The Naghash Ensemble is a contemporary music ensemble from Armenia featuring three female singers, duduk, oud, dhol and piano. They perform new music written by Armenian-American composer John Hodian based on sacred texts by the

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

Armenian mystic poet and priest, Mkrtich Naghash. Described as "The sound of ancient Armenia reinvented for the 21st century" by Armenian composer Tigran Mansurian, Hodian's "Songs of Exile" combines "the earthy spirituality of Armenian folk song, new classical music, contemporary post-minimalism and the energy of rock and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

History

Inspiration and text

In the book accompanying The Naghash Ensemble's first CD, "Songs of Exile, Volume I," John Hodian describes the origins of the ensemble. In 2006, he had heard soprano Hasmik Baghdasaryan singing medieval Armenian spiritual music in the ancient temple of Garni, Armenia. Fascinated by the sound of her voice and the acoustics of the temple, he vowed to write music that would use this sound in a new way. After several years of searching for texts he felt would match the spiritual quality of the music he was hearing in his head, he found a fragment of a poem written by the 15-century Armenian poet and priest Mkrtich Naghash. The poem "Composed in Exile" deals with the tragedy of life in exile from an Armenian perspective. Mkrtich Naghash only left 16 poems behind, and John Hodian set all of them to music.

Instrumentation

In 2010, John Hodian founded The Naghash Ensemble to premiere "Songs of Exile". Choosing the instrumentation for this project intuitively, he combined "formal elements such as piano and strings balanced by Armenian folk instruments such as dhol, duduk and oud". He initially wrote the music for five female vocalists, duduk, oud, dhol and string quartet. For the international touring version of the ensemble, he kept the duduk, oud, dhol, cut the five vocalists down to three and rearranged the string parts for piano. In December 2017, The Naghash Ensemble premiered an orchestral version of "Songs of Exile" in collaboration with the SYOA orchestra at the Yerevan Opera Theater in Armenia. This orchestral version allows for a collaboration between The Naghash Ensemble and any-size string sections. The European premiere of this project took place on 2 August 2019 with the South Czech Philharmonic at the International Music Festival Český Krumlov.

Touring

Since 2014, the ensemble has been touring regularly in Europe, including performances in France,

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

The Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, (Germany),

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, Italy,

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

and

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

. The ensemble plays at classical music venues, sacred music festivals, world music series as well as rock and jazz festivals. Their concerts have been described as "a moment of grace and meditation" (

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

), " sacred beauty that incites a mixture of joy and ecstasy" ( Trans Musicales) and "music that is foreign and familiar, earthy and otherworldly" ( WDR 3).

CDs and Books

The Naghash Ensemble's first CD, forming the first volume of the three-volume project "Songs of Exile" was published in 2014, followed by the ensemble's first international tour. The second CD "Songs of Exile, Volume II: Credos & Convictions" followed in 2016. The third CD, "Songs of Exile, Volume III: Lamentations & Benedictions" was released in late 2019. The German radio station BR Klassik describes the ensemble's second CD as an "intersection of classical music, jazz, folk and post-minimalism", with "music that draws from old and new worlds, from everything John Hodian encountered on his way from Philadelphia to New York and Yerevan, and which forms something like a musical home to him. It's equally influenced by Bach, Steve Reich and Joni Mitchell, as it is by the Armenian music he grew up listening to at his parents' home."

Current members

* Hasmik Baghdasaryan (soprano) * Tatevik Movsesyan (soprano) * Arpine Mikaeli Ter-Petrosyan (alto) * Tigran Hovhannisyan (dhol) * Aram Nikoghosyan (oud) * Emmanuel Hovhannisyan (duduk) * John Hodian (piano/composer)

Discography

Albums

* 2019. Songs of Exile, Volume III: Lamentations & Benedictions. Available Forms Music *2016. Songs of Exile, Volume II: Credos & Convictions. Available Forms Music * 2014. Songs of Exile. Volume I. Available Forms Music

References

External links

*
The Naghash Ensemble at Music of Armenia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Naghash Ensemble, The Musical groups established in 2010 Contemporary classical music ensembles Armenian classical musical groups Armenian world music groups 2010 establishments in Armenia