Credits:

Komitas (1869-1935)

Description:

Komitas (real name: Soghomon Gevorgi Soghomonian), an Armenian priest, musicologist, composer, singer, and choir conductor, is known as a champion of modern Armenian music. Orphaned after losing his parents at an early age, he was sent to Etchmiadzin, the religious center of Armenia, where he was educated in a seminary. Later, after becoming a priest, he went to Berlin to study Western music and collected many folk songs that were nearly lost in his country, and in 1904 he published the first "Kurdish Folk Song Collection" to popularize them. However, he was caught up in the infamous "Armenian Genocide" and sent to a prison camp in April 1915, where he suffered psychological damage and spent the rest of his life in a state of despair. His tragic life has become an important symbol in the Armenian nation as a martyr of the genocide. This album contains 35 songs arranged for piano by Villy Sarkissian from various Komitas songs, including simple melodies, poetic sketches, and songs depicting tragic scenes that evoke the Armenian landscape.The unique intonation of Armenian music is beautifully conveyed.