The Naghash Ensemble of Armenia shall be performing a live performance titled Songs of Exile, Songs of Knowledge in Toronto on March 29. It takes place on the Aga Khan Museum’s Nanji Household Basis Auditorium.
Their music fuses parts of Armenian custom and Western classical music with up to date minimalism and elegance in a singular twenty first century sound.
The Ensemble is called after Mkrtich Naghash, an Armenian painter, poet, and priest who lived from 1394 to 1470. He was ultimately exiled from his publish in Amid (Dikranagerd) by the Ottoman authorities for the temerity of developing a church steeple that was greater than that of the mosques within the neighbourhood. A lot of his poetry offers with the themes and practicalities of residing in exile, and it’s written in a method that was nearer to spoken language with a purpose to join together with his individuals.
These themes are mirrored within the Ensemble’s music, largely written by John Hodian. A brand new work, primarily based on medieval writings by Kostandin Erznkaci, with music by Hodian, is titled Songs of Exile. It’s a mirrored image on humankind’s relationship to God, taken from the attitude of a monk who has been residing in exile for a few years.
The Naghash Ensemble of Armenia
Hodian talks concerning the origins of the Ensemble in a 2020 interview. “The concept for The Naghash Ensemble got here once I first heard Hasmik singing within the historical Temple of Garni outdoors of Yerevan, Armenia. She primarily sang medieval Armenian non secular music and her stunning voice, mixed with the astounding acoustics of Garni, left an indelible impression in my thoughts for days after. I used to be decided to put in writing one thing that may use this sound in a brand new means. It took a number of years to find the appropriate textual content. I spent many months researching within the libraries of Yerevan, New York, and Berlin. After I lastly got here throughout a small fragment of the Armenian medieval poet Mkrtich Naghash, the phrases leapt off the web page and into my soul and I knew I had discovered what I used to be in search of.”
The members are:
- Hasmik Baghdasaryan • soprano
- Tatevik Movsesyan • soprano
- Shahane Zalyan • alto
- Harutyun Chkolyan • duduk
- Aram Nikoghosyan • oud
- Tigran Hovhannisyan • dhol
- John Hodian • piano/composer
With three girls vocalists, the emphasis is on choral and vocal works in settings which are lush and melodic. Stylistically, the mix parts of Western classical music, Armenian people music, up to date post-minimalism, and the drive of rock and jazz.
- Discover extra particulars and tickets for the March 29 live performance [HERE].
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Anya Wassenberg is a Toronto Metropolis Editor at Ludwig Van. She is an skilled freelance author, blogger and writing teacher.
