The phrase “La sublime porte” refers not only to the title of a recent release by Jordi Savall and Hesperion XXI, but also to the historical Ottoman court held by the sultan and his Grand Vizier. During the sixteenth century, the Turkish city Istanbul served as a destination for foreign diplomats to the Ottoman Empire, and artists of every kind. The rule of Suleyman the Magnificent during the sixteenth century brought about the height of the Ottoman Empire in its internal stability, the expanse of its borders, and the variety of its music.
We’ll hear a makam from the CD La Sublime Porte on the Alia Vox label.