Album: Jordi Savall, Hesperion XXI, La Sublime Porte: Voix d'Istanbul 1430-1750 (Aliavox)

Jordi Savall's early-music ensemble again turns its attention to the East with this typically thorough, exhaustively-annotated selection of early Turkish music.

The latest in Savall's historic "musical frescos", La Sublime Porte focuses on Istanbul's position as gateway between East and West from the 15th to 18th centuries, a portal through which cultural influences could seep into each other's domain. The ensemble offers authentic recreations of Turkish, Greek, Armenian and Sephardic pieces, told in textures and timbres of oud, duduk, ney and Savall's own rebab. This is music of great subtlety, technical accomplishment and powerful emotional impact.

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