The CD contains works by composers from different ethnic and religious communities in the Ottoman Empire (Turkish, Greek, Hebrew, Jewish, Armenian and even Italian), active at court from the 17th to the 19th century. The CD thus contains compositions by Turkish composers (Elçi, Itrî, the sultans Selim III and Mahmud II), the Armenian Limonciyan, the Jew Aron Hamon, the Greek Petros and the Italian Giuseppe Donizetti.
As Kudsi Erguner writes about the Ottoman art music: «Unfortunately, because of a misconception, today this legacy is still called “Turkish classical music”. But it is actually the classical music of many different peoples who shared a common history within the Ottoman Empire. This music was not made to be appreciated according to an individual sense of belonging but according to the taste of a common culture, just like Western classical music.»
