Pera Ensemble
Long before opera arrived in Istanbul, music was already travelling between East and West.
Ballo Turco – From Venice to Istanbul, recorded by the Pera Ensemble, brings back the extraordinary musical dialogue that flourished between the Ottoman capital and Europe during the seventeenth century.
Pera in the 17th Century, Vanmour
Monteverdi, Cesti and Kapsberger meet Ali Ufkî, Derviş Frenk Mustafa and Nefîrî Behram Ağa. Italian dances inspired by imagined “Turks” sit beside Ottoman compositions carrying traces of European music.
And perhaps that is what makes the album so fascinating. It does not tell the familiar story of Western music simply “arriving” in Istanbul. Instead, it reveals something much more interesting: a world in which Venice and Constantinople were already listening to one another.
Venice in 1700s
Two shores. Two musical traditions. And a sea that separated them — while constantly bringing them together.
Released in 2016 by Oehms Classics, Ballo Turco – From Venice to Istanbul brings this long-forgotten musical encounter back to life.
Four centuries later, Venice and Istanbul are listening to one another once again.
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