Secrets of Armenia
Yulia Ayrapetyan (piano)
rec. 2023, Allegro Records, Burbank and the Zipper Hall, Colburn School of Performing Arts, Los Angeles, USA
Grand Piano GP945 [57]
Until this disc plopped onto my doormat, the only Armenian composer I had ever come across was Alan Hovhaness, whose music I have always loved. Here are three others, who affected all aspects of the musical life of Armenia, and who deserve their moment in the sun. I felt a little disappointed: some time might have been given to a more contemporary figure. But let us consider what we have, led by Yulia Ayrapetyan’s beautiful pianism.
Christopher (Kristapor) Kara-Murza’s Pot-pourri on Armenian tunes does exactly what it says on the tin. It is not that exciting, but I find it interesting that he collected many of the melodies himself as he went around the country. He located as many as ninety choirs and no doubt rranged many songs for them. That took place some twenty years before Cecil Sharp in England and Béla Bartók in Romania collected folk tunes. The ten-minute piece ends with a melody now used as the Armenian national anthem. In Marche funèbre, a less interesting six-minute work in rondo form, the melody seems often to be informed by a folkloristic influence. But the material is weak, and the piece feels rather too long.
More interesting, even arresting, is the Rhapsody Arménienne. Its author, Genary Korganov, was a Russian composer born in Georgia, who penned some works related to Armenian themes. To quote Mikael Ayrapetyan’s booklet essay, the piece represents ‘everyday life in Armenia […] intertwining folk motifs with technical elements’. This attempt at East-meets-West makes for a powerful musical image as it surges towards a boisterous climax. The shorter Bayati, strongly influenced by folkloristic, perhaps nationalistic, elements is powerful and often fiercely rhythmic. (Bayātī is a musical mode in Arabic, Turkish and related systems of music; the liner notes do not explain much.)
Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov (1859-1935) was a strong influence on Armenian composers in the late nineteenth century. He encouraged Romanos Melikian to develop his love of Armenian folk melody. As the notes tell us, Melikian is the creator of the ‘Armenian Romance’. His mastery of the subtle development of the themes can be heard in the poetic cycle Zmrukhti (Emeralds). Originally a set of eight song settings of Armenian texts, it has been arranged for piano by Villy Sargsyan. Melikian’s language is modal as in The Infant and the Brook, and impressionistic as in I am a Nightingale. There also is an emphasis throughout on the minor modes. The mood therefore is somewhat melancholy and the tempi fairly slow, but the varied harmonies and beautifully expressive melodic lines are captivating.
The last three tracks are separate songs recently arranged also by Sargsyan. Set in a rich, harmonic language, they are wonderfully melancholic and deeply nationalistic. They combine western harmony with folk-like melodies; Red Haired Bride uses a real folk melody. I have played these three tracks more often than usual.
The programme grows in interest as it goes on. All pieces are atmospherically recorded and elegantly played. This is an intriguing musical by-way worth exploring.
Gary Higginson
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Contents
Christopher Kara-Murza (1853-1902)
Pot-Pourri sur des Airs Arméniens Op 11 (1885)
Marche funèbre (1890)
Genary Korganov (1858-1890)
Bayati (1887)
Rhapsodie Arménienne Op 15 (1892)
Romanos Melikian (1883-1935) arr. Villy Sargsyan (b.1930)
Zmrukhti (Emeralds) (1918)
Vrd (The Heathrose) (1912)
Ashun (Autumn Song) [1912)
Sare Gyalin (Red Haired Bride) (1913)
