Where music connects.
An invitation to the Seraglio.
Programme
17th-century music from the manuscripts of Ali Ufkî
Ottoman court music, and
Works by H. Schmelzer, H. I. F. Biber, D. Buxtehude, B. Charaf
Ensemble Ad Fontes
Anne Simone Aeberhard (recorders) – Bruno Hurtado Gosálvez (violone) – Mojca Gal (violin) –
Nacho Laguna (theorbo) – Sebastian Mattmüller (bass) – Bardia Charaf (percussion)
Guest from Istanbul: Ruhi Ayangil (kanun – Turkish zither)
Who doesn't know Mozart's Turkish March and other classical music alla turca? The Sultan’s military music spread fear and terror across 17th-century Europe—and left a lasting imprint on European musical history. But within the Sultan’s palace in Constantinople, music was performed in a very different style.
Ali Ufkî (ca. 1610–1675) not only collected the music of his European contemporaries and Ottoman works, but also wrote about life inside the Sultan’s palace. From his collection, Ruhi Ayangil from Istanbul will perform on the kanun, the traditional Turkish zither.
We place this music in dialogue with compositions by H. I. F. Biber, D. Buxtehude, and J. H. Schmelzer. For this concert, Bardia Charaf has set a Turkish poem to music, bringing together the baroque instruments of Ad Fontes and the Ottoman kanun in harmonious interplay with the voice.