Komitas: ‘forgotten folk hero who speaks for the soul of nation’, as per The Guardian and Armen Ra, US-based Iranian Armenian Theremin virtuoso

The forgotten folk hero

Composer Komitas Vardapet survived a genocide and brought Armenia and Turkey’s divided music closer. He should be better known, says Michael Church in The Guardian. 

Sunday 24 April is Easter Day, but for Armenians it is also genocide remembrance day. This is when Armenians all over the world will gather to commemorate the anniversary of the 1915 genocide in which 1.5 million Armenians in Turkey were either slaughtered, or died on forced marches into exile. For Armenians, music is memory. And whenever they gather to honour their dead, the songs they sing are by the composer who speaks for the soul of their nation, Komitas Vardapet. He himself was a victim of the 1915 persecution, and though he survived physically, he was driven into madness by it. Outside Armenia he, too, has been swept under the carpet of history. More... 

And here is a brilliant interpretation of Crane (Komitas) by Armen Ra, US-based Iranian Armenian Theremin virtuoso. More about Armen Ra...

Crane, Komitas