The two music ensembles “En Chordais” and “Constantinople”, known as two of the most important ensembles of the musical traditions of the Mediterranean, join their forces and creativity to recreate a colorful musical journey in tribute to Marco Polo. Their ambition is to present a multidisciplinary performance for a 21st century audience, a unique tableau made up of historical musical and visual materials and new musical works.
The show is inspired by the medieval book Le Livre des Merveilles, most commonly known as The Travels of Marco Polo. His voyage is a unique experience of exploration and inner search. He passes through many different places and meets many different people and their cultures. This colorful mosaic fascinates him but most of all opens his inner self. In that way the travel becomes a valuable experience of self-awareness and self-definition.
In the course of the performance the itinerary of our hero unfolds musically with the music of the two ensembles En Chordais and Constantinople and their virtuoso guests. In this pioneering program, gravures, images of landscapes, and historical manuscripts in a variety of languages are combined with original compositions by the Kalaitzidis.
During the program, a background projection composed of images from historical maps, historical writings and calligraphies in different languages of the Silk Road creates an attractive and complementary view to the music and text performed on stage. From the heart of Europe to the Far East, the performance of The Musical voyages of Marco Polo traces an important part of our universal musical civilization. Through our familiarization with the music, distant lands appear as neighboring lands and unknown cultures become friendly cultures, while the voyage becomes an initiation into the hidden beauty of the world.
“The Musical Voyages of Marco Polo” is available on CD distributed by World Village – Harmonia Mundi and has been awarded the “Prix Academie Charles Cros” 2014.
