… cette ville étrange

The multi-cultural Ensemble Constantinople leads its audience on a convoluted journey through space and time. The group makes its home in Montreal, Canada, but its name points to historical Istanbul and the music of the Near and Middle East. Specialized in traditional instruments, the musicians use a contemporary piece by their compatriot Claude Vivier, who was tragically murdered, as the focus of their own improvisation and interludes. Vivier, in turn, had been inspired for his composition by Marco Polo’s journeys. »…et je reverrai cette ville étrange…«, »…and I will see this strange city again…«, can be considered a symbol of the eternal migrant’s longing to return. Vivier’s »melodies, which somehow are part of my past,« as he himself remarked, are »reanimated« by Ensemble Constantinople during the course of its own excursions into world music. Thus, the past resonates in the present, the East resonates in the West. »…and one wants to hear this strange music again…«

Das Konzert im Radio: Samstag, 21.05.2022, WDR3 Konzert, 20:04

Die Reisen des Ensemble Constantinople werden gefördert durch das Canada Council for the Arts und das Conseil des arts et des lettres de Québec.