Culture

Located about 300km south-east of Constantinople, on the western side of the Anatolian plateau, a ceramic school flourished from the early sixteenth century to the early twentieth century in the hometown of Komitas Vardapet – Kutahya.

Komitas is arguably the most Armenian composer, whose prolific activities have affected a scope well beyond music or musicology. Komitas is a symbol of a whole epoch and his tragic end fully symbolizes the ordeals, that the Armenian nation went through in the beginning of the 20th century. Historian Tigran Zakaryan describes what was going on in the World and in the region during his life.

Komitas not only collected, transcribed, researched and compared more than 3000 pieces of Armenian folk music, but also did research on the music of other cultures. We talked to Tatevik Shukhkulyan, head of Research Department of Komitas Museum-Institute about the topic.

In the beginning of the 19th century, a big part of Armenian medieval professional music was on the verge of being forgotten. As a result of closed-door policy adopted centuries ago, the system of the Armenian khaz notation became incomprehensible to church musicians. It is in this decisive moment when the great reformist Hampartsoum Limonjian started his activity as a musicologist. Baba Hampartsoum would later become the person who would save the enormous amount of Armenian musical heritage. Decades later, Komitas would continue this mission.

Sona Hovhannisyan, the founder of the Hover choir and the head of Komitas State Conservatory of Yerevan, talked with us about Komitas’s exceptional personality, her bond with the master and his transcending value which goes beyond time.

An obsessive lover, wise teacher, taciturn hermit, hospitable joker, maddened priest and tens of other epithets and adjectives, characterizations and statuses that symbolize the same person – the pioneer of ethnomusicology, the founder of a national school of music and one of the most vibrant and famous characters in Armenian culture – Komitas, who continues to make new appearances not only on stages and electromagnetic waves, but also on the big screen from time to time. Komitas as a film character – explained by film critic Karen Avetisyan.

On November 21st, the art space LATITUDE will open its doors in the Vahakni district of Yerevan, with a strong commitment to nurturing the presence of contemporary art in Armenia. Curated exhibitions, community outreach, special events and, most importantly, educational programs designed for art and professional development will be aimed at building bridges between local and international artists around the world.

The peculiar character of Komitas has accompanied the Armenian nation for many years. Finally, in 2015, the Komitas Museum-Institute was established as an embodiment of the tremendous respect and veneration for the master. Regional Post talked with the director of the Museum-Institute Nikolay Kostandyan about what has been going on there since the day of its establishment.