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Rediscovering the Music of the Ancient Greeks (video)

August 7, 2018 By administrator

By Kerry Kolasa-Sikiaridi,

Music was ubiquitous in classical Greece, but somewhere along the line, the way in which it was composed and sounded in ancient Greece was lost.

The question of what ancient Greek music must have sounded like is an enigma that has haunted many scholars.

Armand D’Angour, a classical musician and professor of history at the University of Oxford has brought ancient Greek music back to life. Speaking of his research to the BBC, he said:

“Suppose that 2,500 years from now all that survived of the Beatles songs were a few of the lyrics, and all that remained of Mozart and Verdi’s operas were the words and not the music.

“Imagine if we could then reconstruct the music, rediscover the instruments that played them, and hear the words once again in their proper setting, how exciting that would be. This is about to happen with the classic texts of ancient Greece.”

It is well documented that the poetry in ancient Greece from 750 BC to 350 BC was made of the songs of Homer, Sappho and others, and was sung as music and performed sometimes as a dance.

Also, researchers have long known what instruments were popular in ancient Greece, such as the lyre, along with the aulos. However, how all of this came together to make music was a puzzle that no one could seem to put together.

The problem researchers faced is that the music composed in ancient Greece had unique and unfamiliar terms and notions found in ancient sources – such as mode, enharmonic, diesis, and so on.

Whenever there was an attempt to reconstruct the ancient music based on the limited understanding of the symbols, it produced a strange-sounding compilation; therefore, many considered the music of ancient Greece to be a lost art.

New discoveries have helped link some of the missing pieces of the puzzle. The source of this new information helping uncover ancient Greek music and its sound is the plethora of texts saved from that era.

Dating back to around 450 BC, the texts are engraved with a phonetic notation and consist of alphabetical letters and signs placed over the vowels of the Greek words.

According to the BBC article, Professor D’Angour explains that the music tempo can be found in the words and syllables of these ancient writings, while depictions of various musical instruments in paintings and archaeological findings allow researchers to reproduce the depth and range of sounds that they produced.

“While the documents, found etched in stone in Greece and papyrus in Egypt, have long been known to classicists — some were published as early as 1581 — in recent decades they have been augmented by new finds. Dating from around 300 BC to 300 AD, these fragments offer us a clearer view than ever before of the music of ancient Greece,” says Professor D’Angour.

Curious as to how ancient Greek music sounded? Check out the video below.

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Ancient Greeks, Music

Serj Tankian looking to set up a music festival in Armenia

June 3, 2017 By administrator

Serj Tankian looking to set up a music festival in Armenia A year after Armenians launched a generous new peace prize, the frontman of rockers System of a Down sees more to come in the country — including perhaps a music festival, AFP said.

Serj Tankian, singer of the chart-topping California hard rock band, composed a theme song for the Aurora Prize, which was inaugurated a year ago in the Armenian capital Yerevan.

The award, backed by Hollywood A-lister George Clooney, is presented on behalf of Armenians who survived the bloodletting that claimed 1.5 million lives in the waning days of the Ottoman Empire in 1915.

Armenia and Western historians describe the killings as genocide, but Turkey vehemently objects to the term.

The second edition of the award was presented on May 28 to Tom Catena, the sole doctor in Sudan’s conflict-ravaged Nuba Mountains who has cared for thousands of people, treating everything from war injuries to measles.

Catena, an American and Catholic missionary, will receive $100,000 plus an additional $1 million which will feed charities of his choice.

Tankian, who congratulated Catena in a video appearance at the ceremony as the band prepared for a European tour, said the Aurora Prize showed gratitude to those who helped survivors.

“Any group of people that have suffered immensely, whether it’s genocide or any other type of human-created catastrophe, should embody compassion and an understanding of that pain better than anyone else,” Tankian told AFP.

The Lebanese-born Tankian, whose grandparents survived with help from a Turkish mayor and an American missionary orphanage, said that too often, people fail to draw lessons from their ancestors’ pain.

“I find it really disheartening that there are people who have suffered immensely, or whose grandparents have suffered immensely, and yet their position in life has been unequivocally egotistical and myopic in terms of how they see their lives and how they spend their money,” he said.

– Integrating Armenia with music festivals –

Tankian said he wanted to do more in Armenia and was in the early stages of looking to set up a music festival.

The singer voiced hope that Armenia, rarely a destination for Western artists, could be integrated into the European summer festival circuit with touring bands carrying on to the Caucasus country.

“I’ve always dreamed of setting up an international music festival in Armenia,” he said.

“As much as I have tried to do political work and social work,” he said, “I would also like to carve out time to do art work, music work.”

For the centennial in 2015, System of a Down played its first-ever concert in Armenia. Tankian said he felt overcome with a sense of history, seeing young people and remembering his grandparents. He viewed his band as “part of that catalyst between old and new.”

“It felt like our whole career was built to play that one show in some ways,” he said.

Related links:

. In Armenia, a peace prize .. and a music festival?

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Armenia, festival, Music, Serj Tankian

Concert focuses on Armenian music

April 18, 2017 By administrator

Ara Topouzian is quick to say he loves music and performing, but his performances also preserve traditional Armenian folk music.

“I want to pass it along. Our music stopped in 1915 — no more folk songs, art, authors were produced. The history of Armenians stopped with the genocide,” he said. “It survived not because of tape recorders or records, but in people — in their heats and souls. They escaped with that. It’s important. It means the music survived another 100 years.”

Topouzian plays the kanun, a 76-string Middle Eastern laptop harp, and will be performing Friday at the Phoenix Theaters Laurel Park Place in Livonia before two showings of “The Promise,” a film set during the last days of the Ottoman Empire when more than one million Armenians were massacred. Directed by Terry George, who also directed “Hotel Rwanda,” the film stars Christian Bale, Oscar Isaac and Shohreh Aghdashloo.

The film showings and concerts by Topouzian are being hosted by the Armenian National Committee of Michigan. Both of the concert/film showings are sold out.

“We were displaced. It was an attempt to drive us to extinction. Music is history to me. It tells a story,” he said. “Anytime I perform or lecture on music, my part is to preserve Armenian culture and educate others on our history. And equally important, I love the music.”

A Farmington Hills resident, Topouzian works full time heading the Troy Chamber of Commerce and formerly worked for the Farmington Chamber of Commerce. Topouzian took up the kanun, which he describes as the grandfather to the piano, after he graduated from high school.

“The kanun dates to the fifth century — it’s still played today. I had always played music since I was a child, but not Armenian or Middle Eastern music,” Topouzian said. “I grew up in a very Armenian home — both my parents are Armenian. They never forced it on me. There was music in the house and records.”

So growing up, Topouzian said he was exposed to traditional Armenian music and would attend events in the Armenian community. “I loved the exotic sound of the music compared to western music,” he said. “In essence, you’re bending notes, sort of in-between the notes typically heard in western music. It’s a different rhythm and sounds.”

Over the years, Topouzian has performed concerts, at festivals and private events across the country, made several recordings and did work on shows for PBS. That includes work on a documentary about the history of Armenian music in Detroit. Topouzian has received numerous awards, including a 2012 Kresge Artist Fellowship through the Kresge Foundation.

The Armenian genocide, when 1.5 million people were systematically killed by the Ottoman Empire, isn’t a particularly well-known chapter in history. Along with preserving the culture of Armenians, Topouzian is hoping the mainstream film will reach more people.

“What they didn’t take was our musical history,” Topouzian said. “This film is very important to the Armenian people, but it is equally important for the non-Armenian community to watch and embrace it. Through this movie, audiences will have a chance to learn more about the Armenian genocide.”

It’s a tragedy that forced Armenians to flee their homes and many ended up in the Detroit area.

“We are all here due to the genocide. I’m in Michigan because of it. Parts of my family escaped. Many Armenians came to Detroit because Henry Ford was offering work at $5 a day,” Topouzian said.
lrogers@hometownlife.com
734-883-9039
Twitter: @LRogersObserver

Source: http://www.hometownlife.com/story/entertainment/2017/04/18/concert-focuses-armenian-music/100412092/

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Armenian, concert, Music

Komitas and Medieval Music Culture conference commences on September 26

September 23, 2016 By administrator

comitasWith the support of the Armenian Ministry of Culture, Komitas Museum-Institute will hold Komitas and Medieval Music Culture conference-festival on September 26-October 8, dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the Independence of Armenia.

According to public relations department of the ministry, the conference-festival will be an unprecedented event in the history of the studies of Komitas music in terms of equipment, software, communications and prestigious international scientists involved.

The opening ceremony of the festival will be held on September 26 at Aram Khachaturian Concert Hall.
Musicians from Armenia, France, Japan will perform during the ceremony. Hover State Chamber Choir of Armenia, State Chamber Choir of Armenian, Yerevan State Chamber Choir, State Academic Choir of Armenia, Anahit Papian (soprano), Hasmik Torosyan (soprano), Irina Zakaryan (soprano) will also perform during the concert.

The opening ceremony of the international conference will be held on September 27.

 

Source Panorama.am

Filed Under: Articles, Events Tagged With: Conference, culture, Komitas, Music, Yerevan

Armenian premiere expected at Yerevan10th International Music Festival

September 19, 2016 By administrator

music-festival-yerevanUkrainian conductor Kirill Karabits will conduct the concert at Aram Khachaturian Concert Hall on September 18, Panorama.am learnt from Armenian National Philharmonic Orchestra. The concert will be featured by soloists Daishin Kashimoto (violin) from Japan and Andriy Viytovych (viola).

The Armenian premier of Concerto for Orchestra No.2 by Ivan Karabits as well as other works will be performed in during the concert.

To remind, Yerevan 10th International Music Festival is dedicated to the 25th anniversary of Armenia’s independence. The festival is held under the high patronage of the First Lady of Armenia Mrs. Rita Sargsyan and is supported by the Ministry of Culture.

The festival artistic directors are Alexander Chaushian and Eduard Topchjan.

 

Source Panorama.am

Filed Under: Articles, Events Tagged With: festival, Music, Yerevan

Violinist Viviane Hagner to perform during Yerevan 10th International Music Festival

September 6, 2016 By administrator

violinist vivianeYerevan 10th International Music Festival is dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the Independence of the Republic of Armenia. The festival will officially start on September 12, featuring famous violinist Viviane Hagner in Aram Khachatryan Concert Hall.

Armenian National Philharmonic Orchestra informed Panorama.am that Conductor Eduard Topchjan will lead the concert, which will feature works of Dvorak and Hector Berlioz.

The festival will last until October 10. Famous musicians and conductors from different countries will perform along the Armenian National Philharmonic Orchestra.

The festival is held under the High Patronage of the First Lady of Armenia, Mrs. Rita Sargsyan and is supported by the Ministry of Culture of RA. The Artistic Directors of the Festival are Alexander Chaushian and Eduard Topchjan.

 

Source Panorama.a

Filed Under: Articles, Events Tagged With: festival, Music, violinist, Viviane Hagner, Yerevan 10th International

ARMENIA-MUSIC The strong Armenian delegation led by Armenian President at Midem 2015, Cannes

June 7, 2015 By administrator

arton112805-400x300In working visit to France, the Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan at the head of a strong delegation was yesterday at Midem-2015 festival in Cannes where Armenian artists featured this year. After the inauguration, the President of Armenia toured the stands of the Midem at the Palais des Festivals where 78 countries participate in this global music event. Armenia is this year’s guest of honor Midem-2015 the presence of the Armenian President and the strong Armenian delegation with many ministers-including Hasmig Boghossian Minister of Culture-was noticed. In this year of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide, for his participation in this major musical event, Armenia wanted to mark the occasion and show that the Armenian people lived and created. Besides the passage of Serzh Sargsyan to the genocide memorial in Cannes obeyed this assertion memory and life.

Krikor Amirzayan

Filed Under: Articles, Events Tagged With: Armenian, Cannes, Music, president

“The Furrow” Armenian Music Project in Turkey

June 1, 2015 By administrator

arton112468-480x320They need a final push: they lack 830 euros.

This is a Pop group of Armenian origin who has plans to go play in Turkey in late July as part of a festival in Dersim.

Drummer Estivie William, 25, who is also a filmmaker, decided to film this journey in Turkey the centenary of the Armenian Genocide. He has already completed documents for France 5 with nice critics on TV media like Télérama, Star TV, TV big chains, etc.

As for Fred Agop, leader of the group, which is already at the Olympia and the Casino de Paris, aware of the “cause” Armenian from a young age, went dozens of times in Armenia to implement them in particular shows as a folk dancer.

Until very recently, he was totally against the idea of ​​setting foot in Turkey. Today, he wants to be part of those who, like the filmmaker Fatih Akin including the film “The Cut” build bridges between the two peoples, in the name of brotherhood.

To complete the budget amounting to EUR 10 000, they lack 830 € uros to validate the call on Kisskissbank allotted in the last 2 days. Suffice to say that it is urgent, since if the collection is not covered up to € 10 000, the amount already made will be deleted and all paid contributors.

But the best is to go immediately Kisskissbank (ICI) to discover and contribute to the project until June 2 included.

Monday, 1 June 2015
Jean Eckian © armenews.com

Filed Under: Articles, Events Tagged With: Armenian, Music, Turkey

Armenia Wins Gold at Folk Music Festival

May 27, 2015 By administrator

Hayk-MkhoyanSOFIA, Bulgaria—Armenian singer Hayk Mkhoyan has returned with golden medals from the 6th Bulgarian National Championship of Folklore, also known as “Euro Folk 2015,” held in Bulgaria from May 7 to 17. The festival featured participants from about 60 countries.

Mkhoyan was conferred an award in the “Individual Performance” category after he impressed the jury with an a cappella performance of “Horovel” by Komitas.

This was the first time Armenia participated in this international festival, which has been held for eight years.

“The songs I performed were translated so that the listeners and the jury can understand their meaning, and as a result reference was made to the Armenian Genocide,” Mkhoyan told a press conference.

According to him, it was important to raise the issue of the Armenian Genocide from an international podium, he said.

The singer believes this international competition will open new perspectives of cooperation.

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Armenian, festival, Folk, Music, wins

Together Through Culture: “Yerevan-Aleppo” concert supports Syrian-Armenians

September 1, 2014 By administrator

By Gayane Mkrtchyan
ArmeniaNow reporter

cover_25A charity music event dedicated to ‘70s of Yerevan and Aleppo took place in Yerevan organized with the support of Ministries of Diaspora and Culture of Armenia and funded by AGBU Yerevan. All profits of the concert will be directed to meet the needs of Syrian-Armenians.

Popular artists from Yerevan and Aleppo participated in the concerts on August 29 and 30 in Aram Khachaturyan Concert Hall.

Concert presenter Zhan Vardan recalled the 40-plus year cultural bond between Aleppo-Armenians and Yerevan, dating back to a 1971 concert in Aleppo by composer Konstantin Orbelyan. These decades later the cultural exchange continues Vardan said.

The main musicians of the concert were Konstantin Orbelyan’s Armenian State Pop Orchestra singers. Four Aleppo-Armenian singers and three guitar players also took part.

Songs of the 70s were presented by Aramo, Emmy, Gayane Hovhannisyan, Radik Gabrielyan. Jazz music collection was presented by Syrian-Armenian artists Rena Tin, Zhan Vardan, Lila Vardanyan-Poghosian, Karo Taghtevirenian.

Singer Taghtevirenian was brought to Armenia by the ongoing war in Syria. Before that he had been in the motherland in 1966 and had 10 concerts. In Armenia he continues his career singing in a restaurant. At the concert he sang together with Armenian singer Emmy. He says he will remain in Armenia.

“It is a great pleasure for me to sing in my motherland. It is with excitement that I remember singing in this same concert hall decades ago. In 1966 in this same hall I had six concerts. I was a young boy then – 18-20 years old,” he said.

This concert with participation of Armenian and Syrian-Armenian artists is another step towards Syrian Armenians’ integration and proof that culture serves an important role in unifying a nation.

Expressing her gratitude Minister of Diaspora, Hranush Hakobyan said that Syrian-Armenians express their compassion and support through this concert.

“They can feel that their motherland is by their side, and will not leave them alone in difficulties. We are powerful together, and together we must win and become stronger,” Hakobyan said.

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: culture, Music, yerevan-aleppo

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