Music of Armenia
The music of Armenia (Armenian: հայկական երաժշտություն haykakan yerazhshtut’yun) has its origins in the Armenian highlands, dating back to the 3rd millennium BCE,[1][2] and is a long-standing musical tradition that encompasses diverse secular and religious, or sacred, music (such as the sharakan Armenian chant and taghs, along with the indigenous khaz musical notation).[1][2][3] 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.[4][5] 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.[1]
Popular music[edit]
Pop music[edit]
Armenian popular songs have been performed by famous Soviet-era performers such as Ruben Matevosyan, Ofelya Hambardzumyan, Varduhi Khachatryan, and Papin Poghosyan. Suzan Yakar and Udi Hrant Kenkulian were famous cabaret performers in Turkey during the 1920s and 1930s. Other representatives of Soviet-era and modern Armenian pop music include Bella Darbinyan, Raisa Mkrtchyan, and the more contemporary vocal performers such as Elvina Makaryan, Erna Yuzbashyan, Nadezhda Sargsyan, Zara Tonikyan, Syuzan Margaryan, and Datevik Hovanesian. Armenian male pop performers include Ruben Hakhverdyan and diasporan artists Adiss Harmandian, Paul Baghdadlian, Manuel Menengichian and Maxim Panossian. Harout Pamboukjian is a widely popular Soviet Armenian-born singer that currently lives in Los Angeles.[14]
In the 2000s, pop singers such as Sirusho and André represented Armenia in the Eurovision Song Contest. Other popular pop singers include Hasmik Karapetyan, Արսեն Սաֆարյան, and Arsen Grigoryan.
Armenian musicians from the Diaspora[edit]
There is a large number of musicians of Armenian descent or origin but living (or born) outside of Armenia.
In France, the artist Charles Aznavour (born Aznavourian), of Armenian descent, has been known for his shows and songs over the course of decades.[30] System of a Down, an internationally popular alternative metal band from the United States, was formed by Daron Malakian, Serj Tankian, Shavo Odadjian and John Dolmayan, all of whom are of Armenian American descent. Tankian has also released several solo albums with political and socially conscious content. Occasional SOAD collaborator Arto Tunçboyacıyan is a well known Turkish musician of Armenian descent, who is famous in Turkey and worldwide, and currently has his own jazz club in Yerevan, Armenia. He was the founder of the Armenian Navy Band.
Keyboardist Derek Sherinian is a well-known rock keyboardist who has played with Alice Cooper, Kiss, and Dream Theater, amongst others. Andy Madadian is an Iranian Armenian artist, and Vigen Derderian is an Iranian Armenian jazz and pop singer. Armik, an Iranian Armenian flamenco guitarist and composer, is a well-known virtuoso of the new flamenco genre. Armenian-American multi-instrumentalist Danny Bedrosian has been the main keyboardist for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-inducted band, George Clinton's Parliament-Funkadelic (also known as P-Funk), since 2003. George Mgrdichian, born and raised in New York City, was an Armenian American musician who played several instruments in the jazz genre, including the oud and clarinet.[31]
André Manoukian is a French songwriter and jazz pianist of Armenian descent. He served as a judge on the French version of Pop Idol, Nouvelle Star, for 12 seasons. In 2015, he accompanied Syrian-Armenian singer Lena Chamamyan in the production of modern renditions of Armenian folk songs such as Sareri Hovin Mernem and Moutn'er.[32]
Lena Chamamyan is a Syrian-Armenian singer-songwriter who has become famous for her modernized jazz renditions of traditional Arabic and Armenian folk songs.[33] In 2014, she served as a jury member in "Tsovits Tsov – ArmVision 2014", an international contest for Armenian music at the Kremlin Theatre in Moscow.[34]
Armenian-American Taline and Friends group have played a major role in developing Armenian language skills for children worldwide since the early 1990s.[35]
Other Armenian musicians include Ara Topouzian who performs on the kanon and VANArmenya,[36] who sings both folk, children's and patriotic songs, performs on keyboards, and promotes the music of "the other Gomidas," Grikor Mirzaian Suni.[37]