| Monument to KomitasKomitas was one of the most renowned Armenian Churchmen and musician. He wrote over three thousand songs in Armenian, Arabic, Kurdish, and Persian, and also contributed significantly to the modern Armenian Patarak. His main contribution was to rediscover Armenian folk music. His work in arranging and collating the folk music he had collected over the years eventually became excellent songs for chorus music, and made the public aware of the existence of true Armenian music. In addition to the folk music, Komitas arranged the entire music of the Divine Liturgy (Patarak) of the Armenian Church, for male voices. The internationally known priest was the first non-European to be a member of the International Music Society. Komitas performed concerts in Paris, Geneva, Berne, Constantinople, Venice, and Alexandria.
After the April 24, 1915 massacres of the Armenian people by the Turks, he succumbed to mental and physical anguish and never fully recovered. Komitas lived as if a walking corpse for the next twenty years. The revered holy man died in Paris on October 22, 1935 in a mental hospital. One year after his death his ashes were transferred to Yerevan and interred in the Yerevan Panthenon. In the 1950’s his manuscripts were transported from Paris to Yerevan where they were being studied and published. The name of Komitas today is directly or indirectly present in all the different and at times unexpected occurrences. At present one of the oldest and favorite green spots of Yerevan, the Park of Komitas, carries the name of Komitas; it was designed by architect M.Mazmanyan. Here one can find the city Pantheon, the burial place for famous leaders of Armenian culture: musicians, painters, poets, writers, theater and movie actors. Yerevan Conservatory is the only musical institution of higher education in Armenia which in 1946 was named after Komitas. Statue of Komitas is situated outside the Komitas Conservatory. |
