Armenian Music and Dance
Armenian music has a long history, and 'sharakans,' liturgies and sacred music are purely Armenian, and artistically priceless. Armenians love music, and they have been creating exquisite compositions for centuries. Komitas is perhaps the most famous Armenian composer.He created the 'khazes,' the Armenian form of musical notation. He also wrote many religious and national songs before eventually going mad from his experiences during the 1915 Genocide of the Armenians living within the then Ottoman Empire.
Gusans and ashughs were singers in royal households and palaces in Armenia, and passed songs from one generation to the next. Many are still preserved to the present day and in particular the work of Sayat Nova, gusan Ahot, and Sheram Jivan. The 19th Century however, was to mark a new phase in Armenian music when Tigran Chukhajyan wrote the first Armenian Opera, "Arshak II." "Anoush" by Armen Tigranyan is one of the most famous and popular operas, based on traditional Armenian folk songs and dances. The storyline and text is based on Tumanian's "Anush," and blends classical interpretations seamlessly with Armenian folk melodies. Aram Khachaturyan is of course, the most well known Armenian composer for foreign audiences, composing the ballets, "Spartacus" and "Gayaneh." In particular, he composed the well-known "Sabre Dance" familiar to almost everyone outside of Armenia.
Armenian folks songs sung by the ashughs and gusans are still alive today in Armenia, and the Artist Djivan Gasparian has taken the unique sound of the Armenian duduk to foreign audiences worldwide, collaborating with internationally renowned musicians such as Peter Gabriel and the Kronos Quartet. Other Armenian instruments are the zoorna, dhol, tar and kanon.
The oldest in the world and most famous Armenian music group carries the name of Komitas (Soghomon Soghomonian, 1869-1935), a hiermonk(hie?) whose genius brought a renaissance to Armenian music at the turn of the XX-th century. In 2004 the quartet celebrated its 80th anniversary that was publicized with a world tour.
