In celebration of the 170^th birth anniversary of great Armenian troubadour Jivani, the home-museum of the troubadour will open its doors to visitors in Jivani’s native Kartsakh village this summer, as reported javakhq.info.

“We had initially planned to fully renovate the home-museum, but the field experts suggested opening it and showing the already collected items and materials and then update them. This year, we will also open a gallery that will showcase the life and career of Jivani in photos,” Executive Director of the Support to Javakhk Foundation Ashot Hakobyan said.

The Support to Javakhk Foundation has undertaken the initiative to create the home-museum of Jivani in his native Kartsakh village. According to the source, the creation of the home-museum was very current and will provide the Armenians of Javakhk and all Armenians around the world with another spiritual and cultural institution.

Ashot Hakobyan says the Foundation has created a team of several public and cultural figures, intellectuals, artists and architects to coordinate the creation of the home-museum.

“We distributed the tasks, and each member of the team does his part. One member reexamines Jivani’s biography, reveals pages that haven’t been revealed and takes note of interesting episodes of his life, while another member gathers information about the legacy of Jivani. Others have prepared the architectural and construction plans for the creation of the home-museum under the direction of Merited Architect of the Republic of Armenia Hovhannes Mutafyan,” Ashot Hakobyan said and added that the necessary domestic and demonstrative materials are also being collected.

In July 2015, the Support to Javakhk Foundation organized the groundbreaking ceremony for the home-museum of Jivani, which was held on the sidelines of the “Jivani Day” celebration.

The executive director informed that the Foundation would be organizing a charity banquet dedicated to the 170^th birth anniversary of the great Jivani on 8 June. The event will feature performances of beloved patriotic songs and songs of troubadours by well-known groups and performers. Proceeds from the banquet will go to the construction of the home-museum of Jivani in Kartsakh village.

Young Armenian volunteers of Javakhk have also created a group that will be in charge of coordinating the activities of the home-museum of Jivani. They are ready to help with organizational and other activities.

Great Armenian troubadour, folk singer Jivani (Serovbe Levonyan, 5 March 1848-19 March 1909) was born in Kartsakh village of Javakhk to the famous Bangoyan family. For nearly 18 years (until 1864), he lived in his native village where he was a student of Siyay, one of the great troubadours of Javakhk. After leaving the village, Jivani lived and created in Tbilisi for a year and later moved to Alexandropol. In 1895, the renowned troubadour returned to Tbilisi where he spent the last years of his life. In 1908, Jivani visited his native village for the last time and was cordially received. Troubadour Jivani is described as “the Mashtots of the Armenian folk music”. It is not secret that Armenian troubadours would mainly write songs in foreign languages until Jivani. It is considered that Armenian troubadours started writing in Armenian after the birth of Jivani. The troubadour is also honored as “the Komitas of Armenian folk music”. Jivani helped remove the Oriental modulations in the music of Armenian troubadours.