Komitas Museum symbolizes Armenians' national rebirth - Serzh Sargsyan

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan on Thursday took part in the inauguration of the Komitas Museum-Institute in Yerevan.

The new institution opened in the park named after the great musician as part of the events dedicated to the Armenian Genocide centennial.

Congratulating the participants on the remarkable occasion, the president extended his gratitude to the organizers for the important initiative.  

After touring the building to watch the exhibits on display, the president also left a note in a book for honorable guests.

“The Komitas Museum-Institute is the symbol of the Armenian nation’s unity and rebirth. Archimandrite Komitas unified the spiritual and the secular, the noble and the peasant, the eastern Armenian and the Western Armenian, proving the artificial nature of all those dividing lines. That made him the pioneer and guarantor of the genocide-hit Armenian nation, raising us to the reaches of a tremendous civilization.

“I am very happy that thanks to this museum, Komitas’ unique heritage can now become a subject of a coordinated study and wide circulation in both Armenia and around the world. Komitas is a participant of our cultural life, who continues guiding us also at the crossroads of the third millennium.

“The opening of the Komitas Museum-Institute is an important event for our country and people,” Mr Sargsyan wrote.

A merited representative of the Armenian musical culture whose short-lived creative career was marked by the collection of folk records and composition of songs, Komitas became the founder and forefather of the Armenian classical music. But despite his invaluable contribution, the musician did not ever before have an address that would present his heritage.

The decision to launch a museum institute honoring Komitas was made by the All-Armenian Fund’s board of trustees on May 30, 2013 based on an earlier presidential decree.