The Gurdjieff Ensemble
Songlines Encounters Festival
Musicians from the internationally acclaimed Armenian Gurdjieff Ensemble bring its “intriguing, often gently exquisite set” to Kings Place for the first time, as part of Songlines Encounters Festival.
The Gurdjieff Ensemble are one of Armenia’s leading traditional music groups. This concert, based around their last album Zatir, is based on the music of Georges I. Gurdjieff, and songs of 18th century troubadours Sayat Nova and Baghdasar Dpir, whose song Zatir (Wake Up – to the world around us), is the symbol of this concert. It’s a rare opening to the rich tradition of Armenian folk music.
Gurdjieff Ensemble consists of leading musicians playing Armenian and Middle Eastern traditional instruments. The Ensemble was founded by Levon Eskenian to play ‘ethnographically authentic’ arrangements of the G. I. Gurdjieff/Thomas de Hartmann piano music, then diversely expanding the repertoire that now includes music from the Middle East, as well as ancient and medieval Armenian folk and spiritual music, troubadours songs from the Caucasus, and works by contemporary composers. Their Music of Georges.I. Gurdjieff debut album on the famous ECM records was widely acclaimed, and won prestigious awards including the Edison Award in the Netherlands, and since then the ensemble has been touring in nearly 150 cities in 30 countries in Europe, Australia, the Middle East, North, and South America, among which are sold-out performances at the Holland Festival, the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, the Boulez hall in Berlin, the Bozar Center in Brussels, the Morgenland and Rudolstadt festivals in Germany, the Gulbenkian Hall in Lisbon, the Budapest Spring festival in Hungary, the Sala São Paulo in Brazil, the Albert Hall in Canberra, the World Music Festival Chicago in USA and many more.
This event will last approximately 2 hours, including an interval.
Concessions & Under 30s tickets
Kings Place Concessions Tickets
We want to ensure that people who may be struggling financially to purchase a ticket can still enjoy visiting Kings Place. A limited number of tickets are allocated for certain events (if the ticket type does not show in the booking pathway, it means they are not available for this event or have all been sold). Concessions tickets are accessible for people on the following criteria (for more information visit our FAQs)
- Pension Credit
- Universal Credit
- Disability Benefit
- Income Support or Job Seekers allowance
- Students
£10 ‘Under 30s’ tickets
A limited number of £10 tickets for attendees aged under 30 are available for certain shows. To purchase an ‘Under 30s’ ticket, please choose the ‘Under 30s’ price type when selecting your ticket(s). If the option does not appear, this means all ‘Under 30s’ tickets have sold out or are not available for this performance. Please note that proof of age may be requested at the venue. The £10 offer does not apply to premium price categories.
Plan your visit
Getting here
Kings Place is situated just a few minutes’ walk from King’s Cross and St Pancras stations, one of the most connected locations in London and now the biggest transport hub in Europe.
Our address is:
90 York Way, London, N1 9AG.
The Venue
Our performance spaces are situated on the lower ground floor. Hall One, Hall Two and St Pancras are located in level -2, reached by stairs, escalator and lift from the ground floor entrance level.
Event Times
Door times indicate auditorium entrance times only. Visitors are welcome to enjoy the Kings Place seating areas, gallery-level art, canal-side terrace, café, restaurant and bar throughout the day and evening.
- Our events begin promptly at the advertised start time. Typically, there is no support unless otherwise stated.
- We recommend arriving in good time before the performance. The Hall doors will open 30 minutes before the performance to allow time to take your seats, or to choose a space for standing shows.
- Latecomers will be admitted at a suitable break in the performance where possible
Access
We aim to make your visit to Kings Place as comfortable as possible. For more information about the accessibility of Kings Place, including details about our Access Scheme, please visit this page.
If you would like to discuss your access requirements with a member of our team, please get in touch with the Box Office team at info@kingsplace.co.uk.
Food & Drink
Rotunda Bar & Restaurant
Rotunda, situated on the ground floor of Kings Place, offers a unique dining and drinking experience alongside Regent’s Canal. The concert bar in the venue foyer will also be open for select events.
Green & Fortune Café
Recently re-furbished and now open with a new look, the Green & Fortune Café is open for selected concerts. Serving hot and cold food and drinks, including sandwiches, salads, soup, stew and a pie of the day, alongside a choice of cakes made by the on-site bakery team. See here for selected concert dates and standard opening hours.
Reviews
‘Powerfully hypnotic. The Gurdjieff Ensemble offers listeners a chance to hear the music in a way that is ethnically specific, and in holting bright color’ New York Times
‘Delicate, haunting and atmospheric selection of instrumental pieces… they range from drifting, mesmeric arrangements for the duduk Armenian woodwind to subtle, sparse passages, or more sturdy dance pieces played on the zither-like kanon, the oud or the santur dulcimer. An intriguing, often gently exquisite set.’ The Guardian
‘The combination of instrumental voices, and the otherness of the voices themselves creates deep, mysterious yet marvelously relaxing soundscapes to sit awhile in.’ The Independent
The curation of Songlines Encounters is supported by the 1900 Building
The visit of the Gurdjieff Ensemble is supported by AGBU
