The idea for The Naghash Ensemble came when I first heard Hasmik Baghdasaryan singing in the ancient pre-Christian Temple of Garni outside of Yerevan, Armenia. She was singing medieval Armenian spiritual music, and her voice was astounding. Adding to my sense of awe were the unique acoustics of Garni and the beauty of the surroundings. The sound haunted me for days afterward, and I became determined to compose something that would use this sound in a new way. 

I had a clear picture of the type of music I wanted to create for Hasmik’s voice, but it took years to discover the right text. Researching in libraries in Yerevan, New York, and Berlin, I finally came across a small fragment of the medieval Armenian poet Mkrtich Naghash, whose words leaped off the page and into my soul. I knew I had found my text!

Naghash was a priest first and foremost, and his poetry was an outgrowth of his sermons. His powerful poems on the plight of the ghareeb (the exiled) were of particular interest to me. Being of Armenian descent and the grandson of Genocide survivors, the sad state of the ghareeb was something that I, and many diasporan Armenians, can relate to. Though written in the fifteenth century it is amazing how timeless Naghash’s texts are in light of these troubling times. In Yerevan, I was able to track down the remaining fourteen poems. After agonizing over which of these texts to use, I resolved to set all of them to music.

A unique trait of Naghash’s use of language is that it addresses both the elite and the underprivileged. His scathing words of warning are directed at the powerful as well as the common man. In many of these poems, Naghash stresses that no matter who we are, we are all headed for the same "home," meaning the afterlife. Tellingly, Naghash often aims his words of warning at himself.

Without a specific ensemble in mind (other than Hasmik’s voice), I let the texts dictate the music. The instrumentation was chosen intuitively but, in retrospect, proved to be a perfect complement to the words as it contains formal elements (piano and voice) balanced by the earthy sounds of Armenian folk instruments (duduk, dhol, and oud).

Through perseverance and good luck, I was able to assemble some of the finest musicians and singers in Armenia. All of them have a deep knowledge of Armenian folk and spiritual music but were trained at the State Conservatory of Yerevan and can play or sing anything. Each member brings something truly unique to the sound of the ensemble, and I continue to be amazed by their transcendent abilities as musicians and human beings. 

We are delighted to be coming back to North America this November.

Photo by saLeh roZati