An ancient Turkish legend: ERGENEKON [Cantata]
PALS Children’s Chorus and chamber ensemble conducted by Johanna Hill Simpson (2002)
Keloğlan [Cantata]
KELOĞLAN [Cantata]
Choreography: Johanna Hill Simpson
Story conceived by Serap Kantarci Sanlıkol, adapted by Mehmet Ali Sanlıkol, edited by Robert Labaree and Johanna Hill Simpson
PALS Children’s Chorus conducted by Johanna Hill Simpson (2005)
A story of the City: Constantinople, Istanbul
A STORY OF THE CITY: Constantinople, Istanbul
The many layers of communal memory in this program proceed through Greek Orthodox music, secular Greek music, Crusader songs, music of the Ottoman ceremonial and military ensembles, Ottoman court music, Sufi ceremonial music, Turkish folk music, Sephardic Jewish songs, urban music of the Armenians and Turks, and finally contemporary urban popular music full of longing and protest. On its own, each piece may communicate celebration, love, devotion or military might, but taken together, the mood of melancholy is unmistakable, which by now has been permanently woven into the fabric of this thriving cosmopolitan city.