Name: Constantinople & Hana Blazikova
Start: 2026-02-12T16:00:00-08:00
Location: First Baptist Church of Berkeley

Masters of the art of unusual encounters, world-renowned Canadian ensemble Constantinople returns to the Bay Area in an epic program: "Bach and Khayyam," featuring the exceptional soprano Hana Blažíková.

In this genre-bending program, we invite you to imagine the unlikely meeting of two extraordinary people: the Persian poet and scholar Omar Khayyam (1048–1131) and the composerJohann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750). A mathematician and astronomer, Omar Khayyam had a lasting influence on the West in the Middle Ages before being rediscovered in the 19th century for his quatrains, which eloquently remind one of the beauty and importance of living in the present moment.

Johann Sebastian Bach remains an undisputed musical genius whom everyone still refers to today. The iconic German composer lived a colorful existence; one can point to the trials and tribulations of his love life, his many children, and his pronounced taste for certain beverages—in particular, beer and a drink that could hardly have been more luxurious at the time: coffee.

If both Khayyam and Bach are characterized by their free and original approach to life and to artistic creation, this musical program brings them together first and foremost because of their deep spirituality. Although more than 600 years separate them, their geniuses were destined to meet in this compelling program by Ensemble Constantinople.