The Naghash Ensemble

Last updated

The Naghash Ensemble
Origin Yerevan, Armenia
GenresNew Classical, Armenian folk
Instruments Duduk, oud, dhol, piano
Years active2010–present
LabelsEpiphany Records, Available Forms Music
MembersHasmik Baghdasaryan (soprano), Tatevik Movsesyan (soprano), Arpine Ter-Petrosyan (alto), Tigran Hovhannisyan (dhol), Aram Nikoghosyan (oud), Emmanuel Hovhannisyan (duduk), John Hodian (piano/composer)
Website www.naghashensemble.com
John Hodian in 2014 John Hodian.jpg
John Hodian in 2014

The Naghash Ensemble is a contemporary music ensemble from Armenia featuring three female singers, duduk, oud, dhol and piano. They perform new music written by Armenian-American composer John Hodian based on sacred texts by the medieval Armenian mystic poet and priest, Mkrtich Naghash. Described as "The sound of ancient Armenia reinvented for the 21st century" [1] by Armenian composer Tigran Mansurian, Hodian's "Songs of Exile" combines "the earthy spirituality of Armenian folk song, new classical music, contemporary post-minimalism and the energy of rock and jazz". [2]

Contents

History

Inspiration and text

In the book accompanying The Naghash Ensemble's first CD, "Songs of Exile, Volume I," John Hodian describes the origins of the ensemble. In 2006, he had heard soprano Hasmik Baghdasaryan singing medieval Armenian spiritual music in the ancient temple of Garni, Armenia. Fascinated by the sound of her voice and the acoustics of the temple, he vowed to write music that would use this sound in a new way. After several years of searching for texts he felt would match the spiritual quality of the music he was hearing in his head, he found a fragment of a poem written by the 15-century Armenian poet and priest Mkrtich Naghash. [3] The poem "Composed in Exile" deals with the tragedy of life in exile from an Armenian perspective. Mkrtich Naghash only left 16 poems behind, and John Hodian set all of them to music. [4]

Instrumentation

In 2010, John Hodian founded The Naghash Ensemble to premiere "Songs of Exile". Choosing the instrumentation for this project intuitively, he combined "formal elements such as piano and strings balanced by Armenian folk instruments such as dhol, duduk and oud". [5] He initially wrote the music for five female vocalists, duduk, oud, dhol and string quartet. For the international touring version of the ensemble, he kept the duduk, oud, dhol, cut the five vocalists down to three and rearranged the string parts for piano. [6]

In December 2017, The Naghash Ensemble premiered an orchestral version of "Songs of Exile" in collaboration with the SYOA orchestra at the Yerevan Opera Theater in Armenia. [7] This orchestral version allows for a collaboration between The Naghash Ensemble and any-size string sections. The European premiere of this project took place on 2 August 2019 with the South Czech Philharmonic at the International Music Festival Český Krumlov. [8]

Touring

Since 2014, the ensemble has been touring regularly in Europe, including performances in France, Belgium, The Netherlands, (Germany), Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania and Armenia. [9] The ensemble plays at classical music venues, sacred music festivals, world music series as well as rock and jazz festivals.

Their concerts have been described as "a moment of grace and meditation" [10] (Rolling Stone), "[a] sacred beauty that incites a mixture of joy and ecstasy" [11] (Trans Musicales) and "music that is foreign and familiar, earthy and otherworldly" [12] (WDR 3).

CDs and Books

The Naghash Ensemble's first CD, forming the first volume of the three-volume project "Songs of Exile" was published in 2014, followed by the ensemble's first international tour. The second CD "Songs of Exile, Volume II: Credos & Convictions" followed in 2016. The third CD, "Songs of Exile, Volume III: Lamentations & Benedictions" was released in late 2019.

The German radio station BR Klassik describes the ensemble's second CD as an "intersection of classical music, jazz, folk and post-minimalism", [13] with "music that draws from old and new worlds, from everything John Hodian encountered on his way from Philadelphia to New York and Yerevan, and which forms something like a musical home to him. It's equally influenced by Bach, Steve Reich and Joni Mitchell, as it is by the Armenian music he grew up listening to at his parents' home." [14]

Current members

Discography

Albums

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Music of Armenia</span>

The music of Armenia has its origins in the Armenian highlands, dating back to the 3rd millennium BCE, and is a long-standing musical tradition that encompasses diverse secular and religious, or sacred, music. Folk music was notably collected and transcribed by Komitas Vardapet, a prominent composer and musicologist, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, who is also considered the founder of the modern Armenian national school of music. Armenian music has been presented internationally by numerous artists, such as composers Aram Khachaturian, Alexander Arutiunian, Arno Babajanian, Haig Gudenian, and Karen Kavaleryan as well as by traditional performers such as duduk player Djivan Gasparyan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mariss Jansons</span> Latvian conductor (1943–2019)

Mariss Ivars Georgs Jansons was a Latvian conductor, best known for his interpretations of Mahler, Strauss, and Russian composers such as Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, and Shostakovich. During his lifetime he was often cited as among the world's leading conductors; in a 2015 Bachtrack poll, he was ranked by music critics as the world's third best living conductor. Jansons was long associated with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra as music director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Komitas</span> Armenian composer and religious figure

Soghomon Soghomonian, ordained and commonly known as Komitas, was an Ottoman-Armenian priest, musicologist, composer, arranger, singer, and choirmaster, who is considered the founder of the Armenian national school of music. He is recognized as one of the pioneers of ethnomusicology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Culture of Armenia</span>

The culture of Armenia encompasses many elements that are based on the geography, literature, architecture, dance, and music of the Armenian people. Armenia is a majority Christian country in the Caucasus.

Arto Tunchboyachyan is an Armenian American avant-garde folk and jazz multi-instrumentalist and singer of Armenian descent. He fronts his own group called the Armenian Navy Band, and is also a member of the instrumental quartet Night Ark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tölzer Knabenchor</span> German boys choir

The Tölzer Knabenchor is a German boys' choir named after the Upper Bavarian city of Bad Tölz. Since 1971, the group has been based in Munich. The choir is internationally recognised for its programming and direction, having been nominated for a Grammy Award in 1983.

The Shoghaken Folk Ensemble is an Armenian musical group that performs and records Armenian folk and ashugh (troubadour) music. The ensemble was founded in 1991 in Yerevan. It has since performed in various countries, including France, Germany, Estonia, Russia, and the United Arab Emirates. In the US, they performed at an eighteen-concert 2004 tour and at the 2002 Folklife Festival as part of the Silk Road project organized by Yo-Yo Ma. The ensemble was also featured on the soundtrack to the Atom Egoyan film Ararat. In 2008, Shoghaken gave concerts during their second major tour of the US and Canada; the tour coincided with the release of the ensemble's latest CD, Shoghaken Ensemble: Music From Armenia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kissinger Sommer</span> Classical music festival

The Kissinger Sommer is a classical music festival held every year in the summer in the city of Bad Kissingen in Bavaria, Southern Germany.

The Munich Radio Orchestra is a German symphony broadcast orchestra based in Munich. It is one of the two orchestras affiliated with the Bavarian Radio, the other being the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Munich Chamber Orchestra</span> German chamber orchestra

The Munich Chamber Orchestra is a German chamber orchestra based in Munich. Its primary concert venue is the Prinzregententheater, Munich. The MKO also gives concerts in Munich at such venues as the Pinakothek der Moderne and the Schwere Reiter, and at the Muffathalle during the Munich Biennale.

The ALEA Ensemble is a chamber music ensemble founded in 1988 in Graz for contemporary music, playing in variable formation including the ALEA Quartet.

The Gurdjieff Folk Instruments Ensemble based in Armenia was founded in 2008, and is led by the Armenian musician, Levon Eskenian. The Ensemble’s awards include the prestigious Dutch Edison Award: Best World Music Album 2012 and Armenian National Music Award: Best Folk Music Album 2011, for their album, “Music of Georges I. Gurdjieff,’’ produced by ECM Records. The ensemble consists of Armenia’s leading practitioners of traditional music performing on Duduk, Blul, Kamancha, Oud, Kanōn, Santur, Tar/Saz, Dap/Daf, Dhol, and Tombak. The repertoire is composed of the “mystic and spiritual teacher,” George I. Gurdjieff's Armenian, Greek, Assyrian, Arabic, Kurdish, Caucasian spiritual and folk music, authentically arranged for Eastern instruments by Eskenian. The repertoire also includes additional Eastern music that exemplifies Gurdjieff’s musical influences during his travels in the East.

Armenian folk music is a genre of Armenian music. It usually uses the duduk, the kemenche, and the oud. It is very similar to folk music in the Caucasus and shares many similar songs and traditions with countries around Armenia, namely Georgia and Azerbaijan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moscow International Duduk Festival</span> Annual music festival

The Moscow International Duduk Festival, MIDF is an international annual music festival of Armenian national musical instrument of Duduk held in Moscow.

Mkrtich Naghash was an Armenian painter, poet, and priest. He served as Archbishop of Diarbekr.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wassily Gerassimez</span> German cellist and composer

Wassily Gerassimez is a German cellist and composer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swallow Music Awards</span>

Swallow Music Awards is an annual national music awards ceremony first held in Yerevan, Armenia, on 25 March 2017. The awards are created and sponsored by RA Ministry of Culture to appreciate and spur the activities of individuals and creators of various genres of Armenian musical art, as well as to display the significant achievements in the field of music to the broader layers of society. The awards consist of four parts: achievements in classical genre, folk genre, mass pop genre, and special/other awards. During the ceremony artists are given the awards designed by Armenian painter and designer Arman Nur. Each year, the award ceremony airs live on Public Television company of Armenia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elisabeth Brauss</span> German pianist

Elisabeth Brauss is a German pianist.

Konstantía Gourzí is a Greek composer and conductor. She is professor of ensemble conducting and new music at the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich.

Gitti Pirner is a German classical pianist and professor emeritus of the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich.

References

  1. ↑ "The Naghash Ensemble of Armenia". THE NAGHASH ENSEMBLE. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
  2. ↑ "The Naghash Ensemble music, videos, stats, and photos". Last.fm. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  3. ↑ Songs of Exile, Volume I. Available Forms Music. 2014.
  4. ↑ "The Naghash Ensemble of Armenia". THE NAGHASH ENSEMBLE. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  5. ↑ "KHACHATURIAN – FEST: The Naghash Ensemble" . Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  6. ↑ Rundfunk, Bayerischer (6 December 2016). "CD – Naghash Ensemble: Songs of Exile, Vol. II | BR-Klassik". www.br-klassik.de (in German). Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  7. ↑ "Unit of postmodernism, classic music, rock and jazz". A1plus "A1+" TV. 27 November 2017. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  8. ↑ "The Naghash Ensemble of Armenia, South Czech Philharmonic – "Songs of Exile"". International Music Festival Český Krumlov. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  9. ↑ "The Naghash Ensemble: On Tour". The Naghash Ensemble. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  10. ↑ Manzinali, Baptiste (10 December 2018). "Du groove comme jamais aux Transmusicales de Rennes". Rolling Stone France (in French). Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  11. ↑ "Les Trans: The Naghash Ensemble" . Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  12. ↑ "Klanglandschaft Armenien: The Naghash Ensemble – 23.01.2019". www1.wdr.de (in German). 19 December 2018. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  13. ↑ Rundfunk, Bayerischer (6 December 2016). "CD – Naghash Ensemble: Songs of Exile, Vol. II | BR-Klassik". www.br-klassik.de (in German). Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  14. ↑ Rundfunk, Bayerischer (6 December 2016). "CD – Naghash Ensemble: Songs of Exile, Vol. II | BR-Klassik". www.br-klassik.de (in German). Retrieved 18 May 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.