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Komitas Vardapet

Born: 8th October 1869, Kütahya, Turkey

Died: 22nd October 1935, Paris, France

Nationality: Armenian

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.

Orphaned at a young age, Komitas was taken to Etchmiadzin, Armenia's religious center, where he received education at the Gevorgian Seminary. Following his ordination as vardapet (celibate priest) in 1895, he studied music at the Frederick William University in Berlin. He thereafter "used his Western training to build a national tradition".

Further Reading: Vardapet

  • Kirill Gerstein on Music in Time of War

    8th Jul 2024by Katherine Cooper

    The Russian-American pianist discusses his new album of music which Debussy and Komitas composed in the wake of the outbreak of World War One and the Armenian genocide respectively - exploring why music written in dark times so often contains 'an incredible amount of exuberance, kaleidoscopic colour and life-affirmation'.

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