Montreal, City of Music 2004 - The Constantinople ensemble

Constantinople Constantinople is a group that draws its inspiration from the music of the Mediterranean, the classical Persian tradition, the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Since its inception in 1998, the ensemble has sought a unique mode of expression and creative ways to perform medieval and Renaissance music, combining the study of ancient manuscripts with the living oral traditions of the Near and Middle East - specifically the classical Persian tradition.   Led by setar player Kiya Tabassian, the group uses early European instruments such as the lute, vihuela, medieval harp, viola de gamba, vieille, recorder, cornetto and shawm, along with Middle Eastern instruments such as the setar (a plucked-string instrument from Persia), the tombak, daf and dayereh (Persian percussion instruments), and the oud.   Very active on the Montreal music scene, Constantinople has already recorded five albums and was granted the Opus "discovery of 2003" award by the Conseil québécois de la musique in January 2004.   Source : http://www.constantinople.ca/   Guy Ross Bachelor in lute interpretation form Laval University, Guy Ross is a specialist of the vocal and instrumental repertoire of the Middle Ages and Renaissance periods. Through extensive research, he has developed a technique based on the study of treatises and repertoires ranging from the 14th to the 17th centuries. In addition, he has perfected his approach to medieval singing and playing with Benjamin Bagby and Barbara Thomson of the Sequentia Ensemble.   Keenly interested in the oud, the ideal companion to in-depth studies in theory and practice of classic Ottoman music, Mr Ross is a member of the Constantinople Ensemble specialized in early music from the Mediterranean. A member of the Anonymus and Strada ensembles for over ten years, he teaches lute at Laval University.   Ziya Tabassian Ziya Tabassian started playing the tombak (a Persian percussion) at the age of 11. From 1994 to 2001 he studied classical percussion with Julien Grégoire in Montreal, and has completed a Bachelor degree in percussion interpretation at the Université de Montréal. During winter 2002, with the help of Quebec Art Council, Ziya went back to Iran for a tombak training with M. Bahman Rajabi. Recently, he completed a residency at the Banff Centre for the arts, where he explored the contemporary music on the Persian percussions.   He plays in several classical, modern and world music ensembles and is an active and a co-fonder member of both Constantinople (Middle Age and Renaissance music) and Duo Prémices (soprano & percussion). Ziya has performed in several concerts in Canada, the U.S. and Greece, notably at the World Music Institute in New York, the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco, Megaron Mousikis in Athens and Chicago's World Music Festival.   Ziya was invited to participate in the recording of a new release by Kayhan Kalhor with the Kronos Quartet. Also, along with his brother Kiya, he has recorded a CD of Persian classical music entitled Garden of the Memory on the XXI-21 label. He has already three CDs with Constantinople on the ATMA label and recorded for many other productions, such with the Nouvel Ensemble Moderne and En Chordais.   Elin Soderstrom, viola da gamba A young musician of enviable experience, the Montreal-based Elin Soderstrom is active on both sides of the Atlantic. After studying at McGill University, she travelled to the Netherlands to perfect her art with Wieland Kuijken. Rapidly assimilated into Dutch musical scene, Elin is invited to join the Dutch viol consort The Spirit of Gambo with which she is regularly heard throughout Northern Europe, notably with Emma Kirkby. Invited to perform with the Capriccio Stravangante in France, in the United States and in Canada, Elin was called upon to accompany Guillemette Laurens and Lynne Dawson.   In Canada, as well as her work with Masques, Elin performs with ensembles such as Les Voix Humaines, the Toronto Consort, le Studio de Musique Ancienne and Les Boréades. Regularly heard on CBC Radio and on Radio-Canada, Elin has recorded for Dorian, Analekta, Atma, Astrée-Naïve, and the Dutch label Wereldomroep.   Renowned for her versatility, her stage presence and her expressive sound, Elin's performances rarely go unnoticed.   Matthew Jennejohn Born in British Columbia, Matthew Jennejohn pursues an active performing career on the cornetto, recorder, and baroque oboe. A specialist in music of the renaissance, baroque and middle ages, he has performed with many of the leading early music ensembles in North America including Ensemble Constantinople, the Studio de Musique Ancienne de Montréal, Les Boréades, Ensemble Arion, Tafelmusik, Les Voix Baroques, Tempesta di Mare, Les Ides Heureuses, The Trinity Consort, La Nouvelle Sinfonie and Les Violons du Roy.   He studied early music at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague, McGill University and the University of British Columbia with Bruce Haynes, Marion Verbrüggen, Ku Ebbinge and Peter Hannan as well as private instruction and workshops with William Dongois and Bruce Dickey.   He is frequently heard on CBC Radio and Radio-Canada and has recorded on the ATMA, CBC, Early-Music.com, and Analekta labels, including recordings with Monica Huggett, Barthold Kuijken, Jaap ter Linden, Matthew White and Eric Milnes.   He has taught recorder at the Vancouver Early Music Festival and is a teacher of baroque oboe at McGill University.   Kiya Tabassian Born in Tehran in 1976, Kiya Tabassian received his initial training in Persian music from Mehrdad Torabi at the Bahârlou Institute in Tehran, from Reza Ghassemi in Paris and Kayhan Kalhor in Montreal. He has since continued to develop his instrumental skills independently. He has also studied composition at the Conservatoire de Musique de Montréal with Gilles Tremblay and Michel Gonneville.   In 1989, he founded the Tahmassebi Ensemble. In addition to directing the group, he contributed several compositions to its repertoire. The ensemble gave several concerts throughout Iran and performed on the Iranian national broadcasting network. In 1990, upon his arrival in Canada, he co-founded the Darvish-Khan Trio, an ensemble devoted to classical Persian music. He is also the co-founder of Constantinople, an ensemble that specializes in medieval and Renaissance music, and Nowrouz, which is devoted to classical Persian music. Both ensembles have performed in a number of Canadian cities.   Kiya has collaborated with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) on several occasions as a performer and special co-host. In addition, he performs regularly throughout the U.S., France, Greece and Mexico, both as a soloist and in collaboration with other musicians.   In 2000, he was composer in residence for Musique Multi Montréal with a project entitled "Poussières d'étoiles." Along with his brother Ziya, he recorded his first cd of Persian classical music entitled Garden of the Memory on the XXI-21 label. He has also recorded two CDs with Constantinople on the ATMA label and is currently working on two new recordings scheduled for release by ATMA in 2002-2003.   Since March 2002, he has been an active member of the MediMuses project, as a member of the research group on the history of Mediterranean music. He will also oversee the production of the second recording in the "Great Composers of the Mediterranean" series, to be released on the En Chordais label in 2004.   Kiya is a member of the Conseil Québécois de la Musique. He has received several grants from the Canada Council for the Arts and the Conseil des arts et lettres du Québec. Kiya has frequently been invited to give lectures and presentations on Persian music.   Françoise Atlan Critics concur that Françoise Atlan is one of today's most authentic performers of Judeo-Spanish lovesongs. Deeply attached to tradition, Ms. Atlan has done extensive musicological research on the repertoire she has been singing from a tender young age.   Atlan was born in France in 1964 and began taking singing classes in 1985. Her Jewish-Middle Eastern roots led her to explore the music of the Mediterranean Basin, particularly the repertoire of Sephardic romances - a valuable heritage of the Jews who were driven out of Spain during the Reconquista in 1492.   In 1998, she was awarded the Prix de la Villa Médicis Hors les Murs, which allowed her to work for three years on the Arab-Andalusian repertoire with the Orchestra of Fes, directed by the master Mohamed Briouel, with whom she recorded an album. Now residing in Morocco, Ms. Atlan has performed in a number of countries in Europe and North Africa, as well as the United States, Canada and Japan. She has sung with flamenco guitarist Juan Carmona, as well as the Ensemble Gilles Binchois and the Boston Camerata. In 2003, she took part in the most recent recording of Montreal group Constantinople's, Terres Turquoises, produced by the Quebec Atma label.