Sayat-Nova (

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

: Սայեաթ-Նովայ ( сlassical), Սայաթ-Նովա (

reformed Reform is beneficial change. Reform, reformed or reforming may also refer to: Media * ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang * Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group * ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine Places * Reform, Al ...

); ka, საიათნოვა; ; ; born Harutyun Sayatyan; 14 June 1712 – 22 September 1795) was an Armenian poet, musician and '' ashugh'', who had compositions in a number of languages.

Name

The name Sayat-Nova has been given several interpretations. One version reads the name as "Lord of Song" (from Arabic ''sayyid'' and Persian ''nava'') or "King of Songs". Others read the name as grandson (Persian ''neve'') of Sayad or hunter (''sayyad'') of song. Charles Dowsett considers all these derivations to be unlikely and proposes the reading New Time (from Arabic ''sa'at'' and Russian ''nova'') instead.

Biography

Sayat-Nova's mother, Sara, was born in

Tiflis Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

, and his father, Karapet, either in Aleppo or

Adana Adana is a large city in southern Turkey. The city is situated on the Seyhan River, inland from the northeastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea. It is the administrative seat of the Adana Province, Adana province, and has a population of 1 81 ...

. He was born in Tiflis. Sayat-Nova was skilled in writing poetry, singing, and playing the

kamancheh The kamancheh (also kamānche or kamāncha) (, , , ) is an Iranian bowed string instrument used in Persian, Azerbaijani, Armenian, Kurdish, Georgian, Turkmen, and Uzbek music with slight variations in the structure of the instrument. Th ...

, Chonguri and Tambur. He lost his

social position Social position is the position of an individual in a given society and culture. A given position (for example, the occupation of ''priest'') may belong to many individuals. Definition Stanley Wasserman and Katherine Faust Stanley cautioned ...

at the

royal court A royal court, often called simply a court when the royal context is clear, is an extended royal household in a monarchy, including all those who regularly attend on a monarch, or another central figure. Hence, the word ''court'' may also be app ...

when he fell in love with Heraclius II's sister Ana. He spent the rest of his life as an itinerant

bard In Celtic cultures, a bard is an oral repository and professional story teller, verse-maker, music composer, oral historian and genealogist, employed by a patron (such as a monarch or chieftain) to commemorate one or more of the patron's a ...

. In 1759 he was ordained as a priest in the

Armenian Apostolic Church The Armenian Apostolic Church () is the Autocephaly, autocephalous national church of Armenia. Part of Oriental Orthodoxy, it is one of the most ancient Christianity, Christian churches. The Armenian Apostolic Church, like the Armenian Catholic ...

. His wife, Marmar, died in 1768, leaving behind four children. He served in locations including Tiflis and Haghpat Monastery. In 1795, he was killed in Haghpat Monastery by the invading army of Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar, Shah of

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. He demanded that Sayat Nova convert from Christianity to Islam. He refused and declaring his religion is undeniably Armenian Christian. Hence he was promptly executed by beheading. He is buried at the Armenian Cathedral of Saint George in

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

Legacy

In Armenia, Sayat-Nova is considered a great poet who made a considerable contribution to the Armenian poetry and music of his century. Although he lived his entire life in a deeply religious society, his works are mostly secular and full of romantic expressionism. About 220 songs have been attributed to Sayat-Nova, although he may have written thousands more. Sayat-Nova also wrote some poems moving between all three.

In popular culture

Sayat Nova Dance Company of Boston
is named after him. *The 1969 Armenian film '' Sayat Nova'' directed by

Sergei Parajanov Sergei Iosifovich Parajanov (January 9, 1924 – July 20, 1990) was a Soviet film director and screenwriter. He is regarded by film critics, film historians and filmmakers to be one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. Parajanov was born to ...

follows the poet's path from his childhood

wool Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have some properties similar to animal w ...

-dyeing days to his role as a courtier and finally his life as a

monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

. It was released in the United States under the title '' The Color of Pomegranates''. It is not a biography of Sayat Nova, but a series of

tableaux vivants A (; often shortened to ; ; ) is a static scene (performing arts), scene containing one or more actors or models. They are stationary and silent, usually in costume, carefully posed, with props and/or theatrical scenery, scenery, and may be s ...

of Armenian costume, embroidery and religious rituals depicting scenes and verses from the poet's life. *A book on his life and work by Charles Dowsett was published in 1997 titled ''Sayat'-nova: An 18th-century Troubadour: a Biographical and Literary Study''. *The first translations of the Armenian odes of Sayat Nova in European languages were in Russia by Valery Bryusov in 1916, in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

by Ioseb Grishashvili in 1918, in Poland by Leopold Lewin in 1961 and in France by Elisabeth Mouradian and the French poet Serge Venturini in 2006; the book was dedicated to

. *There is a street and a music school named after him in Yerevan, Armenia; an Armenian-American dance ensemble in the United States; and a pond in Mont Orford, Quebec, Canada. * A brand of Armenian Cognac is named after him. *An Armenian restaurant opened in Chicago's

Streeterville Streeterville is a neighborhood in the Near North Side, Chicago, Near North Side community area of Chicago, Illinois, United States, north of the Chicago River. It is bounded by the river on the south, the Magnificent Mile portion of Michigan ...

neighborhood in 1970 is named after him. *In 2020, a perfume created by Dmitry Bortnikoff and Rajesh Balkrishnan was named after him. * The piano piece "Elegy in Memory of

Aram Khachaturian Aram Ilyich Khachaturian (; 1 May 1978) was a Soviet Armenians, Armenian composer and conductor. He is considered one of the leading Music of the Soviet Union#Classical music of the Soviet Union, Soviet composers. Khachaturian was born and rai ...

" by

Arno Babajanian Arno Harutyuni Babajanian (January 22, 1921November 11, 1983) was a Soviet and Armenian composer and pianist. He was made a People's Artist of the USSR in 1971. Biography Babajanian was born in Yerevan on January 22, 1921. By age 5, his musical ...

is based on a melody by Sayat-Nova.

Gallery

File:Sayat-Nova manuscript 01.JPG, An Armenian-Georgian poem written by Sayat-Nova using mix of Armenian and Georgian alphabets. File:Sayat-Nova manuscript 02.JPG, A poem written in Azeri using Georgian letters.

References

Sources

* Charles Dowsett, (1997), ''Sayatʻ-Nova: an 18th-century troubadour: a biographical and literary study'', * Nikoghos Tahmizian, ''Sayat Nova and the Music of Armenian Troubadours and Minstrels'', (in Armenian), 1995, Drazark Press, Pasadena, Ca.

External links

Site dedicated to Sayat-Nova

translated into English by Alice Stone Blackwell
Classical Composers Database

Encyclopædia Britannica

Sayat-Nova's Armenian, Georgian, Tatarian songs and their Russian translations in digital works collection with famous performances of poems and songs
{{Azerbaijani Turkic literature 1712 births 1795 deaths Armenian Christians Armenian musicians Armenian male poets Ashiks 18th-century Armenian poets 18th-century Armenian writers Musicians from Tbilisi Persian Armenians Christians executed for refusing to convert to Islam 18th-century writers from Safavid Iran