Constantinople - De Castille a Samarkand (2006)

Montreal-based ensemble Constantinople elegantly straddles the worlds of early music and living folk musics, particularly those of the countries surrounding the Mediterranean. Its lively engagement with current folk traditions informs its performances of early music so that without consulting the program it would be difficult to tell which pieces are medieval dances, which are thirteenth century Cantigas de Santa Maria, which are folk pieces, and which are composed or improvised by the members of the ensemble. The album is organized as a sort of sonic travelog of a journey from Spain across the Mediterranean and Aegean, over the deserts of Persia to the legendary White Palace of Tamerlane in Samarkand (now part of Uzbekistan). The application of current folk traditions of the Mediterranean and Middle East to the older repertoires gives them real vitality and informs the newer compositions just as fully. The instruments, which include lute, oud, recorder, setar, gamba, vielle, and a broad array of percussion often play in unison, or in heterophony (which sounds like an ornamented version of unison) and the timbres are wonderfully colorful and exotic. The group's sense of ensemble is nuanced and organic; it's easy to tell that these players intimately know and listen to each other. Atma's sound is characteristically pristine but warm and atmospheric. The CD, like all of Constantinople's releases, should delight fans of both early music and folk musics of the Middle East.