Armenian priest and folksong collector, Komitas Vardapet (1869-1935), wrote down the words and tunes of Armenian folksongs and those of a few other ethnic groups as well. He wrote new choral arrangements for some of them for more formal singing. He also wrote original compositions based on the traditional music that he studied. He was imprisoned during WWI and, although he was released, he never fully recovered from what he had suffered. Some of the songs he wrote or arranged have become symbolically tied to that period. “Andouni,” a song of longing for the homeland that predates WWI, is a folksong that Komitas arranged for voice. This version, sung by Ruben J. Baboyan, may be Komitas’s arrangement of the original tune. Today the song is sung to a different tune, usually in an operatic style, as it has become emblematic of the Armenian diaspora and loss of life during WWI. blogs.loc.gov
It wasn’t just WWI during which he was imprisoned. He was imprisoned during the Armenian Genocide and after witnessing all the horrors of the Genocide he went mad. Please, call things what they are.
Dear Mariam, we think you should address your remark to blogs.loc.gov, i.e. the website we have taken this song (and the relevant introduction) from. Anyway, we accept your remark. As you can see, this song is part of a large "song itinerary" specially focused on the Armenian genocide. Thank you.
Dle yaman
Armenian folksong preserved by Komitas Vardapet.
Canzone popolare armena raccolta da Komitas Vardapet.
Non si sa esattamente che cosa significhi Dle yaman; sicuramente non è armeno. In arabo, Yaman è il nome dello Yemen: una melodia (e una storia) di derivazione araba? Yaman è anche il nome di una città dell'Iran; ma l'ambientazione, persino con il monte Ararat, è armena. Si tratta, probabilmente, della canzone popolare più nota nell'intera lingua armena.
E' una delle centinaia di canzoni popolari raccolte da Komitas Vardapet (o Vardabet), ovvero "Padre Komitas" dato che vardapet è un titolo religioso della chiesa armena, di cui egli era sacerdote. Padre Komitas, musicista di valore, la rielaborò affinché potesse essere eseguita e conosciuta da tutti gli armeni. Nella tragica storia d'amore della canzone fu immediatamente vista una precisa metafora della storia armena, tanto... (continua)
Cerco disperatamente lo spartito di questo meraviglioso brano. Lo trovo incredibilmente commovente... Vorrei tanto cantarlo come un mantra, un canto mistico che porti pace oltre la sofferenza.. chi può aiutarmi?
Andouni (Homeless)
Testo trovato qui
Armenian priest and folksong collector, Komitas Vardapet (1869-1935), wrote down the words and tunes of Armenian folksongs and those of a few other ethnic groups as well. He wrote new choral arrangements for some of them for more formal singing. He also wrote original compositions based on the traditional music that he studied. He was imprisoned during WWI and, although he was released, he never fully recovered from what he had suffered. Some of the songs he wrote or arranged have become symbolically tied to that period. “Andouni,” a song of longing for the homeland that predates WWI, is a folksong that Komitas arranged for voice. This version, sung by Ruben J. Baboyan, may be Komitas’s arrangement of the original tune. Today the song is sung to a different tune, usually in an operatic style, as it has become emblematic of the Armenian diaspora and loss of life during WWI.
blogs.loc.gov