Armenian Songs Album
Posted: Wednesday, January 14, 2009
by Mike Nalbandyan
Armenian Books Club
In this nice book compiled by K. Safrazyan the reader can find the lyrics of Armenian ashugh, folk, academic, and pop songs. When the folk song moved through the schools from village to town, and established its roots there, Armenian minstrels started to play and compose songs using folk idioms, in accordance with the style of the time. Self-taught musicians are the bridge between the genuine folk tradition and the educated minstrel school. The name of the author is known in songs which have memorable subjects. Such songs are composed by the gousans, ordinary, wandering, or unlettered poet singers who, after narrating the incident, give their names in the last stanza. But in time, when the song gets older, the author is forgotten or mistaken for another singer, because the song itself is what interests the peasant and not the author; the author can be this person today, another tomorrow.
Epic songs, which are dedicated to the praise of a hero. Funeral songs dedicated to the memory of victims of accidents and disasters. This type includes tragic laments, and wailing songs for the dead.
Wedding songs, which are sung during various wedding rituals, after the marriage ceremony.
Songs of nature, which are the most colorful and interesting.
The songs in this book are systematized in five departments: Traditional Songs, Gusan songs (with subdivisions for Sayat-Nova, Shirin, Miskin-Burdji, Jivani, Sheram, Havasi, Ashot, Shahen, Igit), Classic and Contemporary Composers (in which 29 songs of Komitas Vardapet the founder of Armenian classical music, are gathered under separate title), and Self-Taught Composers.
In this songbook the most popular and beloved Armenian songs are presented. Old and new, in Eastern and Western Armenian languages the scale is very large. This publication is strongly recommended for professional and amateur singers, for all those, who love Armenian culture and music. It can serve as a good present.
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Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)a very good book ireally liked it
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