Culture

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.

2019 marks the 150th birth anniversary of prominent Armenian composer and ethnomusicologist Komitas Vardapet. “The Future Thinker” is an expression used by Komitas when signing one of the letters he wrote in Paris in 1906 to his close musician friend Margarit Babayan. He recounts about the new piano pieces he is composing and is delighted about the fact that foreigners express so much interest about Armenian music. The 150th birth anniversary of Komitas is the right moment to retrospectively look back at Komitas’s legacy, shed light on how art can become a powerful bond of unity and play a vital role in education and intercultural dialogue.

Every year, on one of the days in May, tens of thousands of Armenians spend the day in museums till late at night. And, for the workers of the museums, it's probably the most loaded day of the year. This year, on the following day of this international event, we visited several museums to talk with the security guards about the usual, not crowded days.

The Armenian diaspora has always made a lot of efforts to preserve the Armenian culture and heritage outside of their homeland and make foreigners feel a part of that experience. They always sticked to the mission of raising awareness about our cultural and literary patrimony. The Museums and Cultural centers built all over the world many centuries ago or recently, from Fresno to Singapore contributed greatly to that mission. Here is a selection of the best Armenian museums abroad that are worth visiting.