Sarband

Vienna 1683

A Musical Siege of Vienna - Ensemble Sarband & Armonico Tributo Austria

- Noisy battaglie, pensive laments, 
  vain court dances loaded with premonition of death
  from besieged Vienna; 



- raucous Janissary music, ferocious war songs
  from the Turks (yet) sure of their victory,

but also musical prayers for peace; 



- texts and descriptions of the battle from Turkish
   and Austrian sources.

 

 

An acoustic battle painting from and about Vienna 1683, 
one of the decisive turning points in European and Turkish history.

Thunder of cannons and clarion calls, drumbeats, war songs and laments 
are certainly more entertaining in hindsight than
during the actual event. 
But this military encounter is also the site for the first, cautious cultural approaches of modernity
between Orient and Occident, 
which in later times merged into enchanting 'alla turca' operas and melancholy Turkish waltzes.

The Turkish defeat at Vienna was not the last military conflict between the Western powers and the Ottoman Empire. 

Yet it demonstrated that the Turks were not invincible and helped Europe overcome its century-old primal fear of the Turk.

Thus both sides were given an opportunity to look at the presumed archenemy 
in an unencumbered way and to search
curiously for similarities and differences. 
This new view inspired an unprecedented wealth of publications about the respective
‘other‘ 
both in Turkey and in Europe and in the 18th century 
led to a singular peak of cultural rapprochement and exchange.

download dossier


Reviews

«Perfectly collective musical performance distinguished both ensembles from Orient and Occident ... 

Visible and audible delight of all musicians in the experience of collective performance ...

captivated the enthusiastic audience in the Helmut-List-Halle, 
until they were allowed to contribute
their frenetic applause as the din of a peaceful battle. 
What an outstanding concert!»
Franz Szabo, Fastmail.fm (Austria), 7-2010

 

Listen

Turkey (17th cent.):
«Neva Çeng-i Harbi»
Live: Styriarte Graz, 7-2010
2:06

 

 

 

 

hmet Kadri Rizeli