Armenia

Under the auspices of the Representative of the Armenian Community at the House of Representatives Mr. Vartkes Mahdessian

“An unusually subtle, yet accessible world of sound. Bell-like voices entice with shimmering melodic arcs, canon-like shifts and contrapuntal lines. Without dramatic vibrato, the singers create a tantalizing intensity of spiritual depth.” – Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

Naghash Ensemble combines the earthy spirituality of Armenian folk song, new classical music, contemporary post-minimalism, and the energy of jazz and rock. Three brilliant female vocalists and some of Armenia’s finest instrumentalists on duduk, oud, dhol, and piano execute new music based on sacred texts by the medieval Armenian mystic poet and priest, Mkrtich Naghash.

Setting Mkrtich Naghash’s words to new music, Hodian followed his intuition: “It’s the natural product of someone who was raised listening to Armenian music in the home, studying European classical music in his youth, making a living as a jazz improviser but like all of us constantly surrounded by contemporary rock music.” The result has been described as “The Sound of Ancient Armenia reinvented for the 21st century,” by Armenia’s most renowned composer Tigran Mansurian.

Composition: John Hodian

Ensemble members
Hasmik Baghdasaryan: soprano
Tatevik Movsesyan: soprano
Arpine Ter-Petrosyan: alto
Tigran Hovhannisyan: dhol
Aram Nikoghosyan: oud
Harutyun Chkolyan: duduk
John Hodian: piano, composition

Recitation: Stelios Kafkarides
Translation of verses into Greek: Tonia Injirjian Arajian
Poetic editing of verses: Αλεξάνδρα Γαλανού / Alexandra Ghalanou

Duration: 80΄

Age 6+

08.09.2022, Lefkosia Municipal Theatre, 20.30
09.09.2022, G. Lykourgos Larnaka Municipal Theatre, 20.30