Εις την Πόλιν – Istanbul

The musical group In excelsis presents a finely-tuned performance called Εις την Πόλιν – Istanbul, exploring the multiple and diverse aspects of the musical, artistic, and spiritual landscape of “Ottoman” Constantinople. Through this landscape, painted with the colours of sounds, speech, and movement, the goal is to capture the atmosphere and ambiance of that era – sometimes dreamlike and spiritual, other times filled with conflict or sacredness, yet always colourful and diverse.

Hymns from the Byzantine music repertoire intersect with the sacred music of the Dervishes (specifically the Mevlevi order), alongside typical orchestral compositions reflecting the intellectual secularism that dominated the Sultan’s Palace and Constantinople for centuries following its Fall. At the same time, “military marches” blend with excerpts from folk lamentations about the Fall of Constantinople, complementing the most important musical compositions related to Constantinople during that time.