In October 2015, ECM Records, one of the most prestigious companies in the world, released the Gurdjieff Ensemble’s album entitled “Komitas”, which features photos and a 30-page booklet containing information about the Ensemble. The release of the album was a major event for the Ensemble, which was established in 2008 in Yerevan. The booklet was written by composer Tigran Mansurian and the Ensemble’s founder Levon Eskenian. The album has been covered by the world’s top media outlets. Songlines Magazine has included it in the Top 10 Albums of 2015, and the songs off the album are played on the planes of British Airways.

After the album’s release, the Ensemble has received invitations from different countries to participate in prestigious festivals. In April, Gurdjieff Ensemble will be giving concerts in three European countries. The first concert will be held on 14 April in the Austrian city of Krems where the Ensemble will perform Armenian spiritual music and the works of Komitas and Gurdjieff. Afterwards, the Ensemble will leave for Greece where it will give a concert at the Parnasos Hall at the invitation of the Municipality of Smurni.

“The April 19 concert in Athens will only feature performances of the songs of Komitas and will be dedicated to the memory of the canonized martyrs of the Armenian Genocide. A day before the concert, we will be giving a nearly one-hour interview devoted to Armenian music, national instruments, Komitas and Gurdjieff on live television. After the concert in Athens, we will return to Austria and perform the songs of Komitas during the April 22 concert in Salzburg, the hometown of Mozart,” Levon Eskenian said in an interview with Hayern Aysor, adding that on 24 April, the day marking the 102^nd anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, the Ensemble, in partnership with the Embassy of the Republic of Armenia in Denmark and Global Music, will organize a concert dedicated to the memory of Danish missionary Maria Jacobsen and the canonized martyrs of the Armenian Genocide in Copenhagen.

“This is a wonderful opportunity to convey the words of gratitude of the Armenian nation to the good-natured woman through Armenian music. Maria Jacobsen was one of the unique individuals who stood by the side of the Armenian nation during the terrible days of the Armenian Genocide and dedicated her entire life to Armenian orphans. I am well aware of this story since I was born in Lebanon where the missionary had established the “Trchnots Bouyn” (Birds’ Nest) orphanage,” Levon Eskenian stated.

At the end, the music attached importance to the fact that the concert tour (organized with the support of the RA Ministry of Culture) will take place in April, providing another opportunity to demand a fair solution to the issue of the Armenian Genocide through music once again.

Let us add that the goal of Gurdjieff Ensemble, which includes Armenia’s leading musicians, is to present Armenian traditional music, the works and musical adaptations of world famous Armenian musicians, including Komitas and Gurdjieff, preserving the old Armenian national instruments and showing the world the cultural wealth of the Armenian nation.

Gurdjieff Ensemble has given concerts and performed in several halls and has participated in international festivals in Lebanon, Germany, Brazil, Argentina, Italy, Russia, Switzerland, Belgium, Portugal, Holland, Poland, Romania, Australia and Armenia.

The Ensemble also has its official website at gurdjieffensemble.com.

Gevorg Chichyan