Newberry Consort Presents Concert of Music from the Ottoman Empire Preview

A spokesperson describes the event as follows:

“...Originally performed at The Newberry Library for a conference in the summer of 2023, this program, curated by Middle Eastern music expert Ronnie Malley, features the music from the 17th to the 19th centuries that was heard throughout the Ottoman Empire and the regions it influenced.

“This concert was so popular when we first performed it that it was standing-room only,” said Liza Malamut, artistic director of The Newberry Consort. “I remember there was so much joyous energy in the room, and people were absolutely entranced by the show. This time, we’re expanding it to include more music, and I can’t wait for even larger audiences to experience this concert.”

The program was inspired by an ancient Ottoman manuscript housed in The Newberry Library called the Tarih-i Yeni Dünya (History of the New World), which was written around 1600 and which is considered to be one of the earliest written accounts by Ottomans of the Spanish Conquest of the Americas. The manuscript includes stories of the explorations of Columbus, Cortés, Pizarro, and others from the perspective of Muslim Ottomans, as well as elaborate hand-drawn maps of lands all over the globe.

Malley used the book as a jumping-off point to highlight music from the far reaches of the Ottoman Empire from the 17th to the 19th centuries, featuring works by people with vastly different backgrounds, including composers who were Turkish, Greek, Armenian, Sephardic, Persian, and more.

“People tend to think of the Ottoman Empire as a homogenous and monolithic entity, but really, when you dig a little deeper, you realize that these were very pluralistic, cosmopolitan societies where people came from many different ethnic and religious backgrounds,” Malley said.

The program will feature eight musicians on period instruments — including Malamut on sackbut (an early trombone) and Malley on oud (a predecessor of the lute) — as well as Eve Monzingo on sandouri (a Greek hammered dulcimer), Naeif Rafeh on ney (a type of Middle Eastern top-blown flute), Sam Hyson on violin, George Lawler and Oya Dubey on percussion, and Firas Zreik on kanun (a type of Middle Eastern lap harp). As with all Newberry Consort concerts, the shows will be accompanied by imagery selected by Chicago-based projectionist and art historian Shawn Keener..."