Choir-master of the state Chamber Choir “Hover”, Sona Hovhannisyan and Jazzman Vahagn Hayrapetyan will jointly realize a project.
The Honored Masters of Arts of RA, Choir-master of the state Chamber Choir “Hover”, Sona Hovhannisyan and Jazzman Vahagn Hayrapetyan work on a project that will be presented to the audience at the beginning of December.
This news is already “put in circulation” among the musicians. It was not hard to guess that in this case jazz was the joining point of the famous musicians working in the different fields of music. “Aravot” met with them. As for their union perhaps this is the first project but Sona Hovhannisyan and Vahagn Hayrapetyan have walked a long way together started from their student years, Karabakh movement, strikes, performances in Karabakh during the war, when the roads and concerts were accompanied by the shootings of enemies and explosions of landmines…Though there is no need to present these musicians, let’s note that since 1992 “Hover” realizes new programs, moreover, unrepeated ones, thus enriching the palette of the Armenian choir music.
Once Sona Hovhannisyan said to us that the choir always tried innovations- from classic to , in her words, “the most ragtag” and added that the last works used in its good sense. As for art of Vahagn Hayrapetyan, when he was a pianist, National Artist of Russia Daniel Kramen and the Armenian jazzman played a duet, during the conversation with us Kramen said about the jazzman;
“I am a classic musician, who came to jazz, and Vahagn was born as a jazzman. I do not play everything as well as the inborn jazzman does. We are not alike, and is our success.”
Let us note also, that the first concert of the 4th musical festival after Aram Khachatryan launched on October 6 was titled “Khachatryan and the Jazz”, in which jazzmen pianist Vahagn Hayrapetyan, saxophonist Armen Husnunts with the two state collectives of Armenia – the Young and the Jazz Choir performed Khachatrya’s works by jazz interpretations. Touching upon the concert to be held at the beginning of December, Sona Hovhannisyan noted that the ten songs which would be performed are selected from the two extensive works of Alisa Pahlevanyan, professor at the State Conservatoire after Komitas.
“Those ten works will b played for the first time. The melodic flexibility and the meaning attracted me, i.e. the different states of mind – love, simple human relations, humor, etc,” said the jazzman. Note that even since the age of 16 he started performing Armenian songs by jazz interpretation, if we are not mistaken, the first one was “Aman Telon” and what jazz interpretations the still unheard folk songs were subjected, Vahagn said that the new elaborated wors , in his words, are still an untrodden path.
“We have chosen that path, which is also honorable and how many folk, national material we do have that should be dug out, find and present…”
To the observation that perhaps one of the reason of turning to the folk music is that no one may surprise the world or any other jazzman by traditional jazz performances, the jazzman replied,
“We present but not surprise. And we will present these ten songs in the vanguard- folk genre.”
Vahagn Hayrapetyan informed also that actually as a jazzman it was the first cooperation with a choir. And Sona Hayrapetyan noted,” The elaboration by Vahagn were implemented so quickly and smoothly that directly said there is nothing artificial in that music I am sure the audience will confirm by listening to it.”
During the conversation Sona Hovhannisyan touched upon the evening party dedicated to the 80th anniversary of Moscow -based Alexander Mnatskanyan, member of the USSR composer’s union. ”
This is also musicologist AlinaMnatsakanyan’s idea. Alexander Mntsakanyan was the only Armenian PhD student of Shestakovich. We, the “Hover”, participated in the concert, as well as musicians from Saint Petersburg. The local Choir of the conservatoire arrived in Armenia,” informed the choir- master.
SAVMEL DANIELYAN
“Aravot”
03.11.2016
