My Armenia - Dedicated to the 100th Commemoration of the Armenia Genocide Sergey & Lusine Khachatryan

• Komitas Vardapet (1869-1935)
• 1 Krunk (The Crane) (arr. S.Z. Aslamazian for violin and piano) 04:13
• 2 Dsirani dsar (Apricot Tree) (arr. A. Gabrielian for violin and piano) 03:32
• Seven Folk Dances (for piano solo)
• 3 No. 1. Manushaki 02:24
• 4 No. 2. Yerangi 03:11
• 5 No. 3. Unabi 01:53
• 6 No. 4. Marali 01:22
• 7 No. 5. Shushiki 01:40
• 8 No. 6. Het u Aradj (Back and Forth) 02:22
• 9 No. 7. Shoror 04:07
• 10 Garun a, dzun a arel (It is Spring, but Snow has Fallen) (arr. R. Andreasian for piano) 04:04
• Eduard Bagdasarian (1922-1987)
• 11 Rhapsody 11:36
• 12 Nocturne in A Major 04:50
• Edvard Mik'aeli Mirzoyan (1921-2012)
• 13 Introduction and Perpetuum Mobile 09:41
• Aram Il'yich Khachaturian (1903-1978)
• 14 Song-Poem, In Honour of an Ashugh 06:30
• Two dances from ballet Gayaneh
• 15 Gayane: Usundara (arr. M. Fichtenholz for violin and piano) 03:10
• 16 Gayane, Act III: Sabre Dance (arr. J. Heifetz for violin and piano) 02:09
• Arno Harutyuni Babadjanian (1921-1983): Six Pictures for piano solo
• 17 No. 1. Improvisation 02:03
• 18 No. 2. Folk Song 01:38
• 19 No. 3. Toccatina 01:55
• 20 No. 4. Intermezzo 01:19
• 21 No. 5. Choral 03:03
• 22 No. 6. Sassoun Dance 02:45
• Total Runtime 01:19:27

Info zu My Armenia - Dedicated to the 100th Commemoration of the Armenia Genocide

Dedicated to the 100th Commemoration of the Armenian genocide, My Armenia offers a very personal, touching and brilliant tribute to Armenian music by Sergey and Lusine Khachatryan.

Like for every nation, the space in which the musical Armenian culture developed corresponds to the nation’s development itself. According to some scientists, Armenians’ attested origins are dated from the second millenary B.C. The history of musical Armenian culture can be divided in two big categories: traditional and artistic music. Until the middle of the 19th century, traditional Armenian music used to be monodic in its whole. This monadic Armenian music can also be divided in three other categories: popular traditional music, traditional professional music, known as the Gusans’ or Aschughens’ art (Armenian equivalent for troubadours), and at last the artistic professional Middle Ages music, spiritual music or religious vocal art in Armenia. In the middle of the 19th century appear the first musical artistic works from Armenian composers. In the second half of this century, bases and specificities of the artistic Armenian music start to become important, freed from the European influence and reinforced through Armenia’s wish to be independent. These problems touching the Armenian culture have been resolved by Komitas Vardapet, who made traditional and religious Armenian music the frame of the artistic Armenian music. Komitas Vardapet (1869 – 1935) is therefore considered the founder of the national Armenian composition school.

Komitas Vardapet (his religious name; his civil name was Soghomon Soghomonian) was a composer, musician, ethnologist, music specialist, pedagogue, choir leader, singer and poet. He was formed at the Georgian seminary of Edchmiatzin (the siege of the Armenian Church). He then studied from 1896 to 1900 in Berlin in the Richard Schneider conservatory and at the imperial Friedrich Wilhelm University (now Humboldt University). He is one of the founders of the Berlin branch of the Internationale musicology society. In Berlin, Paris, or Vienna, he played several times for concerts and scientific conferences. In 1915 starts the Armenian genocide and Komitas Vardapet is deported with a group of intellectual Armenians from Istanbul to the Syrian Desert. Through the intervention of foreign artists and intellectuals he escapes deportation; but right after, abominations he saw during the deportation and he felt with his whole body, started a very hard crisis for him. He dies in 1935 in Paris.

Komitas Vardapet made progress the scientific research around the Armenian music in its artistic frame, but also formed Armenians’ musical sensibility – in particular, concerning the harmony and linearity of voices; these two points were before specific to the popular Armenian traditions, also because it had been modified through European influences of the artistic music. Considered under this point of vew, Komitas Vardapet’ accords and the introduction of polyphonies seem to be totally new, but are in fact grandly Armenian from the European point of view in Komitas Vardapet’ time. That’s why his work, was so estimated.

Komitas Vardapet’s role in the history of Armenian people is therefore excellent, since it integrated the Armenian music to the nations’ paradigm. Armenians particularly appreciate the numerous rewritings of the song “Krunk” (“The crane”). It is an example of Middle Ages ballade, collected and reworked by Komitas Vardapet; it is considered by the whole Armenian diaspora the symbol of a national nostalgia. Piano dances are also important in Komitas Vardapet’ work. His last redaction marks the end of his composition activity (1916). This cycle combines dances, collected everywhere in Armenia. This is an Armenian suite for piano.

After Komitas Vardapet, numerous composers in different artistic Armenian music styles and genres became famous as well. Among these composers Alexandre Spendiarian (1871 – 1928), Romanos Melikian (1883 – 1935) and Aram Khachaturian (1903 – 1978).

Khachaturian is one of the biggest composers of the 20th century and is the founder of the most recent Armenian composition school. He studied in Moscow at the technical musical Gnessin academy and then at the Tchaikovsky conservatory. He was a composer, music teacher and a conductor. During the apparition of Armenian artistic music bases, Komitas Vardapet gave a great importance, among the different branches of the traditional Armenian music, in particular to village and countrymen songs; concerning music, Khachaturian at the opposite makes urban traditions and vocal arts of the Aschughens (comparable to the western minstrels) an important theme. So it’s not surprising that “Poem-song” (1929) for violin and piano is consecrated to Aschughens. He was still a student.

Aram Khachaturian’s music is an organic syntheses of Oriental and rich western music, in particular the best examples of such a combination, found in 1920s works. His work, combining many genres, is generally presented by triads: three symphonies, three ballets (the first one, “Happiness” was rewritten later in the ballet “Gayaneh”; the third one is “Spartacus”), three instrumental concerts and three rhapsodies for soloists and concert. At the end of his work appear the three sonatas for soloist string instruments (written in 1974 and 1976). The second symphony, the concert for violins and orchestra, so as the ballet “Spartacus” are particularly famous. The subject of the ballet “Gayaneh” (or “Gayane”, 1942) is a soviet Armenian village and has some typical elements from the contemporaneous ballet music, but the musical bases are Armenian at the first place. With this classical ballet, Aram Khachaturian combines popular stances and contemporaneous ballet traditions; “Gayaneh” is therefore considered the first work of the ballet genre from the Armenian composition school. In the composer’s symphonic work, suites for orchestras played along with ballets are also very important. They are parts of many rewritings for different chamber ensembles, including the version for violins and piano. From here come also the parts “Uzundara” or the “Sabre Dance”. The last one in particular is the most famous creation of Khachaturian worldwide.

Aram Khachaturian is also seen therefore as the founder of the new Armenian artistic music, since he created a new style. The middle 20th century generation, a generation of very lively Armenian composers, started from his work.

One of the most brilliant spirits of this generation is Arno Babadjanian (1921 – 1983). Along with Alexandre Harutiunian, Ghazaros Sarian, Edward Mirzoyan and Adam Chudoian, he represents this middle 20th century generation of Armenian composers. He studied at the Erevan conservatory, and joins the musical studio the “Armenian house of culture” in Moscow, so as the Moscow conservatory (as a pianist). He composed in different genres. His masterpiece is the “Heroic Ballade” for piano and orchestra. His sonata for violins and piano so as his three quartets for strings are also well-known. Arno Babadjanian was a virtuosic pianist, and his piano compositions do have a central role in his work – we can evocate ”Polyphonic Sonata”, ”Heroic Ballade” or “Poem”. In the 20th century second half, takes place a renewal of the artistic music, coming back to the avant-garde criteria like in the beginning of the century –in particular concerning stylistic specificities as the phrasing. We can also see that in Babadjanian’s work. The “Six images” (1964) composed for the piano, is a cycle of pieces in which we can clearly observe the approach of the Vienna second school’s influence on Armenian music’s bases, creating a truly original style. “The heroic dance” is a perfect example of this. In Arno Babadjanian’s work popular music has an important role as well. The most played and appreciated pieces in the soviet era are Arno Babadjanian’s work.

Edward Mirzoian (or Mirzoyan, 1921 – 2012), a good friend of Babadjanian, belongs to the same generation of Armenian composers. He studied at the Erevan conservatory and in the musical studio, depending from the “Armenian house of culture” in Moscow.

During long years he led the Armenian composers’ alliance (1958 – 1991). He was also a teacher and a composer at the Komitas Vardapet conservatory of Erevan. The string quartet “Theme with variations” is an important piece of his work, so as, among others, his symphony for strings and kettledrum. Edward Mirzoian, so as Komitas Vardapet, Khachaturian and many others Armenian composers, he often rewrote popular melodies. We can find such rewritings in his string, his symphonies and others works. In Edward Mirzoian’s work the 2Oth century and neoclassicism influence is really clear, but in a typical Armenian style though. Chamber music –or the sonata for cello and piano or “Poem” for piano –is the most common genre in Mirzoian’s work “Introduction and Perpetuum mobile” for violins and orchestra (1957, rewrote later for violins and piano).

Another composer from the Armenian composition school in the middle of the 20th century is Edward Baghdassarian (1922 – 1987). He studied composition and piano at the national Komitas Vardapet conservatory of Erevan and continued his formation at the musical studio attached to the Armenian culture’s house in Moscow. He was a music teacher and a virtuosic pianist. Baghdassarian composed in many genres. His most well-known works are his 24 preludes for piano cycle, his sonata for clarinets and piano so as his “Rhapsody” for violins and orchestra (1957). In his last years’ work, he plays personal interpretations after the compositions of Aram Khachaturian and he accentuates elements from the Armenian music. He does the same in compositions for violins and piano. In the Armenian repertoire for violin, “Nocturne” for violins and piano is very popular.

Sergey Khachatryan, violin
Lusine Khachatryan piano

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