YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 26, ARMENPRESS. The official opening ceremony of “Komitas” symposium-festival took place at Aram Khachatryan concert hall, supported by the Ministries of Culture, Education and Science and State Committee of Science.

Musicians from Armenia, France and Japan performed during the festival. Original pieces of Komitas were also performed. The organizers stated that it is a principle for them to present the original pieces of Komitas.

In the words of the Director of “Komitas” Institute-Museum Nikolay Konstandyan, the symposium-festival is an unprecedented event in the history of Komitas studies and Armenian music in terms of broad inclusion of international prominent scientists and reports.

“Already traditional Komitas festival has acquired an international format. The internationalization of the festival is important in the sense that we present our culture to the wider world. It is not accidental that there was an international format during the lifetime of Komitas as well, and he also presented the Armenian culture to Western European and other countries. And today, expanding the limits of the festival, we include musicians and scientists aiming to familiarize the world with Komitas’s heritage”, “Armenpress” reports Nikolay Konstandyan saying. He added that it is not right to say that the heritage left by Komitas has not been studied, but still it has much room to be examined.

Musicologist Mher Navoyan told the reporters that significant measures are taken to internationalize Komitas’s heritage and this festival has been organized in that logic.

Referring to the importance of the festival, Mher Navoyan mentioned that musicians from overseas visiting this festival prepare a playlist of Komitas and other Armenian musicians, which they later perform in their countries.

The festival headlined “medieval musical culture” is dedicated to the 25th anniversary of Armenia’s independence. It will be held on September 27 at “Komitas” Institute-Museum, on September 28-29 at Haghpat Monastery. The closure of the symposium-festival will take place on October 8. 

Photos by Mkhitar Khachatryan