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Armenian a cappella to ring out at RIC
01:00 AM EDT on Thursday, September 11, 2008
[Picture:
A capella trio Zulal is three Americans of Armenian descent (Anais
Tekerian, above left, Teni Apelian, center, and Yeraz Markarian) who
sing Armenian folk songs: "Our interpretation and our harmonies tend to
be a bit more Western, says Apelian. "It's bridging two different worlds
in that sense."]
The female a cappella trio Zulal take the rural folk music of Armenia
and make it bewitching and transcendent; the tricky rhythms and subtly
bizarre (to American ears) structures go down easily when paired with
the women's honeyed voices. On their latest record, last year's Notes To
a Crane, the trio apply shimmering Western harmonies to old folk songs
from all corners of Armenia that reflect life, love and happiness that
are often subsumed by the painful history of the people.
>From the playful opener "Yaruhs Khorodig E (My Sweetheart is Cute! So
What If He's Short?)" to the lullaby "Kele Lao (Come, Let Us Go, My
Son)," the non-Armenian speaker won't know what they're singing, and yet
he or she will, which is kind of what music's all about, isn't it?
All three members of Zulal were born and raised in the United States,
and Teni Apelian says that "all of us have had fairly different cultural
experiences." But Armenian folk music "has always been part of my life."
Zulal apply elements of pop and jazz harmony to their interpretations of
Armenian songs, but they work from songbooks and archival recordings to
find the real stuff. Luckily, Apelian says, there's plenty of archival
material to work from, and the Armenian folk tradition is fairly good
shape.
The Armenian a cappella tradition, on the other hand, isn't as well
known, Apelian says - most of the best-known Armenian music is
instrumental. But singing a cappella, she says, establishes a connection
and an homage to the traditions of Armenian rural life - "the village
life from which these songs grew" - to perform them with just voices.
"It's reminiscent of that simpler time. It was very much a vocal
tradition."
Apelian and her band mates, Yeraz Markarian and Anais Tekerian, have
varied backgrounds that include jazz a cappella, pop a cappella and
Slavic a cappella, and those influences get into Zulal's version of
Armenian music. "There are some harmonies that are sort of
Armenian-sounding, but I think we are building chords that are a little
bit more - it's not something that you hear and think 'that reminds me
of a pop harmony,' but there is a difference there..
"Sometimes, the archival recordings that we listen to are really very
raw, and kind of unpleasant to listen to for an outside ear. But our
interpretation and our harmonies tend to be a bit more Western. It's
bridging two different worlds in that sense."
Apelian is a full-time mother; Markarian is a Ph.D. student in
psychology; Tekerian is a piano teacher. All three have children. Zulal
is an avocation for them, and they average about one show a month. They
spend their time off recording and unearthing and arranging new songs,
Apelian says, but they have also scored some high-profile gigs with
Cirque du Soleil ("I remember actively dreaming it and wanting it. It
was like a dream come true") and Les Mysteres des Voix Bulgares.
And in so doing, Apelian says she hopes that Zulal act as ambassadors
for Armenian history and culture. "We talk a lot in our show, and do a
lot of explaining of the meaning of our songs, and the symbols in the
life and the village life that we're trying to connect to."
The other two members of Zulal go to Armenia once a year. Apelian has
been back three times, but not for a year now; with two small children
and no direct family in the country, it's more difficult to manage.
But that culture and history is still a presence. "It's an extremely
strong culture because we're very small. When you're that small and you
have a history of that much struggle as a nation, [there's] a struggle
to keep your culture, and it creates a community among people."
There are strong pockets of Armenians in places such as Montreal and
California.
In New York, where the members of Zulal live, "I can't say the same,"
Apelian says. "It's pretty diluted here."
Still, the culture matters.
"Overall, it's a culture that's devoted to itself because it's had such
a painful past. And people have grown up with stories of their
grandparents marching through the desert, starving to death. As a young
kid, you're told that this is what these people went through for you to
be who you are and to have this culture. And it affects you."
Zulal sing at Sapinsley Hall, on the campus of Rhode Island College, 600
Mount Pleasant Ave., Providence, Sunday at 3 p.m. at the top of a bill
of Armenian music that includes Harry Bedrossian, Leon Janikian and Ken
and Charles Kalajian. Tickets are $35 for adults, $25 for those under
18. The show is a benefit for the Armenian Relief Society to celebrate
its 100th anniversary. Call (401) 354-8770 or e-mail
[email protected].
[email protected]
Armenian a cappella to ring out at RIC
01:00 AM EDT on Thursday, September 11, 2008
[Picture:
A capella trio Zulal is three Americans of Armenian descent (Anais
Tekerian, above left, Teni Apelian, center, and Yeraz Markarian) who
sing Armenian folk songs: "Our interpretation and our harmonies tend to
be a bit more Western, says Apelian. "It's bridging two different worlds
in that sense."]
The female a cappella trio Zulal take the rural folk music of Armenia
and make it bewitching and transcendent; the tricky rhythms and subtly
bizarre (to American ears) structures go down easily when paired with
the women's honeyed voices. On their latest record, last year's Notes To
a Crane, the trio apply shimmering Western harmonies to old folk songs
from all corners of Armenia that reflect life, love and happiness that
are often subsumed by the painful history of the people.
>From the playful opener "Yaruhs Khorodig E (My Sweetheart is Cute! So
What If He's Short?)" to the lullaby "Kele Lao (Come, Let Us Go, My
Son)," the non-Armenian speaker won't know what they're singing, and yet
he or she will, which is kind of what music's all about, isn't it?
All three members of Zulal were born and raised in the United States,
and Teni Apelian says that "all of us have had fairly different cultural
experiences." But Armenian folk music "has always been part of my life."
Zulal apply elements of pop and jazz harmony to their interpretations of
Armenian songs, but they work from songbooks and archival recordings to
find the real stuff. Luckily, Apelian says, there's plenty of archival
material to work from, and the Armenian folk tradition is fairly good
shape.
The Armenian a cappella tradition, on the other hand, isn't as well
known, Apelian says - most of the best-known Armenian music is
instrumental. But singing a cappella, she says, establishes a connection
and an homage to the traditions of Armenian rural life - "the village
life from which these songs grew" - to perform them with just voices.
"It's reminiscent of that simpler time. It was very much a vocal
tradition."
Apelian and her band mates, Yeraz Markarian and Anais Tekerian, have
varied backgrounds that include jazz a cappella, pop a cappella and
Slavic a cappella, and those influences get into Zulal's version of
Armenian music. "There are some harmonies that are sort of
Armenian-sounding, but I think we are building chords that are a little
bit more - it's not something that you hear and think 'that reminds me
of a pop harmony,' but there is a difference there..
"Sometimes, the archival recordings that we listen to are really very
raw, and kind of unpleasant to listen to for an outside ear. But our
interpretation and our harmonies tend to be a bit more Western. It's
bridging two different worlds in that sense."
Apelian is a full-time mother; Markarian is a Ph.D. student in
psychology; Tekerian is a piano teacher. All three have children. Zulal
is an avocation for them, and they average about one show a month. They
spend their time off recording and unearthing and arranging new songs,
Apelian says, but they have also scored some high-profile gigs with
Cirque du Soleil ("I remember actively dreaming it and wanting it. It
was like a dream come true") and Les Mysteres des Voix Bulgares.
And in so doing, Apelian says she hopes that Zulal act as ambassadors
for Armenian history and culture. "We talk a lot in our show, and do a
lot of explaining of the meaning of our songs, and the symbols in the
life and the village life that we're trying to connect to."
The other two members of Zulal go to Armenia once a year. Apelian has
been back three times, but not for a year now; with two small children
and no direct family in the country, it's more difficult to manage.
But that culture and history is still a presence. "It's an extremely
strong culture because we're very small. When you're that small and you
have a history of that much struggle as a nation, [there's] a struggle
to keep your culture, and it creates a community among people."
There are strong pockets of Armenians in places such as Montreal and
California.
In New York, where the members of Zulal live, "I can't say the same,"
Apelian says. "It's pretty diluted here."
Still, the culture matters.
"Overall, it's a culture that's devoted to itself because it's had such
a painful past. And people have grown up with stories of their
grandparents marching through the desert, starving to death. As a young
kid, you're told that this is what these people went through for you to
be who you are and to have this culture. And it affects you."
Zulal sing at Sapinsley Hall, on the campus of Rhode Island College, 600
Mount Pleasant Ave., Providence, Sunday at 3 p.m. at the top of a bill
of Armenian music that includes Harry Bedrossian, Leon Janikian and Ken
and Charles Kalajian. Tickets are $35 for adults, $25 for those under
18. The show is a benefit for the Armenian Relief Society to celebrate
its 100th anniversary. Call (401) 354-8770 or e-mail
[email protected].
[email protected]