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Hurriyet, Turkey
Nov 10 2010
Istanbul concert to commemorate Gomidas Vartabed on 140th birthday
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
VERCÄ°HAN ZÄ°FLÄ°OÄ?LU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Kütahya-born Armenian musician Gomidas Vartabed will be commemorated
on his 140th birthday throughout Armenia, the diaspora and Turkey.
Made possible thanks to a grant from the Istanbul 2010 European
Capital of Culture Agency, Thursday's free concert will present the
Kusan 2010 Choir's rendition of the great composer's `Badarak' (Divine
Liturgy)
The Kusen 2010 Choir will perform a concert to commemorate a milestone
in Armenian music, the birth of Gomidas Vartabed.
Groups in both Turkey and Armenia are preparing to hold a series of
free concerts to mark the 140th birthday of Kütahya-born Gomidas
Vartabed, who is widely recognized as the father of modern Armenian
classical music.
`We want to commemorate Gomidas in the land where he was born,' said
Istanbul University Radio and Television Department student Sayat
DaÄ?lıyan, 23, who helped form the Gomidas Platform.
The commemoratory `Gomidas Liturgical Music' concerts, which were made
possible by a grant from the Istanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture
Agency, will be held Thursday at 9 p.m. at the Surp Yerortutyum
Armenian Church (Ã`ç Horan Armenian Church) in BeyoÄ?lu's Balıkpazarı
and on Nov. 26 at Istanbul Kültür University's Akıngüç Oditorium free
of charge.
The music will be performed by the Kusan 2010 Choir, the descendent of
the original Kusan Choir that Vartabed formed himself over a century
ago, and will be conducted by two Armenian maestros, including the
conductor of Istanbul's Lusavoriç Armenian Choir, Hagop Mamgonyan, and
the conductor of the Karasunmangazs Armenian Choir, Edvin GalipoÄ?lu.
Mamigonyan said the Kusan 2010 Choir would perform a capella and be
composed only of men, as it was in the past.
GalipoÄ?lu, meanwhile, said the choir members were made up of 30
amateurs from different age groups that were all educated in
Istanbul's Armenian choirs.
The choir will perform Vartabed's polyphonic `Badarak' (Divine
Liturgy), which the maestro composed for the Armenian Apostolic Church
but was not completed until its notation by his student in 1933 in
Paris.
The concert will be broadcast live online at www.gomidasplatform.org/live.
Turkish and Armenian youth together
One of the founding members of the Gomidas Platform, Sona MenteÅ?e,
said realizing the project was akin to making a dream come true.
`We learned that the 2010 Istanbul Agency invited an orchestra from
Armenia for Gomidas' birthday but the orchestra was unable to come.
Later, we presented the project and it was accepted. We thank the
agency on behalf of Istanbul's Armenians,' MenteÅ?e said.
At the end of last year DaÄ?lıyan made a short film on Vartabed, titled
`Ä°ncu/Neden.' With the other members of the platform, he has been
organizing the `Blind Photographers Project' since the beginning of
the year for the performance of Vartabed's works.
There are also young Turkish people among the team members. `We
experience the pleasure of doing something together,' DaÄ?lıyan said.
`In this way, we share the universal language of music and love like
Gomidas showed us.'
Mamigonyan and GalipoÄ?lu said they had accelerated their rehearsals
since August.
Noting that there had been disagreements among Armenian choirs,
Mamigonyan said: `Some did not believe us that we would be able to
make it properly. But we, a handful people, wanted to give life to
Vartabed again.'
GalipoÄ?lu agreed with Mamigonyan and said the Armenian Patriarchate
had provided great support to them.
Istanbul's Armenians, who have closed themselves in the past because
of their small numbers and a variety of other problems, have
increasingly started to engage with the wider society. `It is true
that we have opened to society in the cultural field. Some of our
members are interested in politics, too,' said platform member Misak
Hergel. `But the assassination of [Armenian-Turkish journalist] Hrant
Dink discouraged us.'
Gomidas Vartabed
Ethnomusicologist, composer and maestro Gomidas Vartabed was born in
the Aegean province of Kütahya, which is famous for its tiles, in the
middle of the 1800s. Born SoÄ?omon SoÄ?omonyan, Vartabed (which means
priest) was an orphan and was sent to the Armenian Apostolic Central
Church in Armenia to receive a religious education.
Later, he studied music at Berlin University and organized important
conferences there. He is especially known for researching Armenian,
Anatolian and Transcaucasian music, as well as Turkish, Kurdish, Azeri
and Iranian musical forms.
When he recorded Armenian religious music at the beginning of 1900s,
he had problems with Etchmiadzin and the Turkish Armenian
Patriarchate.
He was also one of 230 Armenian intellectuals who were arrested in
Istanbul and deported on April 24, 1915. After witnessing the murder
of a number of friends during the deportation, Vartabed lost his
mental health. He died in 1935 in Paris.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=gomidas-vartabed-to-be-commemorated-in-turkey-on-his-140th-birthday-2010-11-10
From: A. Papazian
Nov 10 2010
Istanbul concert to commemorate Gomidas Vartabed on 140th birthday
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
VERCÄ°HAN ZÄ°FLÄ°OÄ?LU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Kütahya-born Armenian musician Gomidas Vartabed will be commemorated
on his 140th birthday throughout Armenia, the diaspora and Turkey.
Made possible thanks to a grant from the Istanbul 2010 European
Capital of Culture Agency, Thursday's free concert will present the
Kusan 2010 Choir's rendition of the great composer's `Badarak' (Divine
Liturgy)
The Kusen 2010 Choir will perform a concert to commemorate a milestone
in Armenian music, the birth of Gomidas Vartabed.
Groups in both Turkey and Armenia are preparing to hold a series of
free concerts to mark the 140th birthday of Kütahya-born Gomidas
Vartabed, who is widely recognized as the father of modern Armenian
classical music.
`We want to commemorate Gomidas in the land where he was born,' said
Istanbul University Radio and Television Department student Sayat
DaÄ?lıyan, 23, who helped form the Gomidas Platform.
The commemoratory `Gomidas Liturgical Music' concerts, which were made
possible by a grant from the Istanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture
Agency, will be held Thursday at 9 p.m. at the Surp Yerortutyum
Armenian Church (Ã`ç Horan Armenian Church) in BeyoÄ?lu's Balıkpazarı
and on Nov. 26 at Istanbul Kültür University's Akıngüç Oditorium free
of charge.
The music will be performed by the Kusan 2010 Choir, the descendent of
the original Kusan Choir that Vartabed formed himself over a century
ago, and will be conducted by two Armenian maestros, including the
conductor of Istanbul's Lusavoriç Armenian Choir, Hagop Mamgonyan, and
the conductor of the Karasunmangazs Armenian Choir, Edvin GalipoÄ?lu.
Mamigonyan said the Kusan 2010 Choir would perform a capella and be
composed only of men, as it was in the past.
GalipoÄ?lu, meanwhile, said the choir members were made up of 30
amateurs from different age groups that were all educated in
Istanbul's Armenian choirs.
The choir will perform Vartabed's polyphonic `Badarak' (Divine
Liturgy), which the maestro composed for the Armenian Apostolic Church
but was not completed until its notation by his student in 1933 in
Paris.
The concert will be broadcast live online at www.gomidasplatform.org/live.
Turkish and Armenian youth together
One of the founding members of the Gomidas Platform, Sona MenteÅ?e,
said realizing the project was akin to making a dream come true.
`We learned that the 2010 Istanbul Agency invited an orchestra from
Armenia for Gomidas' birthday but the orchestra was unable to come.
Later, we presented the project and it was accepted. We thank the
agency on behalf of Istanbul's Armenians,' MenteÅ?e said.
At the end of last year DaÄ?lıyan made a short film on Vartabed, titled
`Ä°ncu/Neden.' With the other members of the platform, he has been
organizing the `Blind Photographers Project' since the beginning of
the year for the performance of Vartabed's works.
There are also young Turkish people among the team members. `We
experience the pleasure of doing something together,' DaÄ?lıyan said.
`In this way, we share the universal language of music and love like
Gomidas showed us.'
Mamigonyan and GalipoÄ?lu said they had accelerated their rehearsals
since August.
Noting that there had been disagreements among Armenian choirs,
Mamigonyan said: `Some did not believe us that we would be able to
make it properly. But we, a handful people, wanted to give life to
Vartabed again.'
GalipoÄ?lu agreed with Mamigonyan and said the Armenian Patriarchate
had provided great support to them.
Istanbul's Armenians, who have closed themselves in the past because
of their small numbers and a variety of other problems, have
increasingly started to engage with the wider society. `It is true
that we have opened to society in the cultural field. Some of our
members are interested in politics, too,' said platform member Misak
Hergel. `But the assassination of [Armenian-Turkish journalist] Hrant
Dink discouraged us.'
Gomidas Vartabed
Ethnomusicologist, composer and maestro Gomidas Vartabed was born in
the Aegean province of Kütahya, which is famous for its tiles, in the
middle of the 1800s. Born SoÄ?omon SoÄ?omonyan, Vartabed (which means
priest) was an orphan and was sent to the Armenian Apostolic Central
Church in Armenia to receive a religious education.
Later, he studied music at Berlin University and organized important
conferences there. He is especially known for researching Armenian,
Anatolian and Transcaucasian music, as well as Turkish, Kurdish, Azeri
and Iranian musical forms.
When he recorded Armenian religious music at the beginning of 1900s,
he had problems with Etchmiadzin and the Turkish Armenian
Patriarchate.
He was also one of 230 Armenian intellectuals who were arrested in
Istanbul and deported on April 24, 1915. After witnessing the murder
of a number of friends during the deportation, Vartabed lost his
mental health. He died in 1935 in Paris.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=gomidas-vartabed-to-be-commemorated-in-turkey-on-his-140th-birthday-2010-11-10
From: A. Papazian