Luys i luso

Description

Tigran Hamasyan engages in an extraordinary exploration of Armenian religious music. He has selected hymns and sharakans (liturgical songs from Armenia) as well as songs by Grigor Narekatsi, Nerses Shnorhali, Mesrop Mashtots, Mkhitar Ayrivanetsi, Grigor Pahlavuni, Komitas, and Makar Yekmalyan, arranging them for voice and piano. These pieces, covering a period from the 5th to the 19th century, find a new and dramatic expression thanks to Hamasyan's imaginative and improvisational strength as well as the committed interpretation of the Yerevan State Chamber Choir, the main choir in Armenia. Luys i Luso (Light of Light) was recorded in Yerevan in October 2014, produced by Manfred Eicher, and is released in this year that commemorates the hundred years of the Armenian genocide of 1915. In March 2015, Tigran Hamasyan and the Yerevan State Chamber Choir began a long world tour (Armenia, Georgia, Turkey, Lebanon, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Czech Republic, England, Germany, Luxembourg, Russia, and the United States), performing in churches or places of worship and celebrating the rich musical heritage of Armenia.