Ararat
A composition for wind ensemble exploring a wide array of
Armenian musical
traditions
The
piece will be grade 5 or 6: there won't be too many extremes in register,
but there will be complex rhythms, non-Western pitch sets, and styles
of playing that will be unfamiliar to many performers
The consortium buy-in is $200.
Consortium members will receive:
-A PDF copy of the score and parts
-Name and institution listed in the inside cover
-Exclusive performance rights through December 2023
To
my knowledge, this will be the first band piece depicting Armenian
music that is not an arrangement of folk songs (and one of only
a few band pieces that has been written by somebody with Armenian ancestry).
For
most people, "Armenia" + "band music" likely evokes Alfred
Reed. While Reed did consult Harry Begian during the creation of
"Armenian Dances" (and while many people love the composition), he did not do a very effective job of actually
representing what Armenian music sounds like. Reed used Armenian
melodies (arrangements of
Armenian folk songs by Komitas Vardapet) but he avoided songs that
sounded too blatantly "Middle Eastern", and he gave the melodies
European
tonal settings. Many of these songs were stripped of their
original mood, context, tempo, phrase length, tonal center, and/or
harmonic language.
While
Komitas is venerated by Armenians, his catalog of folk song
transcriptions and arrangements is only one small portion of Armenia's
musical tradition.
"Ararat" will reflect the vastness and constant evolution of Armenian
music and culture:
while it will have music that is based
on makams,
evokes traditional folk songs, uses traditional ornaments and rhythmic
patterns, and
imitates the timbre and playing style of Armenian instruments, it will
also incorporate Armenian pop music, kef music, and rhythmic
concepts influenced by Armenian jazz musician Tigran Hamasyan.
Music and
culture are
complex entities that are constantly changing, and there is no individual composition that can
come close to adequately representing an entire culture or ethinicity
(as a
member of the diaspora who is only half-Armenian, has blond hair, a
non-Armenian last
name, and the Armenian language skills of a toddler, I would certainly
not be the best person to serve as a token Armenian anyway). That said,
I
expect this piece to convey many of the things that make Armenian music
special with a degree of scope, rigor, and subtlety that has yet to be
done in the wind band medium.
My
hope is that (like Mount Ararat) though this piece might currently
exist
outside of the boundaries of the country of Armenia, it will still be
instantly identifiable to Armenians as something that is our own: full
of passion, playfulness, deep soulful mournfulness, and intensely
energetic resilient joy.