Classical Music | Piano Music

Recorded on 05/05/2010, uploaded on 10/22/2010

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

Born in 1869, Armenian composer, singer and ethnomusicologist Soghomon Soghomonyan was renamed Komitas Vardapet (after a 7^th century Armenian priest and hymn-writer) on graduating from the seminary and becoming a priest. In 1899, Komitas graduated from the Kaiser Friedrich Wilhelm University in Berlin, where he acquired a doctorate in musicology and philosophy.  He returned to Armenia, conducted a polyphonic male choir, and traveled extensively, listening to and recording details about Armenian folk songs and dances. He collected and published some 3000 songs. An important part of Komitas' literature is his works for piano, more specifically the suite of dances, which represent folklore of different Armenian regions.       Hayk Arsenyan

Courtesy of International Music Foundation.