Constantinople, composed by award winning composer Christos Hatzis, is a multi-disciplinary theatre work set against a backdrop of vibrant images. Constantinople won a 2008 Juno Award and noted by the Globe and Mail to be ‘one of the most talked about contemporary classical compositions of the decade’.
Photographs by Salim Nensi – [Facebook] – November 26, 2015.
Constantinople: A guide to the journey – Re-imagined for the Ismaili Centre, Toronto 2015
The spiritual quest is universal.
Individuals are connected through time and memory, through their ancestors, to the community of all humankind.
Photographs evoke nostalgia for what we perceive as happier times in the past, just as the simple wistful melody at the beginning of this movement evokes sentiment untroubled by reality.
Memories become troubling, though, as they widen out to include the turmoil and pain that the past also contained.
A tango portrays the interaction of dark and light elements, which are woven through all our memories.
An honest recognition of our differences, our similarities, our universal struggle, our universal journey leads to a hopeful message of ultimate reconciliation and peace.
Throughout, images of two trees – and images of separated mosque and church – have represented the isolation of two cultures. Yet the trees are joined at the roots, just as human belief is joined in its rapturous impulse towards reverence for the divine intelligence, which created and continues to create all things.
We are rooted and finally joined in a universal journey, which we all share. We all experience darkness; we all need and seek the light. And we – all of us will go on doing so forever.
An innate purity of spiritual experience forms the foundation for all belief.
Two spiritual belief systems have had a long history of peaceful coexistence in the ancient city of Constantinople, known today as Istanbul. Voices of Islam and Christianity intertwine, and reveal the similar strengths and passions of these two religions.
http://www.citiesofarrival.com/
Ismailimail exclusive. Text/caption via Program leaflet.
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