Music of Armenia
Encyclopedia
Armenia
is situated close to the Caucasus Mountains
, and its music is a mix of indigenous folk music
, perhaps best-represented by Djivan Gasparyan
's well-known duduk
music, as well as light pop, and extensive Christian music
, due to Armenia's status as the oldest Christian nation in the world.
, composed in one of eight modes, is the most common kind of religious music in Armenia. It is written in khaz, a form of indigenous musical notation
. Many of these chants are ancient in origin, extending to pre-Christian times, while others are relatively modern, including several composed by Saint
Mesrop Mashtots, who invented the Armenian alphabet
. Some of the best performers of these chants or sharakans, are at the Holy Cathedral of Etchmiadzin, and include the late soprano
Lusine Zakaryan
.
Armenian religious music remained liturgical until Komitas Vardapet
introduced polyphony
in the end of the 19th century. Apart from his contribution to religious music, Komitas may be considered the founder of modern classical Armenian music. From 1899 to 1910, he travelled through the Armenian highlands
and collected more than 3,000 folk tunes many of which he harmonized and transformed into Lieder.
Traditional Armenian folk music as well as Armenian church music is not based on the European tonal system but on a system of tetrachord
s. The last note of one tetrachord also serves as the first note of the next tetrachord - making the scale on which a lot of Armenian folk music is more or less based a theoretically endless scale.
domination, Armenian folk music was taught in a rigidly controlled manner at conservatoires. Instruments played in this way include kanun
(dulcimer
), davul
(double-headed hand drum), oud
(lute
), shvi
and zurna
. The duduk
is especially important, and its stars include Margar Margarian, Levon Madoyan, Saro Danielian, Vatche Hovsepian
, Gevorg Dabaghyan
and Yeghish Manoukian, as well as Armenia's most famous duduk player, Djivan Gasparyan
.
Earlier in Armenian history, instruments like the kamancha were played by popular, travelling musicians called ashoughs
. Sayat Nova, an 18th century ashough, is still revered, as are more modern performers like Armenak Shahmuradian, Vagharshak Sahakian, Norayr Mnatsakanyan
, Hayrik Muradyan, Raffi Hovhannisyan, Papin Poghosian, and Hamlet Gevorgyan. The most notable female vocalists in the Armenian folk genre have been: Araksia Gyulzadyan, Ophelia Hambardzumyan, Varduhi Khachatrian, Valya Samvelyan
, Rima Saribekyan, Susanna Safarian, Manik Grigoryan, and Flora Martirosian.
Shoghaken Folk Ensemble
, founded in 1995 in Yerevan, has worldwide popularity.
, one of the best-remembered composers of Ottoman classical music
. Alexander Spendiarov (1871–1928), Armen Tigranian
(1879–1950), and Haro Stepanian are best known for their Armenian operas. Sargis Barkhudaryan
(1887–1973) and Caro Zakarian (1895–1967) are representative composers of the pre- and early Soviet Armenian era. The most famous, however, was Aram Khatchaturian (1903–1978), internationally well known especially for his music for various ballet
s and the immortal Sabre Dance
from his composition for the ballet Gayane. Gevorg Armenian (1920- ), Anahit Tsitsikian
(1926–1999), Arno Babadjanyan (1921–1983), Barseg Kanatchian (1885–1967), Edward Mirzoyan (1921-), Boris Parsadanian
(1925–1997), Ashot Zohrabyan (1945 -), and Aram Satian
(1947 –) represent other Soviet era Armenian composers. Alexander Arutiunian
(1920- ) is best known for his Trumpet Concerto in A-flat major
. Alexander Dolukhanian (1910–1968) composed/arranged numerous Armenian songs including the well-known "Swallow". Alexander Adgemian (1925–1987), Ashot Satian (1906–1958) and Vagarshak Kotoyan (1921–1992) are known for their contributions to Armenian choral and vocal music. Eduard Abramian (1923–1986) wrote songs on the poetry of Armenian poets Hovannes Tumanyan and Avetik Issakian which are now part of the standard repertoire. Artemiy Ayvazian (1902–1975) wrote the first Soviet musical comedies, including the popular "Dentist from the Orient". In recent years, Avet Terterian
(1929–1994), Tigran Mansurian
(1939- ), Vache Sharafyan
(1966) and Aram Petrosyan (1972- ) have achieved global success. Another acclaimed, more recent, classical composer is Khachatur Avetissian
(1926–1996), many of whose compositions are based on traditional folklore
themes. Uryguayan-Armenian composer Coriún Aharonián (1940- ), besides a notable body of avant-garde compositions has done extensive musicologycal and political work. The Armenian American composer Alan Hovhaness
(1911–2000) frequently used Armenian themes in his compositions. The Armenian nationalist composer Alexander Kaloian
(1962- ) is known for his overtly nationalistic works for Military Band and Orchestra including Marches, Tone Poems and Symphonies immediately recognizable as "Armenian" in their colour. Scott Giles (1965-) is an Armenian-American
known for his many symphonies and concertos.
In classical music, many Armenian singers have gained worldwide recognition: sopranos Gohar Gasparyan
, Sona Ghazarian
, Arpine Pehlivanian, Melania Abovian, Arax Mansourian, Lucine Amara
, Cathy Berberian
, Ellada Chakhoyan, Hasmik Papian
, Elvira Uzunian and, more recently, Isabel Bayrakdarian
and Anna Kasyan
, tenors Tigran Levonyan, Gegam Grigoryan, and Vahan Mirakyan; basses Ara Berberian
, Shara Talian, Avag Petrosian, and Henrik Alaverdian, as well as the bass-baritone Barsegh Toumanian.
In the diaspora, famous musicians like Kim Kashkashian
and Alan Hovhaness
have reached international fame.
, "Vostan Hayots" and "Ayas"
. Although the audience remains small for local rock groups, interest in young rock bands as Sard, Bambir 2 is increasing, especially after videos for their new songs were shown on local television. Some groups such as Road Movie, Dogma
remain in underground, playing concerts in rock clubs.
organized the Armenian State Estrada (Jazz) Orchestra. The conventional performers in the pop-vocal genre have been: Georgi Minasian, Artahes Avetyan, and Levon Sevan.
were famous cabaret
singers in Turkey
during the 1920s and 1930s. The most prominent female representatives of modern Armenian pop music include Bella Darbinyan, Raisa Mkrtchyan, and the more contemporary vocal performers such as Elvina Makaryan, Erna Yuzbashian, Nadezhda Sargsian, Zara Tonikyan, Suzan Margaryan, Tatevik Hovhannisyan. The Armenian male pop performers in the diaspora are Adiss Harmandian
. Rouben Hakhverdian
, Forsh, VANArmenya and Aram Avagyan are prominent lyricists and author-performers.
American composer Daniel Decker
has achieved critical acclaim for his collaborations with Armenia
n composer Ara Gevorgian. “Noah’s Prayer” (originally entitled “Mush”) chronicles Noah’s journey to Mount Ararat
. “Noah’s Prayer” was debuted in 2002 in Sardarapat
, Armenia
to celebrate Armenia
n Independence day in the presence of Armenia
n President Robert Kocharyan, and His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos
of All Armenians (head of the Armenian Apostolic Church
). A second collaboration called “Adana” tells the story of the Armenian Genocide
, during which soldiers of the Ottoman Empire
forced 1.5 million Armenians
into starvation, torture and extermination. As with their first collaboration, Decker wrote the song’s epic lyrics to complement the musical landscape of Ara Gevorgian. Cross Rhythms
, Europe’s leading religious magazine and web portal said of “Adana”, “seldom has a disaster of untold suffering produced such a magnificent piece of art.”
Today's Armenian traditional songs can be associated with performers such as Rouben Matevosian, Ophelia Hambardzumyan, Varduhi Khachatrian, and Papin Poghosian.
Despite wide use the term Rabiz is not clearly defined. According to some sources it stems from Russian phrase "рабочее исскуство"(raboche'e iskustvo) used during Soviet times, literally meaning "labour's art". But even in this case it lost initial meaning. Though large group of singers and their listeners refer to Rabiz as music genre, the term is used widely as a definition for a lifestyle. Rabiz is referring not only to taste of music, but also fashion and lifestyle. Although the meaning of this use is largely dependent on personal taste and/or musical preferences of the speaker.
It is listened widely throughout the youth of Armenians in Los Angeles, Armenia, and Russia called rabiz. Rabiz music is music mostly played by musicians such as Tatoul Avoyan, Hayko Ghevondyan, and formerly Armenchik. Rabiz music is the most popular type of Armenian music in the Armenian community of the Los Angeles area. It has taken the face of Armenian music due to its catchy beats and dance type music. Rabiz music is mostly about love or partying called "kef" but also about love to family or Armenia (rich lyrics in this case).
In the 1980s and 1990s, Aram Asatryan
and Tata Simonyan became a household item in Armenian households all around the world. In 2010, Tata had a successful concert in Las Vegas's Wynn
casino.
mainly in the eastern part of Turkey
, though other regions where Armenians lived were not forgotten, and oppressed Armenian culture, leading to widespread emigration. These emigrants settled in various countries, especially in the California Central Valley
, and the second- and third-generation have kept their folk traditions alive, with oud
-player Richard Hagopian
being perhaps the most famous of these musicians. Another oud player, John Berberian
, is noted in particular for his fusions of traditional music with jazz and rock in the 1960s. From Lebanon
and Syria
, George Tutunjian
, Karnig Sarkissian
and others performed Armenian Revolutionary Songs
which quickly became popular among the Diasporan
youth, notably ARF
supporters. In Tehran
Iran
the folk music of the Armenian community is characterized by the work of Nikol Galanderian
(1881–1946) and the Goghtan choir.
Other Armenian musicians include Ara Topouzian who performs on the kanun and VANArmenya, who sings both folk, children's and patriotic songs, performs on keyboards, and promotes the music of "the other Gomidas," Grikor Mirzaian.
(born Aznavourian) is much celebrated show and song-stars for decades. In 2009 Armenian-American singer and songwriter Serj Tankian along with his father Khatchador Tankian sang their rendition of Bari Arakeel on an Armenian charity telethon. Armenian-American
pop artists include Cher
, whose real name is Cherylin Sarkissian and all the members of the popular heavy metal
band System of a Down
. Keyboardist Derek Sherinian
is a world wide rock keyboard legend who has played with Alice Cooper
,KISS
, Dream Theater
ampngst many others.Andy Madadian
a legendary artist who is Armenian-Iranian. Vigen Derderian an Armenian-Iranian legendary jazz and pop artist. Vahe Mardirossian, another artist of Armenian descent, plays flamenco style music on his own custom made guitars.Armik
an Armenian-Iranian flamenco guitarist and composer. As a guitarist, he is one of the most adulated virtuosos of the Nuevo Flamenco genre, having appeared in Billboard Magazine's Top Ten New Age Artists in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2008.
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
is situated close to the Caucasus Mountains
Caucasus Mountains
The Caucasus Mountains is a mountain system in Eurasia between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea in the Caucasus region .The Caucasus Mountains includes:* the Greater Caucasus Mountain Range and* the Lesser Caucasus Mountains....
, and its music is a mix of indigenous folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
, perhaps best-represented by Djivan Gasparyan
Djivan Gasparyan
Djivan Gasparyan is an Armenian musician and composer. He plays the duduk, a double reed woodwind instrument related to the orchestral oboe. Gasparyan is known as the Master of the duduk.-Biography:...
's well-known duduk
Duduk
The duduk , traditionally known since antiquity as a Ծիրանափող is a traditional woodwind instrument indigenous to Armenia. Variations of it are popular in the Middle East and Central Asia...
music, as well as light pop, and extensive Christian music
Christian music
Christian music is music that has been written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life and faith. Common themes of Christian music include praise, worship, penitence, and lament, and its forms vary widely across the world....
, due to Armenia's status as the oldest Christian nation in the world.
Christian music
Armenian chantArmenian chant
Armenian chant is the melismatic monophonic chant used in the liturgy of the Armenian Apostolic Church.Armenian chant, like Byzantine chant, consists mainly of hymns. The chants are grouped in an oktoechos. The oldest hymns were in prose, but later versified hymns, such as those by Nerses...
, composed in one of eight modes, is the most common kind of religious music in Armenia. It is written in khaz, a form of indigenous musical notation
Musical notation
Music notation or musical notation is any system that represents aurally perceived music, through the use of written symbols.-History:...
. Many of these chants are ancient in origin, extending to pre-Christian times, while others are relatively modern, including several composed by Saint
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
Mesrop Mashtots, who invented the Armenian alphabet
Armenian alphabet
The Armenian alphabet is an alphabet that has been used to write the Armenian language since the year 405 or 406. It was devised by Saint Mesrop Mashtots, an Armenian linguist and ecclesiastical leader, and contained originally 36 letters. Two more letters, օ and ֆ, were added in the Middle Ages...
. Some of the best performers of these chants or sharakans, are at the Holy Cathedral of Etchmiadzin, and include the late soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
Lusine Zakaryan
Lusine Zakaryan
Lusine Zakaryan, born Svetlana Zakaryan Լուսինե Զաքարյան, Лусинэ Абетовна Закарян , was an Armenian soprano....
.
Armenian religious music remained liturgical until Komitas Vardapet
Komitas Vardapet
In 1950s his manuscripts were also transferred from Paris to Yerevan.Badarak was first printed in 1933 in Paris and first recorded onto a digital media in 1988 in Yerevan. In collecting and publishing so many folk songs, he saved the cultural heritage of Western Armenia that otherwise would have...
introduced polyphony
Polyphony
In music, polyphony is a texture consisting of two or more independent melodic voices, as opposed to music with just one voice or music with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords ....
in the end of the 19th century. Apart from his contribution to religious music, Komitas may be considered the founder of modern classical Armenian music. From 1899 to 1910, he travelled through the Armenian highlands
Armenian Highland
The Armenian Highland is the central-most and highest of three land-locked plateaus that together form the northern sector of the Middle East...
and collected more than 3,000 folk tunes many of which he harmonized and transformed into Lieder.
The melodic basis of Armenian music
Tetrachord
Traditionally, a tetrachord is a series of three intervals filling in the interval of a perfect fourth, a 4:3 frequency proportion. In modern usage a tetrachord is any four-note segment of a scale or tone row. The term tetrachord derives from ancient Greek music theory...
s. The last note of one tetrachord also serves as the first note of the next tetrachord - making the scale on which a lot of Armenian folk music is more or less based a theoretically endless scale.
Folk music
While under SovietSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
domination, Armenian folk music was taught in a rigidly controlled manner at conservatoires. Instruments played in this way include kanun
Kanun (Instrument)
The Qanun is a string instrument found in the 10th century in Farab in Turkestan...
(dulcimer
Hammered dulcimer
The hammered dulcimer is a stringed musical instrument with the strings stretched over a trapezoidal sounding board. Typically, the hammered dulcimer is set on a stand, at an angle, before the musician, who holds small mallet hammers in each hand to strike the strings...
), davul
Davul
The davul or tupan is a large double-headed drum that is played with sticks. It has many names depending on the country and region.-Names:Some names of davuls include:*tupan *davul...
(double-headed hand drum), oud
Oud
The oud is a pear-shaped stringed instrument commonly used in North African and Middle Eastern music. The modern oud and the European lute both descend from a common ancestor via diverging paths...
(lute
Lute
Lute can refer generally to any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back, or more specifically to an instrument from the family of European lutes....
), shvi
Shvi
The shvi which means "whistle" in Armenian, is a fipple flute with a labium mouth piece. Commonly made of wood or bamboo) and up to 12 inches in length, it typically has a range of an octave and a-half...
and zurna
Zurna
The zurna , is a multinational outdoor wind instrument, usually accompanied by a davul in Anatolian folk music. The name is from Turkish zurna, itself derived from Persian سرنای surnāy, composed of sūr “banquet, feast” and nāy “reed, pipe”...
. The duduk
Duduk
The duduk , traditionally known since antiquity as a Ծիրանափող is a traditional woodwind instrument indigenous to Armenia. Variations of it are popular in the Middle East and Central Asia...
is especially important, and its stars include Margar Margarian, Levon Madoyan, Saro Danielian, Vatche Hovsepian
Vatche Hovsepian
Vatche Hovsepian is a duduk player. With Antranik Askarian, he performed the duduk parts on "The Feeling Begins," the first track of Peter Gabriel's Passion, the soundtrack album from Martin Scorsese's film The Last Temptation of Christ...
, Gevorg Dabaghyan
Gevorg Dabaghyan
Gevorg G. Dabaghyan is a Armenian duduk player of folk music. In 1991 he founded the Shoghaken Folk Ensemble, a group of Armenian folk musicians and singers who specialize in traditional Armenian music....
and Yeghish Manoukian, as well as Armenia's most famous duduk player, Djivan Gasparyan
Djivan Gasparyan
Djivan Gasparyan is an Armenian musician and composer. He plays the duduk, a double reed woodwind instrument related to the orchestral oboe. Gasparyan is known as the Master of the duduk.-Biography:...
.
Ashik
An Ashik is a mystic troubadour or traveling bard, in Turkey, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia, and Iran who sings and plays the saz, a form of lute. Ashiks' songs are semi-improvised around common bases....
. Sayat Nova, an 18th century ashough, is still revered, as are more modern performers like Armenak Shahmuradian, Vagharshak Sahakian, Norayr Mnatsakanyan
Norayr Mnatsakanyan
Norayr Mnatsakanyan was a Merited Artist of Armenia.As a renowned vocal performer of Armenian traditional and gousan music, Norayr Mnatsakanyan has become one of the most influential vocalists in the canon of Armenian traditional music...
, Hayrik Muradyan, Raffi Hovhannisyan, Papin Poghosian, and Hamlet Gevorgyan. The most notable female vocalists in the Armenian folk genre have been: Araksia Gyulzadyan, Ophelia Hambardzumyan, Varduhi Khachatrian, Valya Samvelyan
Valya Samvelyan
Valya Samvelyan was a popular Armenian female folk-singer.She started her artistic career at Soviet samodeyatelnost but then she won the competition by Yerevan Radio and became a solo-singer of the Ensemble of Folk Instruments of Radio of Armenia.Among the most popular songs in her...
, Rima Saribekyan, Susanna Safarian, Manik Grigoryan, and Flora Martirosian.
Shoghaken Folk Ensemble
Shoghaken Folk Ensemble
The Shoghaken Folk Ensemble, an Armenian musical group, performs and records Armenian folk and troubador music. The ensemble was founded in 1995 in Yerevan. It has since performed in Armenia, France , Germany, Estonia, Russia, the United Arab Emirates, and the U.S...
, founded in 1995 in Yerevan, has worldwide popularity.
Classical music
Armenian classical composers include Kemani Tatyos EkserciyanKemani Tatyos Ekserciyan
Tatyos Ekserciyan , or Tatyos Efendi, was a famous composer of classical Turkish music, and his works continue to be among the best-remembered and often played pieces of the genre....
, one of the best-remembered composers of Ottoman classical music
Ottoman classical music
Ottoman classical music developed in Istanbul and major Ottoman towns from Skopje to Cairo, from Tabriz to Morocco through the palace, mosques, and sufi lodges of the Ottoman Empire. Above all a vocal music, Ottoman music traditionally accompanies a solo singer with a small instrumental ensemble...
. Alexander Spendiarov (1871–1928), Armen Tigranian
Armen Tigranian
Armen Tigranian was an Armenian music composer and conductor. His best-known works were two national operas, Anoush and Davit Bek ; the latter of which premiered only months before his death and was his final composition...
(1879–1950), and Haro Stepanian are best known for their Armenian operas. Sargis Barkhudaryan
Sargis Barkhudaryan
Sargis Barkhudaryan was an Armenian composer, pianist and educator.Born in Tiflis, [now Tbilisi] Georgia, Sargis was one of the eight children of a successful businessman, who died when his son was only a teenager. The young man grew up in a musical household...
(1887–1973) and Caro Zakarian (1895–1967) are representative composers of the pre- and early Soviet Armenian era. The most famous, however, was Aram Khatchaturian (1903–1978), internationally well known especially for his music for various ballet
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
s and the immortal Sabre Dance
Sabre Dance
"The Sabre Dance" is a movement in the final act of the ballet Gayane , written by Armenian composer Aram Khachaturian's and completed in 1942. It evokes a whirling war dance in an Armenian dance, where the dancers display their skill with sabres. Its middle section incorporates an Armenian folk...
from his composition for the ballet Gayane. Gevorg Armenian (1920- ), Anahit Tsitsikian
Anahit Tsitsikian
Anahit Tsitsikian was the first renowned Armenian woman-violinist who during the Soviet times toured around the world in more than 100 cities; a professor who taught at the State Conservatory in Yerevan for approximately 40 years; a journalist who wrote more than 300 articles, scenarios for...
(1926–1999), Arno Babadjanyan (1921–1983), Barseg Kanatchian (1885–1967), Edward Mirzoyan (1921-), Boris Parsadanian
Boris Parsadanian
Boris Parsadanian was an Armenian-Estonian composer.Born in Kislovodsk, Russia, his initial studies were conducted under Litinsky at the Studio of the Armenian House of Culture. His studies were interrupted by World War II, for which he was decorated for his service...
(1925–1997), Ashot Zohrabyan (1945 -), and Aram Satian
Aram Satian
Aram Satian is an Armenian classical composer and popular music songwriter.-Biography:...
(1947 –) represent other Soviet era Armenian composers. Alexander Arutiunian
Alexander Arutiunian
Alexander Grigorevich Arutiunian , also known as Arutunian, Arutyunyan, Arutjunjan or Harutiunian Alexander Grigorevich Arutiunian (Arm. Ալեքսանդր Գրիգորի Հարությունյան), also known as Arutunian, Arutyunyan, Arutjunjan or Harutiunian Alexander Grigorevich Arutiunian (Arm. Ալեքսանդր Գրիգորի...
(1920- ) is best known for his Trumpet Concerto in A-flat major
Arutunian Trumpet Concerto
Alexander Arutunian’s Trumpet Concerto in A-flat major , also known as the Arutunian Trumpet Concerto, is the Armenian composer’s sixth major composition, a "virtuoso showpiece" composed in 1949-1950. It was written for the trumpet player Timofei Dokschitzer...
. Alexander Dolukhanian (1910–1968) composed/arranged numerous Armenian songs including the well-known "Swallow". Alexander Adgemian (1925–1987), Ashot Satian (1906–1958) and Vagarshak Kotoyan (1921–1992) are known for their contributions to Armenian choral and vocal music. Eduard Abramian (1923–1986) wrote songs on the poetry of Armenian poets Hovannes Tumanyan and Avetik Issakian which are now part of the standard repertoire. Artemiy Ayvazian (1902–1975) wrote the first Soviet musical comedies, including the popular "Dentist from the Orient". In recent years, Avet Terterian
Avet Terterian
Avet Terterian was an Armenian composer, awarded the Konrad Adenauer Prize. He was a friend and colleague of Giya Kancheli, Konstantin Orbelyan, and Tigran Mansuryan...
(1929–1994), Tigran Mansurian
Tigran Mansurian
Tigran Mansurian is an Armenian composer of classical music and film scores. He was born in Beirut and educated in Yerevan, Armenia, where his family had moved in 1947...
(1939- ), Vache Sharafyan
Vache Sharafyan
Vache Sharafyan , is one of the most important living composers from Armenia. Author of a number of symphonic, chamber, vocal, choral compositions that were performed widely by many nowadays leading musicians such as Yo-Yo Ma, Yuri Bashmet, among others...
(1966) and Aram Petrosyan (1972- ) have achieved global success. Another acclaimed, more recent, classical composer is Khachatur Avetissian
Khachatur Avetissian
Khachatur Avetisyan was an influential Armenian composer....
(1926–1996), many of whose compositions are based on traditional folklore
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
themes. Uryguayan-Armenian composer Coriún Aharonián (1940- ), besides a notable body of avant-garde compositions has done extensive musicologycal and political work. The Armenian American composer Alan Hovhaness
Alan Hovhaness
Alan Hovhaness was an Armenian-American composer.His music is accessible to the lay listener and often evokes a mood of mystery or contemplation...
(1911–2000) frequently used Armenian themes in his compositions. The Armenian nationalist composer Alexander Kaloian
Alexander Kaloian
Alexander Kaloian born 1962 in Los Angeles, California is an Armenian composer, residing dually in the United States and the Republic of Armenia...
(1962- ) is known for his overtly nationalistic works for Military Band and Orchestra including Marches, Tone Poems and Symphonies immediately recognizable as "Armenian" in their colour. Scott Giles (1965-) is an Armenian-American
Armenian-American
Armenian Americans are citizens of the United States whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in Armenia. During the United States 2000 Census, 385,488 respondents indicated either full or partial Armenian ancestry...
known for his many symphonies and concertos.
In classical music, many Armenian singers have gained worldwide recognition: sopranos Gohar Gasparyan
Gohar Gasparyan
Gohar Gasparyan also known as the "Armenian nightingale", was an Armenian opera singer.Born in an Armenian family in Cairo, Gasparyan studied at a Music Academy in the city...
, Sona Ghazarian
Sona Ghazarian
Sona Ghazarian is an Armenian-Austrian operatic soprano.A Kammersängerin of the Republic of Austria, she has sung over 70 roles in the major opera houses of both Europe and the United States.-Biography:...
, Arpine Pehlivanian, Melania Abovian, Arax Mansourian, Lucine Amara
Lucine Amara
Lucine Amara is an American soprano who was largely based at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.-Biography:Amara was born Lucine Armaganian in Hartford, Connecticut, of Armenian heritage, before moving to San Francisco where she was raised.She studied at the San Francisco's Community Music School...
, Cathy Berberian
Cathy Berberian
Catherine Anahid Berberian was an American soprano and composer. She interpreted contemporary avant-garde music composed, among others, by Luciano Berio, Bruno Maderna, John Cage, Henri Pousseur, Sylvano Bussotti, Darius Milhaud, Roman Haubenstock-Ramati , Igor Stravinsky.She also interpreted...
, Ellada Chakhoyan, Hasmik Papian
Hasmik Papian
- Biography :Hasmik Papian graduated from High Academy in Yerevan first as a violinist, then as a singer. After her debut at the Armenian National Opera, she was invited as a soloist among others by Opera Bonn and Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Düsseldorf, Germany...
, Elvira Uzunian and, more recently, Isabel Bayrakdarian
Isabel Bayrakdarian
Isabel Bayrakdarian is a Grammy Award-nominated Armenian Canadian opera singer.-Early life:Born in Lebanon in 1974, she moved to Canada as a teenager. Bayrakdarian graduated in 1997 from the University of Toronto with an honours B.A.Sc...
and Anna Kasyan
Anna Kasyan
Anna Kasyan is a Georgia-born Armenian opera singer living in France.Kasyan is one of the young artists who is viewed with high expectations in her field.-Early life and education:...
, tenors Tigran Levonyan, Gegam Grigoryan, and Vahan Mirakyan; basses Ara Berberian
Ara Berberian
Ara Berberian was an American operatic bass singer.Berberian made his debut in 1958 with the Turnau Opera in Woodstock, New York, as Don Magnifico in Rossini's La Cenerentola. He made his Metropolitan Opera debut in 1979 as Zacharie in Giacomo Meyerbeer's Le prophète...
, Shara Talian, Avag Petrosian, and Henrik Alaverdian, as well as the bass-baritone Barsegh Toumanian.
In the diaspora, famous musicians like Kim Kashkashian
Kim Kashkashian
Kim Kashkashian is an Armenian-American violist.-Professional career:Kim Kashkashian studied the viola with Karen Tuttle. She also studied at the Interlochen Center for the Arts. She won the 2nd prize at the 1980 Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition and the 1980 ARD International Music...
and Alan Hovhaness
Alan Hovhaness
Alan Hovhaness was an Armenian-American composer.His music is accessible to the lay listener and often evokes a mood of mystery or contemplation...
have reached international fame.
Rock
Among the rock bands of the old generation were the "Apostles" of Arthur MeschianArthur Meschian
Arthur Meschian is an Armenian rock musician, singer, composer, artist and architect. He is also known as one of the founders of Armenian rock...
, "Vostan Hayots" and "Ayas"
Ayas (band)
Ayas was a heavy metal band established in 1987. Led by the Yerevan State Komitas Conservatory graduate Artur Mitinian, the band was the first in the history of Armenian heavy-music to play its works using also the scores...
. Although the audience remains small for local rock groups, interest in young rock bands as Sard, Bambir 2 is increasing, especially after videos for their new songs were shown on local television. Some groups such as Road Movie, Dogma
Dogma
Dogma is the established belief or doctrine held by a religion, or a particular group or organization. It is authoritative and not to be disputed, doubted, or diverged from, by the practitioners or believers...
remain in underground, playing concerts in rock clubs.
Rap
The first Rap Group Of Yerevan was founded in 2000.First Armenian Rappers Are Misho And HT Hayko,Group Was Called Hay Tgheq And They Have Two Albums.Jazz
The first jazz-band of Yerevan was founded in 1936. In 1938 composer Artemi AyvazyanArtemi Ayvazyan
Artemi Ayvazyan was a Soviet Armenian composer, conductor, founder of the Armenian State Jazz Orchestra, and People's Artist of Armenia ....
organized the Armenian State Estrada (Jazz) Orchestra. The conventional performers in the pop-vocal genre have been: Georgi Minasian, Artahes Avetyan, and Levon Sevan.
Pop music
In pop music, Suzan Yakar and Udi Hrant KenkulianUdi Hrant Kenkulian
Udi Hrant Kenkulian , often referred to as Udi Hrant or as Hrant Emre was an oud player of Turkish classical music, and a key transitional figure in its transformation into a contemporary popular music...
were famous cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
singers in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
during the 1920s and 1930s. The most prominent female representatives of modern Armenian pop music include Bella Darbinyan, Raisa Mkrtchyan, and the more contemporary vocal performers such as Elvina Makaryan, Erna Yuzbashian, Nadezhda Sargsian, Zara Tonikyan, Suzan Margaryan, Tatevik Hovhannisyan. The Armenian male pop performers in the diaspora are Adiss Harmandian
Adiss Harmandian
Adiss Harmandian is a Lebanese-Armenian pop singer but now residing in Los Angeles, CA, United States and is a naturalized American citizen....
. Rouben Hakhverdian
Rouben Hakhverdian
Ruben Hakhverdyan is a popular Armenian poet, guitarist, singer, songwriter and lyricist. Hakhverdyan was born in Yerevan, Armenia in 1950. He attended Yerevan's theater institute and in 1975, earned his degree in television and theater direction. He worked for the city's State Television...
, Forsh, VANArmenya and Aram Avagyan are prominent lyricists and author-performers.
American composer Daniel Decker
Daniel Decker
Daniel Decker is a Puerto Rican - American composer, singer and recording artist known for his unique blending of musical influences from around the globe and infusing them into his own works....
has achieved critical acclaim for his collaborations with Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
n composer Ara Gevorgian. “Noah’s Prayer” (originally entitled “Mush”) chronicles Noah’s journey to Mount Ararat
Mount Ararat
Mount Ararat is a snow-capped, dormant volcanic cone in Turkey. It has two peaks: Greater Ararat and Lesser Ararat .The Ararat massif is about in diameter...
. “Noah’s Prayer” was debuted in 2002 in Sardarapat
Sardarapat
Sardarapat may refer to:*Armavir, Armenia*Hoktember, Armenia*Sardarapat memorial*Battle of Sardarapat...
, Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
to celebrate Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
n Independence day in the presence of Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
n President Robert Kocharyan, and His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos
Catholicos
Catholicos, plural Catholicoi, is a title used for the head of certain churches in some Eastern Christian traditions. The title implies autocephaly and in some cases is borne by the designated head of an autonomous church, in which case the holder might have other titles such as Patriarch...
of All Armenians (head of the Armenian Apostolic Church
Armenian Apostolic Church
The Armenian Apostolic Church is the world's oldest National Church, is part of Oriental Orthodoxy, and is one of the most ancient Christian communities. Armenia was the first country to adopt Christianity as its official religion in 301 AD, in establishing this church...
). A second collaboration called “Adana” tells the story of the Armenian Genocide
Armenian Genocide
The Armenian Genocide—also known as the Armenian Holocaust, the Armenian Massacres and, by Armenians, as the Great Crime—refers to the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I...
, during which soldiers of the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
forced 1.5 million Armenians
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
into starvation, torture and extermination. As with their first collaboration, Decker wrote the song’s epic lyrics to complement the musical landscape of Ara Gevorgian. Cross Rhythms
Cross Rhythms
Cross Rhythms is a Christian media organisation based in Stoke-on-Trent, England.-History:The roots of what was to become Cross Rhythms go back to two separate sources which merged in 1991. In 1983, broadcaster Chris Cole started a 30-minute weekly Christian music radio show on Plymouth Sound FM, a...
, Europe’s leading religious magazine and web portal said of “Adana”, “seldom has a disaster of untold suffering produced such a magnificent piece of art.”
Today's Armenian traditional songs can be associated with performers such as Rouben Matevosian, Ophelia Hambardzumyan, Varduhi Khachatrian, and Papin Poghosian.
Rabiz music
Rabiz is a term which is often used to refer to genre of Armenian popular music. Rabiz music is distinguished by lyrics and music with elements of Armenian folk music.Despite wide use the term Rabiz is not clearly defined. According to some sources it stems from Russian phrase "рабочее исскуство"(raboche'e iskustvo) used during Soviet times, literally meaning "labour's art". But even in this case it lost initial meaning. Though large group of singers and their listeners refer to Rabiz as music genre, the term is used widely as a definition for a lifestyle. Rabiz is referring not only to taste of music, but also fashion and lifestyle. Although the meaning of this use is largely dependent on personal taste and/or musical preferences of the speaker.
It is listened widely throughout the youth of Armenians in Los Angeles, Armenia, and Russia called rabiz. Rabiz music is music mostly played by musicians such as Tatoul Avoyan, Hayko Ghevondyan, and formerly Armenchik. Rabiz music is the most popular type of Armenian music in the Armenian community of the Los Angeles area. It has taken the face of Armenian music due to its catchy beats and dance type music. Rabiz music is mostly about love or partying called "kef" but also about love to family or Armenia (rich lyrics in this case).
In the 1980s and 1990s, Aram Asatryan
Aram Asatryan
Aram Asatryan was an Armenian pop singer and songwriter known for his energetic concerts and music.- Life :Aram Asatryan was born in Echmiadzin, Armenia, the son of Hapet Asatryan and Ashken Mampreyan. He was born to a refugee family. Ever since his childhood years he had been a prodigal...
and Tata Simonyan became a household item in Armenian households all around the world. In 2010, Tata had a successful concert in Las Vegas's Wynn
Wynn Las Vegas
Wynn Las Vegas is a resort and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The US $2.7 billion resort is named after casino developer Steve Wynn and is the flagship property of Wynn Resorts Limited. The resort covers . It is located on Las Vegas Boulevard and Sands Avenue Wynn Las...
casino.
Music and the Armenian Genocide
Armenians during the Armenian GenocideArmenian Genocide
The Armenian Genocide—also known as the Armenian Holocaust, the Armenian Massacres and, by Armenians, as the Great Crime—refers to the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I...
mainly in the eastern part of Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, though other regions where Armenians lived were not forgotten, and oppressed Armenian culture, leading to widespread emigration. These emigrants settled in various countries, especially in the California Central Valley
California Central Valley
California's Central Valley is a large, flat valley that dominates the central portion of California. It is home to California's most productive agricultural efforts. The valley stretches approximately from northwest to southeast inland and parallel to the Pacific Ocean coast. Its northern half is...
, and the second- and third-generation have kept their folk traditions alive, with oud
Oud
The oud is a pear-shaped stringed instrument commonly used in North African and Middle Eastern music. The modern oud and the European lute both descend from a common ancestor via diverging paths...
-player Richard Hagopian
Richard Hagopian
Richard Avedis Hagopian is an American Oriental-style oud player and traditional Armenian musician.Hagopian was born in Fowler, California. He has been a musician since childhood, learning to play the violin and clarinet at nine years old. He started playing the oud at age of 11...
being perhaps the most famous of these musicians. Another oud player, John Berberian
John Berberian
John Berberian is an American musician known for his virtuosity on the oud, the Middle Eastern stringed instrument.Berberian was born in New York City; his parents were Armenian immigrants...
, is noted in particular for his fusions of traditional music with jazz and rock in the 1960s. From Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
and Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
, George Tutunjian
George Tutunjian
George Tutunjian was a singer of Armenian patriotic and revolutionary songs and life-long supporter of Armenian Revolutionary Federation .He started singing at the age of 22...
, Karnig Sarkissian
Karnig Sarkissian
Karnig Sarkissian is a popular Armenian singer born in Aleppo, Syria and a naturalized American citizen. He is well-known for his Armenian patriotic songs throughout the Armenian diaspora and a big supporter of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation .-Prison:In 1982, Sarkissian was convicted in...
and others performed Armenian Revolutionary Songs
Armenian Revolutionary Songs
Armenian Revolutionary Songs are songs that promote Armenian patriotism. The origins of these songs lay largely in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, when Armenian political parties were established to struggle for the political and civil rights of Armenians living in the Ottoman...
which quickly became popular among the Diasporan
Armenian diaspora
The Armenian diaspora refers to the Armenian communities outside the Republic of Armenia and self proclaimed de facto independent Nagorno-Karabakh Republic...
youth, notably ARF
Armenian Revolutionary Federation
The Armenian Revolutionary Federation is an Armenian political party founded in Tiflis in 1890 by Christapor Mikaelian, Stepan Zorian, and Simon Zavarian...
supporters. In Tehran
Tehran
Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...
Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
the folk music of the Armenian community is characterized by the work of Nikol Galanderian
Nikol Galanderian
Nicol Galanderian is a noted composer of Armenian music and is especially known for vocal, choral and children's works whose primary source of inspiration is folk music and urban folksong.- Biography :...
(1881–1946) and the Goghtan choir.
Other Armenian musicians include Ara Topouzian who performs on the kanun and VANArmenya, who sings both folk, children's and patriotic songs, performs on keyboards, and promotes the music of "the other Gomidas," Grikor Mirzaian.
Armenian Musicians outside Armenia
There is a large number of musicians being Armenians by nationality but living ( and even born) outside of Armenia. Some of them are very famous all over the world. In France Armenian descent artist Charles AznavourCharles Aznavour
Charles Aznavour, OC is an Armenian-French singer, songwriter, actor, public activist and diplomat. Besides being one of France's most popular and enduring singers, he is also one of the best-known singers in the world...
(born Aznavourian) is much celebrated show and song-stars for decades. In 2009 Armenian-American singer and songwriter Serj Tankian along with his father Khatchador Tankian sang their rendition of Bari Arakeel on an Armenian charity telethon. Armenian-American
Armenian-American
Armenian Americans are citizens of the United States whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in Armenia. During the United States 2000 Census, 385,488 respondents indicated either full or partial Armenian ancestry...
pop artists include Cher
Cher
Cher is an American recording artist, television personality, actress, director, record producer and philanthropist. Referred to as the Goddess of Pop, she has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, three Golden Globes and a Cannes Film Festival Award among others for her work in...
, whose real name is Cherylin Sarkissian and all the members of the popular heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
band System of a Down
System of a Down
System of a Down, also known by the acronym SOAD and often shortened to System, is a rock band from Southern California. The band was formed in 1994. It consists of Serj Tankian , Daron Malakian , Shavo Odadjian and John Dolmayan...
. Keyboardist Derek Sherinian
Derek Sherinian
Derek Sherinian is a rock keyboardist who has toured and recorded for Alice Cooper, Billy Idol, Yngwie Malmsteen, Kiss, and Alice In Chains. He was also a member of Dream Theater and is the founder of the instrumental metal-fusion band Planet X...
is a world wide rock keyboard legend who has played with Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades...
,KISS
Kiss
A kiss is the act of pressing one's lips against the lips or other body parts of another person or of an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, affection, respect, greeting, friendship, and good...
, Dream Theater
Dream Theater
Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 under the name Majesty by John Petrucci, John Myung, and Mike Portnoy while they attended Berklee College of Music in Massachusetts. They subsequently dropped out of their studies to further concentrate on the band that would...
ampngst many others.Andy Madadian
Andy Madadian
Andranik Madadian , better known by his stage name, Andy , is a famous Iranian-Armenian singer-songwriter. He is a naturalized American and currently lives in Los Angeles, California.-Early life:...
a legendary artist who is Armenian-Iranian. Vigen Derderian an Armenian-Iranian legendary jazz and pop artist. Vahe Mardirossian, another artist of Armenian descent, plays flamenco style music on his own custom made guitars.Armik
Armik
Armik is an Iranian-Armenian flamenco guitarist and composer.Armik was born in Iran of Armenian descent. When he was just seven years old, he pawned his watch for a classical guitar, which he hid and practiced in his basement. At 12, he was a professional recording artist...
an Armenian-Iranian flamenco guitarist and composer. As a guitarist, he is one of the most adulated virtuosos of the Nuevo Flamenco genre, having appeared in Billboard Magazine's Top Ten New Age Artists in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2008.
Samples
- Download recording of "Erivan bachem arer", an Armenian-American folk song from the Library of Congress' California Gold: Northern California Folk Music from the Thirties Collection; performed a cappellaA cappellaA cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...
by Ruben J. Baboyan on April 16, 1939 in Fresno, CaliforniaFresno, CaliforniaFresno is a city in central California, United States, the county seat of Fresno County. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 510,365, making it the fifth largest city in California, the largest inland city in California, and the 34th largest in the nation...
See also
- Armenian culture
- Armenian danceArmenian danceThe Armenian dance heritage has been one of the oldest, richest and most varied in the Near East. From the fifth to the third millennia B.C., in the higher regions of Armenia, the land of Ararat, there are rock paintings of scenes of country dancing. These dances were probably accompanied by...
- Armenian operaArmenian operaArmenian opera is the art of opera in Armenia or opera by Armenian composers. The founder of the Armenian operatic tradition was Dikran Tchouhadjian , who was born in Constantinople in the Ottoman Empire and received his musical education in Milan, where he became a great admirer of Verdi...
- Armenian lullabiesLullabies of ArmeniaThe Armenian lullaby is significant for its historical, cultural, and linguistic aspect beyond its purpose of comfort and serving as a bridge to sleep. Influenced in part by their region of origin, Armenian lullabies are characterized by a lightness in melody and the rhythm of simple, repeated...
- List of Armenians
- KOHAR Symphony Orchestra and ChoirKOHAR Symphony Orchestra and ChoirThe KOHAR Symphony Orchestra & Choir of Gyumri, Armenia.-History:KOHAR was founded in 1997 as an independent musical and cultural institution by the Armenian culture patron Harout Khatchadourian of Lebanon, who along with his brothers, Shahe and Nar Khatchadourian, entirely sustained the...
External links
Audio clip: traditional Armenian music. Musée d'Ethnographie de Genève. Accessed November 25, 2010.- Free high quality Armenian Pop Music Radio Station
- Armenian Celebrity News & Exclusive Interviews
- Armenian Music Internet Television
- Armenian Music Video
- Armenian Music Radio
- Free Armenian Music Radio Stream
- Armenya Portal to Armenian Music Websites
- Armenian Radio Stver
- Armenian Spiritual Music V-XIII centuries for listening, text in Russian
- Armenian Music Band