Forgotten folk hero - The Guardian about Komitas

As Easter this year coincides with the Armenian Genocide remembrance day, the British national newspaper Guardian has published an article about Komitas, a great Armenian composer who survived the big tragedy.

For Armenians, music is memory, says Guardian reporter Michael Church in an article titled Komitas Vardapet, forgotten folk hero.

Whenever they gather to honor their dead, the songs they sing are by the composer who speaks for the soul of their nation, Komitas Vardapet, the author claims.

He further cites 20th century Armenian composer Aram Khachaturian's words about Komitas, chracterizing him as a musician who "singlehandedly laid the foundations for Armenia's classical tradition".

Church first became aware of the great composer existence as early as 10 years ago when he was recording the Armenian Chamber Choir in Yerevan.

"I was intrigued by the songs' vibrant strangeness: folk melodies so deftly arranged that the raw beauty of the originals glowed the more brightly," he says.

He further proceeds with giving biographical sketches about Komitas, describing his childhood as that of a class comedian who could mimic the songs he found in villages on the slopes of Mount Ararat.

To demonstrate Komitas' big talent the author speaks of his attempt to crack the code of "neume" notation in early periods of his creative life.

"Komitas claimed to have cracked the code of the neumes, but his key is lost. Scholars still search for what could open a fascinating window on remote musical history. Meanwhile, by refusing to recognise any divide between the folk musics of Turkey and Armenia, Komitas showed a way in which the antagonism between the two could be dissolved. But his choral works are his monument," the British publication says.

At the end the author refers to leading Armenian composer, Tigran Mansurian's recent cello concerto with the richly symbolic title, Where Is Your Brother Abel?

As a child of Armenian Genocide survivors, Mansuryan pursues closure with Komitas, according to the author.

"His garden of sounds covers a vast territory in time, stretching across millennia," the composer was quoted as saying.