The Music of Armenia, Vol. 6: Nagorno-Karabakh by Various Artists

Tracks:
Shushi - Ludmila Grigorian
Karabakhi Ayayi Orhnank - Elmira Harutunian
Mair Araksi Aperov - Levon Sargissian
Kenats Yerg (Song of Praise) - Artsakhi Balikner
Medley: Karabakhi Horovel/Grief of the Karabakhi Women/Khnotsu Yerg: Karabakhi Horovel / Grief Of The Karabakhi Women / Khnotsu Yerg - Vladimir Ovchyan/Larisa Sargissian
Veradarts (Return) - Ludmila Grigorian
Hayastan (Look at My Tears, Armenia) - Irina Pirumian/Simon Sargissian
Artsakhi Sharakan - Janna Aivazian
Shushi - Vararakn
Tasnechors (Fourteen) - Elmira Harutunian
Avo - Artsakhi Balikner
Hai Agchik Karabakhi - Vazgen Meliksetian
Tgha-Tgha (Boy, Boy) - Janna Aivazian
Siretsi Yares Taran (They Took My Lover Away) - Levon Sargissian
Im Karabakh (My Karabakh) - Elmira Harutunian
Haireni Artsakh (Motherland Artsakh) - Ludmila Grigorian
Gandzasar - Janna Aivazian
Bekor (Motherland Artsakh) - Artsakhi Balikner
Karabakhi Ayan (Old Woman of Karabakh) - Larisa Sargissian
Hymn of Arsakh, The - Vararakn

Performer Notes :

• Full title: The Music Of Armenia, Volume Six: Nagorno-Karabakh.
• Personnel: Vladimir Ovchyan, Ludmila Grigorian, Elmira Harutunian, Vazgen Meliksetian, Irina Pirumian, Larisa Sargissian, Janna Aivazian (vocals); Gela Sahakian (kamancha); Jora Nasibian, Edik Astsatryan (duduk); Simon Sargissian (piano).
• Liner Note Author: John A. Schaefer.
• Recording information: Nagorno-Karabakh.
• Photographer: Kay Parsons.
• Translator: Marina Aivazian.
• Unknown Contributor Role: Gela Sahakian.
• The final volume of Celestial Harmonies' Music of Armenia series provides a look into the musical culture of the Nagorno-Karabakh region, the region that has been the scene of the heaviest fighting between Armenians and Azerbajanis. The liner notes provide something of a disclaimer to the effect of "although the musicians featured on the album are amateurs, they're pretty good considering the conditions they live in." As it happens though, the musicians are actually quite good regardless of the conditions. The music featured on the album is primarily vocal music, and mainly from the folk traditions. In some pieces it is a solo vocalist with accompaniment that provides a haunting melody, and in other pieces a children's choir or a women's choir (though the women's choir was originally a mixed choir, all of the men have left for the fighting fronts). Some of the choir bits are reminiscent of various forms of Western European chant, and also entirely Armenian at times. This is definitely a music informed by the Eastern European traditions, but at the same time, it is a music set apart by the geographic boundaries of the encircling mountains as well as the political boundaries raised by the fighting in the region. It is an interesting look at a generally overlooked music culture. Pick it up for curiosity about the vocal styles, or for curiosity about the lives of the Karabakhs outside of the fighting usually portrayed. ~ Adam Greenberg

Professional Reviews : Dirty Linen (12/97-1/98, p.73) - "...All 20 tracks - two tar (lute) solos and 18 songs - are performed by amateur singers and musicians. Their work is filled with passion and fervor and makes for a riveting listening experience. ...The album features both traditional and contemporary material..."

Producer : David Parsons, Ashot Boghossian, Kay Parsons

Format : CD (1 Disc); Stereo

Country : (not USA)

Studio/Live : Studio

Release Date : 1 April, 1997

Label : Celestial Harmonies Records

Dimensions : 12.5 x 14.2 x 1 centimeters (0.11 kg)