CONSTANTINOPLE FINDS ENCHANTMENT IN THE MUSIC OF DIMITRIE CANTEMIR

Ensemble Constantinople (Kiya Tabassian, setar; Didem Başar, kanun; Tanya LaPerrière, viola d’amore & Baroque violin; Kianoush Khalilian, ney; Patrick Graham, percussion; Hamin Honari, tombak & daf), Music of Dimitrie Cantemir, Salle Bourgie, Montreal, April 21, 2021.

Originally formed in 1998 by setarist Kiya Tabassian and his brother Ziya, Montreal-based Constantinople has now achieved international recognition as an inspired and vibrant ensemble exploring musical traditions beyond the standard classical canon. The current concert, ‘The Crossroads of Cantemir’, revealed one of the many byways they have travelled, bringing a captivating taste of music from the Ottoman Empire to Early Music Vancouver’s digital stage. The program consisted of pieces by Dimitrie Cantemir (1673-1723), a remarkable Moldavian polymath, prince, and composer, whose lifespan paralleled those of Western contemporaries such as Antonio Vivaldi and François Couperin. Influenced by Turkish, Persian, and Byzantine idioms, Cantemir’s output represents a fascinating encapsulation of Eastern and Western musicmaking at the turn of the 18th century. Highlights included the dynamically-written and executed Bousalik pishrow, an elegiac Bestinigar pishrow, and an engaging rendition of Gavesht pishrow. Performing on Middle Eastern instruments as well as Baroque strings, Constantinople found a rich colour and vitality in Cantemir’s works that flowed seamlessly throughout the evening.

The concert opened with Zenguleh pishrow, a work that progresses from a meditative melody, thickened instrument-by-instrument within a monophonic texture. A distinct folk-like quality permeated the work, created not only through the rustic lyricism of the music but also by the viola d’amore’s continuous bass drone early on. Fine dynamic control and continuity were on display, with Didem Basar’s kanun solo showcasing a special expressive range in its rhapsodic fervour. Vigour and momentum defined the ensuing Ushak Ashirani pishrow, contrasting effectively with the somber Bestinigar pishrow, which was introduced by a moving setar solo by Kiya Tabassian. With the stage awash in a twilight blue hue, Tabassian’s playing revealed a similarly nocturnal, mystic air – featuring a pronounced approach to phrasing and an improvisatory quality often found in Cantemir’s music and Turkish taksims. The varied timbral range of the ney – demonstrated masterfully by Kianoush Khalilian – was equally a highlight. It is interesting to note that the interplay between the rapturous solo ney melodies and the ensemble’s continuo-like harmonic/rhythmic backdrop was evocative of a recitativo secco, a parallel genre that thrived in Italy.

In line with the program’s commitment to variety, the works that followed brought interesting changes in musical character and instrumentation. A lively motivic call and response characterized Muhayyer pishrow, featuring jaunty, dance-like rhythms now accented crisply on the drums of Hamin Honari and Patrick Graham. Khalilian’s expressive awareness on the ney was again displayed in an extended solo cadenza. Despite the absence of the viola d’amore or the Baroque violin, Buzurg pishrow in turn revealed a distinct Western influence – particularly in its use of minor triadic harmonies underlying Ottoman melodic contours. The same qualities were amplified in Mahour pishrow and Bousalik pishrow, with the former highlighting tonic-dominant relations and the latter incorporating phrases consistent with common-practice progressions.

Bousalik pishrow constituted one of the most structurally complex works on the program, comprising numerous contrasting sections and rhythmic cycles evocative of Turkish forms such as the pesrev and saz semai. The ensemble approached this music with obvious enthusiasm, maintaining tight synchroneity and cohesion through its fluctuating dynamics and tempi. A stirring viola d’amore rendering by Tanya Laperrière emerged at the end, providing perhaps the most strikingly Western moment in the evening: the use of a Baroque ‘Folia’ theme of the type  popular in both instrumental and operatic genres of central Europe. Very eye-opening indeed, yet it remains unclear how much of this piece was actually written by Cantemir.

Moving to the concert’s close, Gavesht pishrow featured sprightly rhythms and shifting meters, which ended fittingly with a spirited percussion duet by Honari & Graham. Here the timbral interplay, precision of touch, and stratified texture allowed the unpitched instruments to imbue the passage with unsuspected harmonicism. Bousalik Ashirani pishrow, exhibiting vivacious recurring motifs and incisive articulation, finished the concert memorably, ending the evening on a literal high note.

This was a thoroughly illuminating recital. The music was interesting and varied, and Constantinople’s focus and synergy were quite remarkable – with players visibly enraptured in the performances of their colleagues even when not actively performing. Cantemir’s music was fully brought to life by the ensemble’s combination of technical skill and expressivity. Overall, this concert formed a stimulating complement to the ‘Persian’ outing earlier in Early Music Vancouver’s digital series, illustrating the organization’s admirable objective of presenting all types of ‘early music’, not just Western.

© Maggie Lu 2021