Komitas Vardapet - Songs arranged for piano by Villy Sargsyan (Yulia Ayrapetyan)

Information

Composer: Komitas Vardapet, arr. Villy Sargsyan

1. Chinar es, keṙanal mi
2. Kuzhn aṙa
3. Akh, Maral djanfor Piano)
4. Antuni
5. Shogher djan
6. Kak'avi erg
7. Kanche, kṙunk
8. Es saren kugayi
9. Erkink'n ampel ē
10. Dsirani dsaṙ
11. Garun a
12. Hov arek'
13. K'ele, k'ele
14. Hoy, Nazan
15. Dsedseṙnak
16. Le, le yaman
17. Kṙunk
18. Mani asem
19. Dsaghik asem
20. Matnik'e matovs chēr
21. Al dzin naln inch kane
22. Alagyaz (Sarn ampel a) [3rd Setting]
23. Khnki dsaṙ
24. Chem kṙna khagha
25. Maron a kayne
26. Orôr
27. Ampel a kamar-kamar
28. Lorik
29. Habrban
30. Alagyaz (Bardzr sarin)
31. Garun
32. K'eler, tsoler
33. Zulo
34. Zinch u zinch
35. Al aylukhs

Yulia Ayrapetyan, piano

Date: 2022

Label: Grand Piano

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Review

Born in Turkey in 1869, but moving with his family to Armenia when he was twelve, Komitas became one of the nation’s foremost composers in the early 20th century.

Having been musically educated in Berlin, he was to live an eventful and almost nomadic life collecting folk songs on his travels through Armenia, Persia and Turkey, usually notating them on a single line of music for further use. That he would explore that avenue of use to form complex scores, his many years of collection still left on his death, in 1935, a vast quantity where only the vocal line exists, and there were also those where he had simply added a basic piano accompaniment. This, the second disc of his music to appear on the Grand Piano label, the opposite route with songs taken back to basic piano arrangements, a task that has been undertaken by the Russian pianist and pedagogue, Villy Sargsyan. Thirty-five are included on this disc performed by the Russian-born pianist, Yulia Ayrapetyan, her busy career using the United States as her base for international concert tours. The tracks are mostly of cameo length, some little more than a few seconds. The music of no great technical difficulty but pleasing to hear. Recorded in the Great Hall of Tchaikovsky Conservatory in 2019 and 2021.

— David Denton

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Komitas Vardapet (Soghomon Soghomonian, 8 October 1869 – 22 October 1935) was an Armenian priest, composer, ethnomusicologist and pedagogue, widely regarded as the founder of modern Armenian classical music. Educated at the Echmiadzin Seminary and later trained under composer Kara-Mourza, he earned a doctorate in musicology in 1896 and served as Choir Director at Echmiadzin. Komitas composed over 3,000 works and made lasting contributions to the Armenian Church liturgy. His most significant achievement was the preservation and revival of Armenian medieval sacred and folk music.

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Yulia Ayrapetyan (born 1988 in Bryansk, Russia) was educated in Moscow and represents the traditions of the Russian piano school. Her wide-ranging repertoire spans from Baroque to contemporary music, with a particular focus on works by Armenian composers, many of which she has premiered. Based in the United States, she gained major recognition following her 2023 debut at Carnegie Hall's Stern Auditorium. Praised for her artistry, musical integrity, and expressive tone, Ayrapetyan performs widely across the United States, Europe, Russia, Armenia and China, and is a noted interpreter of Komitas and Melikian.

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