canada) * The Elora Festival (Elora, Canada) * Festival de Lanaudière (Lanaudière, Canada) *

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

(New York, United States) * Festival Internacional de Puebla (Puebla, Mexico) *

Festival Internacional Cervantino The Festival Internacional Cervantino (FIC), popularly known as ''El Cervantino'', is a festival which takes place each fall in the city of Guanajuato, located in central Mexico. The festival originates from the mid 20th century, when short play ...

(Guanajuato, Mexico) * World Music Panama (Panama City, Panama)

Asia

Hong Kong Arts Festival The Hong Kong Arts Festival (HKAF), launched in 1973, is a major international arts festival committed to enriching the cultural life of the city by presenting leading local and international artists in all genres of the performing arts as we ...

(Hong Kong, China) *

Jeonju International Sori Festival Founded in 2001, Jeonju International Sori Festival (전주세계소리축제) is South Korea's main event for traditional music and, since 2011, world music. In 2012, 2013, and 2014, Songlines listed Jeonju Sori Festival among the World's Best ...

(Jeonju, South Korea) * Udaipur World Music Festival (Udaipur, India)

Africa

* Jerusalem Sacred Music Festival (Jerusalem) * Fez Festival of World Sacred Music (Fès, Morocco) * Festival Au tour des cordes (Saint-Louis, Senegal)

Oceania

WOMAD WOMAD ( ; World of Music, Arts and Dance) is an international arts festival. The central aim of WOMAD is to celebrate the world's many forms of music, arts and dance. History WOMAD was founded in 1980 by English rock musician Peter Gabriel, ...

(Adelaide, Australia) *

(New Plymouth, New Zealand)

Members

, born in Tehran in 1976, serves as the artistic director of the ensemble. He is frequently joined by certain musicians in many projects, including Didem Başar ( kanun), Patrick Graham (

percussions A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Excl ...

), Tanya LaPerrière (

viola d'amore The viola d'amore (; Italian for "viol of love") is a 7- or 6- stringed musical instrument with sympathetic strings used chiefly in the baroque period. It is played under the chin in the same manner as the violin. Structure and sound The viol ...

), and Hamin Honari (

Pieces and Instruments

The Constantinople ensemble aims to interpret a diverse repertoire spanning

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

, and contemporary aesthetics, from the Mediterranean Europe to the East. With over 50 creations to its credit, the ensemble has performed concerts in more than 55 countries. In "Passages," the ensemble showcases the Iranian setâr, Turkish

kamancheh The kamancheh (also kamānche or kamāncha) ( fa, کمانچه, az, kamança, hy, Քամանչա, ku, کەمانچە ,kemançe) is an Iranian bowed string instrument used in Persian, Azerbaijani, Armenian, Kurdish, Georgian, Turkmen, and ...

, Lebanese

oud , image=File:oud2.jpg , image_capt=Syrian oud made by Abdo Nahat in 1921 , background= , classification= * String instruments *Necked bowl lutes , hornbostel_sachs=321.321-6 , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded with a plectrum , ...

, Persian

, and kanun.

Discography

*Musique du Moyen Âge et de la Renaissance – instrumental (Atma 22269) *Memoria Sefardí – Musique d'Espagne juive et chrétienne (no texts) (Atma 22274) *Li Tans Nouveaus –

troubadours A troubadour (, ; oc, trobador ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a ''trobairit ...

Châtelain de Coucy, Li nouviauz tanz et mais et violete. (texts)

Anne Azéma Anne Azéma (born October 19, 1957) is a French-born soprano, scholar, and stage director. She is currently artistic director of the Boston Camerata. She has been an important or leading singer of early music since 1993. She has created and dir ...

(Atma) *De Castille à Samarkand (no texts) with Guy Ross (Atma 22383) *Greece - Carrefour De La Méditerrannée (texts) with ensemble En Chordais (Atma) Atma Classique ACD 22314 *Que le Yable les emporte – traditional songs of Quebec (texts) with Bernard Simard Atma Classique, ACD 22316 *Terres Turquoises, La princessa y el caballero (texts in Spanish and one in Arabic)

*Mania - instrumental music Tabassian brothers Atma Classique, ACD 22340 *Terra nostra - 17th century Mexico (Spanish texts) José Ángel Guttiérrez, Teresita de Jesús Islas (Atma 22567) *Ay Amor – songs in French based on Codax etc. (texts) with Francoise Atlan (Atma) Atma Classique ACD 22594 *Premiers Songes - on poems of

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz Sor may refer to: * Fernando Sor (1778–1839), Spanish guitarist and composer * Sor, Ariège, a French commune * SOR Libchavy, a Czech bus manufacturer * Sor, Azerbaijan, a village * Sor, Senegal, an offshore island * Sor River, a river in the Or ...

Analekta AN 2 9989 *Metamorfosi - Italian baroque *Marco Polo - En Chordais and Constantinople World Village - Harmonia Mundi *Jardins migrateurs - an encounter between Mandingo and

Analekta 2 9142 *Il Ponte di Leonardo - works by Kiya Tabassian, Agha Mo'men,

Bartolomeo Tromboncino Bartolomeo Tromboncino (c. 1470 – 1535 or later) was an Italian composer of the middle Renaissance. He is mainly famous as a composer of '' frottole''; he is principally infamous for murdering his wife. He was born in Verona and died in or ...

, Ambrogio Dalza and others (with Mark Beasley) - Glossa GCD924503

References

{{Authority control Early music groups