Catalogue | Voice

The Armenian monk Soghomon Soghomonian, better known by his priest’s name of Komitas, collected hundreds of folksongs around 1900 during the course of his travels through the Armenian highlands between Van Lake, the Black Sea and the southern Caucasus. These songs, handed down orally over the centuries, express all the archaism of this ancient people’s unmistakeable culture – a culture than was nearly extinguished in the genocide of the Armenians during the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1917. Komitas was himself a victim of mass arrests and deportation in April 1915; although he escaped being murdered, the experience left him a mentally broken man and he spent the rest of his life in psychiatric institutions. This composer and ethnomusicologist, educated in Berlin amongst other places, also occupied himself with the liturgical tradition of the Armenian Apostolic Church; today he is considered the founder of classical modern Armenian music. He set a portion of his collected folk melodies as arts songs (and also choral works). This SACD aims to present a representative recording of the best-known songs of this cultural treasure to a wider listening public; this music is largely unknown except in Armenia and amongst the worldwide Armenian Diaspora. The immediately gripping Lieder, so typical of the Christian-Armenian identity on the point of intersection between Orient and Occident, tell of majestic mountains and of longing for the lost homeland, of the profound and ever-continuing suffering of this people, as well as of love.

Alongside 26 Armenian Lieder altogether, the CD also contains nine Lieder to texts by German poets (including Goethe, Lenau and Uhland) set by Komitas during his period of study in Berlin. In these Lieder, recorded here for the first time, one can hear how familiar the Armenian composer was with the Western tradition extending from Schubert to Hugo Wolf and Richard Strauss. The booklet includes the complete Lied texts, printed in Armenian, German, English and French, as well as a detailed text on the life and work of Komitas.

Hasmik Papian has been at home on the world’s great operatic stages for many years. She has regularly appeared in roles including Tosca, Aida and Norma at the Met, La Scala, the Bastille and the State Operas of Berlin, Munich, Stuttgart, Dresden and Vienna, whilst simultaneously maintaining a lively relationship with her native Armenia. Hasmik Papian has already presented recitals of Komitas in London’s Wigmore Hall, in Brussels, Munich and Washington, amongst other places.
The young Armenian pianist Vardan Mamikonian performs regularly in renowned international concert halls such as Carnegie Hall, the Herkulessaal in Munich, the Tonhalle Zurich and the Salle Gaveau in Paris; alongside the classical-romantic repertoire (Liszt, Chopin, Rachmaninov, etc.) he has also become well known for his interpretations of the works of the Armenian composer Arno Babadjanian.

The present SACD production presents a number of special features, both in terms of content and of interpretation. These are reflected in the exclusive appearance of the SACD, with its visually convincing hard-cover packaging and golden foil embossing – sure signs of high quality and elegance.

• American Record Guide | Boyer | January 5, 2007

  Komitas (1869-1935), born Soghomon Soghomonian, took the name he is known by following his ordination as a priest of the Armenian Church in 1893. His...

• Armenisch-Deutsche Korrespondenz | Ludolf Baucke | February 23, 2007

  Armenisch und abendländisch
  Compact Disc mit Komitas-Liedern
  Der am 26.09.1869 in Gudina (heute Kütahya, Kleinasien) geborene und unter seinem Priesternamen Komitas bekannt gewordene Mönch Soghomon Soghomonian...

• Armenpress | August 26, 2006

  The new CD of world-famous soprano Hasmik Papian dedicated to Komitas has been released. Hasmik Papian told Armenpress that the CD includes 35 Lieder...

• Fanfare | Steven Ritter | January 5, 2007

  1869 saw the birth of the future priest Komitas (Soghomon Soghomonian in the world), a man who is hailed as an Armenian national hero, yet is also a...

• Fono Forum | Thomas Schulz | January 12, 2006

  Der armenische Bartók
  Wenn es ihn nicht gegeben hätte, wäre vielleicht der unvergleichliche Schatz der armenischen Volksmusik für immer verloren gegangen: Soghomon...

• klassik.com | Andreas Schubert | December 13, 2006

  Armenische Seele
  ‘Armenien wird leben, solange die armenische Musik lebt.’ Und sie am...

• Le Républicain Lorrain | January 22, 2008

  La diva arménienne
  Classique samedi La diva arménienne L'Orchestre national de Lorraine propose samedi à 20h30, à l'Arsenal, un concert dédié à Gustav Mahler et sa...

• Muzyka21 | Wilfried Górny | January 5, 2007

  Hasmik Papian jest jedną ze śpiewaczek najbardziej cenionych przez polskich melomanów. Wówczas, jeszcze nie znana armeńska solistka z opery w...

• Ópera Actual | Xaver Cester | January 5, 2007

  Entre la nómina de pueblos machacados por la historia -o mejor dicho, por otras pueblos más poderosos-, el armenio es uno de los que se lleva la...

• Partituren | Volker Tarnow | January 11, 2006

  Der Sopran Hasmik Papians, sehnsuchtsvoll und weithin tragend, dringt wie von fernen Bergen zu uns herüber. Pater Komitas betrifft jeden Menschen, er...

• Pizzicato | Rémy Franck | January 11, 2006

  Die Lieder des Komitas
  Der armenische Geistliche Pater Komitas (1869-1935) war ein eminenter Musiker. 1915 bewahrte ihn das Schicksal auf wundersame Weise vor dem Genozid...

• www.anaclase.com | Hervé Kœnig | January 4, 2007

  La France fête actuellement l'Arménie, ce qui invite le mélomane à découvrir ou redécouvrir un compositeur encore trop rarement programmé. Si...

• www.classicalcdreview.com | R.E.B. | January 2, 2007

  Audite's SACD features music of Armenian composer Father Komitas who was born in 1869, studied at the priests' seminary and settled in Constantinople...

• www.diverdi.com | Norberto Tauste | January 12, 2006

  Komitas – Un homenaje
  En los albores del siglo XX, el monje armenio Komitas compiló centenerares de canciones populares de las montañas de su patria. Komitas, compositor...

• www.midilibre.com | Michèle Fizaine | September 27, 2008

  Classique Hasmik Papian dans la lumière de l'Arménie
  L'Orchestre sort les partitions Muriel Perpigna et Swingirland ou le jazz au féminin On connaît peu les compositeurs arméniens... Hasmik Papian ne...

• www.parutions.com | Jean-Jacques Millo | October 27, 2006

  Considéré comme le Bartok arménien, Komitas laisse, comme son homologue hongrois, l'image d'un infatigable musicien voyageur, battant les campagnes...