Carneval Oriental

Product Description

After the final siege of Vienna and the Turkish defeat, the Ottoman Empire had no longer been a threat. In private circles, pantaloons, caftans and turbans were now worn, the Turkish drink was appreciated and hookahs were smoked. The Alla Turca fashion found expression in Turkish operas. Il Seraglio by Mozart is probably the best-known work on this topic. However, since the early 17th century there have been dozens of operas, arias and instrumental compositions on the subject. The project Carneval Oriental receives it's inspiration from this melting-pot of cultures, an exclusive blend of musical worlds. We celebrate carnival as it was probably held in the 16th and 17th centuries. The Pera Ensemble, which has been rediscovering these encounters between the Orient and the Occident as well as the turqueries and Alla Turca music for many years, meets up with the ensemble l'arte del mondo and offers Baroque music from France and Italy refined with oriental spices, arias and instrumental music in a new understanding of sound.

Review

"In my book any CD that begins with Lully's Armide and ends with Handel's Radamisto, with Allegri, Uccellini, Monteverdi, Campra, Sartorio, Corelli, Cesti and Alessandro Scarlatti in between, is a good thing. Which is what Carneval Oriental on the Capriccio label is, played with gusto and delight by L'arte del mondo, a leading HIP (Historically-Informed Players) ensemble, and the Pera Ensemble, a Turkish early music group specializing in music of the Ottoman Empire, conducted by Werner Ehrhardt." --Laurence Vittes, Huffington Post, April 20, 2016