Կոմիտաս/ Komitas (Gomidas) - Groong Կռունկ The Crane - Arranged by Serouj Kradjian

Описание: Father Komitas – Divine Liturgy, Folk Songs, Dances and Children’s Songs
Arranged by Serouj Kradjian

Amici Chamber Ensemble (Serouj Kradjian piano, Joaquin Valdepeñas clarinet, David Hetherington cello)
Russell Braun, baritone
Lynn Isnar, soprano
Mark Fewer, violin
Barry Shiffman, viola
Elmer Iseler Singers
Canadian Children’s Opera Company
Young Voices Toronto
Hamazkayin Toronto “Erepuni” Dance Ensemble

“Without Komitas, we would have been left with no record of most of our musical heritage. He laid the foundations of our national music ” - Kradjian

Komitas: A Canadian Tribute

Celebrating the soul of Armenian music

A multi-faceted celebration of the 150th birthday of Father Komitas, a composer and pioneer of ethnomusicology, who was widely admired for combining traditional music and the progressive musical trends of his time. Musical arrangements and artistic direction by Serouj Kradjian

While curating the program, I decided to primarily focus on creatively depicting his sometimes joyful and mostly difficult life journey through his songs and instrumental music. The songs I’ve chosen represent his love for village life and nature, the joyful songs and dances at weddings, his devotion to music for children, his life as a priest, his special relationship with French composer Claude Debussy, his agony during the Genocide, and falling silent as a result. Of course, all his “hits” such as Tsiranee tsar, Krunk, Garun a, Antuni, Keler-Tsoler, Hoy Nazan, Surb-Surb are included, alongside lesser known songs such as the Children’s Prayer, which he composed during his deportation and which ended up being his very last composition.