Zençir

Description

Revival of 17th-century Ottoman court music, adapted for the unique sound of this ensemble. Based on the repertoire collection of Demetrios Cantemir (Dimitri Kantemir), the band has created its own arrangements. Dimitri Kantemir, known as Kantemiroğlu among the Ottomans, was a polyglot universal scholar, the most extraordinary tanbur virtuoso of his time, and a prince of Moldavia. During his stay in Constantinople/Istanbul between 1690 and 1700, he compiled over 350 Ottoman instrumental compositions in a specially adapted notation. Some of these pieces, particularly those by the prince himself, serve Zençir in the instrumentation of oud, ney, traverso, drums, and for the first time with the reconstructed multi-tonal keyboard instruments Arciorgano and Clavemusicum Omnitonum as the framework for a new musical universe, while still adhering to the detailed path of the works in the collection. Line-up: Karim Othman-Hassan: Oud/Ney, Danyel Franke: traverso, Georg Vogel: Arciorgano/ Clavemusicum Omnitonum, M-Claviton, Valentin Duit: drums