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LIBRARY MARKS 500TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ARMENIAN LITERARY TRADITION WITH EXHIBITION, PUBLICATION
States News Service
January 26, 2012 Thursday
The following information was released by the Library of Congress:
In 1512, Hakob Meghapart (Jacob the Sinner) opened an Armenian Press in
Venice, Italy, and published an Armenian religious book, "Urbatagirk"
(the Book of Fridays). The era of Armenian printing had begun.
To mark the quincentenary of this event and UNESCO's designation of
Yerevan, the capital of the Republic of Armenia, as its Book Capital
of the World, 2012, the Library of Congress will open an exhibition,
"To Know Wisdom and Instruction: The Armenian Literary Tradition at the
Library of Congress" on April 19, in the South Gallery of the Thomas
Jefferson Memorial Building. The exhibition will remain on view from
8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Saturday, through Sept. 17.
Drawing from the Armenian collections of the Library of Congress,
the exhibition will display the varieties of the Armenian literary
tradition from the era of manuscripts through the early periods of
print and on to contemporary publishing.
Manuscripts in the exhibition will range from 14th- and 15th-century
gospel books hand-copied by monks to 19th-century works on palmistry
(Constantinople, 1894), fire-fighting (Venice, 1832), cotton production
(Paris, 1859) and the first modern Armenian novel, "Armenia's Wounds,"
by K. Abovyan (1848). The first complete Armenian language printed
Bible from Amsterdam in 1666 will be soon along with a richly
illuminated missal copied in 1722 for the use of the celebrant of
the Armenian liturgy and a rare 19th-century musical manuscript by
Pietro Bianchini, who was the first to transcribe the Armenian liturgy
using European musical notation. A 20th-century Soviet edition of
the Armenian national epic, "David of Sasun" (1962) will also be
on display.
In conjunction with the exhibition, the Library of Congress will
publish an exhibition catalog titled "To Know Wisdom and Instruction:
A Visual Survey of the Armenian Literary Tradition from the Library
of Congress." The catalog was compiled by exhibition curator Levon
Avdoyan, the Library's Armenian and Georgian area specialist in the
Near East Section of the African and Middle Eastern Division. This
100-page softcover book with 75 images is available for $25 in
bookstores nationwide and through the Library of Congress Shop,
www.loc.gov/shop/, (888) 682-3557.
The exhibition and catalog have been made possible through generous
grants from the Dolores Zohrab Leibmann Fund, the Dadian Fund of
the Library of Congress, Roger Strauch and Julie Kulhanjian Strauch,
the Vartkess and Rita Balian Family Foundation and the Sami and Annie
Totah Family Foundation.
The Library will also present a concert in conjunction with the
exhibition. Armenian cellist Narek Hakhnazaryan will perform at 2 p.m.
on Saturday, May 19, in the Coolidge Auditorium of the Thomas Jefferson
building, located at 10 First Street S.E., Washington, D.C.
Hakhnazaryan is a Young Concert Artists laureate who captured the
First Prize and Gold Medal at the 14th International Tchaikovsky
Competition in June 2011. The concert is free and open to the public,
but tickets are required and are available through Ticketmaster at
www.ticketmaster.com (external link).
The Library's African and Middle Eastern Division
(www.loc.gov/rr/amed/) is the center for the study of 78 countries and
regions from Southern Africa to the Maghreb and from the Middle East
and the Caucasus to Central Asia. The division's Near East Section is
a major repository for Armenian language materials on a wide variety
of subjects in varied formats.
Founded in 1800, the Library of Congress is the nation's oldest
federal cultural institution. The Library seeks to spark imagination
and creativity and to further human understanding and wisdom by
providing access to knowledge through its magnificent collections,
programs and exhibitions. Many of the Library's rich resources can
be accessed through it website at www.loc.gov.
States News Service
January 26, 2012 Thursday
The following information was released by the Library of Congress:
In 1512, Hakob Meghapart (Jacob the Sinner) opened an Armenian Press in
Venice, Italy, and published an Armenian religious book, "Urbatagirk"
(the Book of Fridays). The era of Armenian printing had begun.
To mark the quincentenary of this event and UNESCO's designation of
Yerevan, the capital of the Republic of Armenia, as its Book Capital
of the World, 2012, the Library of Congress will open an exhibition,
"To Know Wisdom and Instruction: The Armenian Literary Tradition at the
Library of Congress" on April 19, in the South Gallery of the Thomas
Jefferson Memorial Building. The exhibition will remain on view from
8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Saturday, through Sept. 17.
Drawing from the Armenian collections of the Library of Congress,
the exhibition will display the varieties of the Armenian literary
tradition from the era of manuscripts through the early periods of
print and on to contemporary publishing.
Manuscripts in the exhibition will range from 14th- and 15th-century
gospel books hand-copied by monks to 19th-century works on palmistry
(Constantinople, 1894), fire-fighting (Venice, 1832), cotton production
(Paris, 1859) and the first modern Armenian novel, "Armenia's Wounds,"
by K. Abovyan (1848). The first complete Armenian language printed
Bible from Amsterdam in 1666 will be soon along with a richly
illuminated missal copied in 1722 for the use of the celebrant of
the Armenian liturgy and a rare 19th-century musical manuscript by
Pietro Bianchini, who was the first to transcribe the Armenian liturgy
using European musical notation. A 20th-century Soviet edition of
the Armenian national epic, "David of Sasun" (1962) will also be
on display.
In conjunction with the exhibition, the Library of Congress will
publish an exhibition catalog titled "To Know Wisdom and Instruction:
A Visual Survey of the Armenian Literary Tradition from the Library
of Congress." The catalog was compiled by exhibition curator Levon
Avdoyan, the Library's Armenian and Georgian area specialist in the
Near East Section of the African and Middle Eastern Division. This
100-page softcover book with 75 images is available for $25 in
bookstores nationwide and through the Library of Congress Shop,
www.loc.gov/shop/, (888) 682-3557.
The exhibition and catalog have been made possible through generous
grants from the Dolores Zohrab Leibmann Fund, the Dadian Fund of
the Library of Congress, Roger Strauch and Julie Kulhanjian Strauch,
the Vartkess and Rita Balian Family Foundation and the Sami and Annie
Totah Family Foundation.
The Library will also present a concert in conjunction with the
exhibition. Armenian cellist Narek Hakhnazaryan will perform at 2 p.m.
on Saturday, May 19, in the Coolidge Auditorium of the Thomas Jefferson
building, located at 10 First Street S.E., Washington, D.C.
Hakhnazaryan is a Young Concert Artists laureate who captured the
First Prize and Gold Medal at the 14th International Tchaikovsky
Competition in June 2011. The concert is free and open to the public,
but tickets are required and are available through Ticketmaster at
www.ticketmaster.com (external link).
The Library's African and Middle Eastern Division
(www.loc.gov/rr/amed/) is the center for the study of 78 countries and
regions from Southern Africa to the Maghreb and from the Middle East
and the Caucasus to Central Asia. The division's Near East Section is
a major repository for Armenian language materials on a wide variety
of subjects in varied formats.
Founded in 1800, the Library of Congress is the nation's oldest
federal cultural institution. The Library seeks to spark imagination
and creativity and to further human understanding and wisdom by
providing access to knowledge through its magnificent collections,
programs and exhibitions. Many of the Library's rich resources can
be accessed through it website at www.loc.gov.