Press Releases
Nonesuch Records Releases Soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian’s Label Debut, Gomidas Songs, September 23
November 05 2008
Nonesuch Records Releases Soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian’s Label Debut, Gomidas Songs, September 23
Chamber Players Of Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra Join Bayrakdarian For
22 Songs By Armenian Composer Gomidas Vartabed
Nonesuch Releases The Label Debut By Canadian-Armenian Soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian, Gomidas Songs, On September 23, 2008. The Record’S 22 Songs Are Sung In Armenian, The Language Of Their Composer: Gomidas Vartabed (Born Soghomon Soghomonian, Keotahia, Ottoman Empire, 1869), A Well-Traveled Composer Who Made It His Life’S Work To Seek Out, Transcribe, And Re-Interpret The Ancient Liturgy, Songs, Lullabies, Hymns, And Folk Dances Of His Homeland. Bayrakdarian Will Perform Concerts That Include Gomidas’ Music This Fall, Including An October 20 Date At Carnegie Hall’S Zankel Hall (Complete Dates Below).
The Album Was Recorded At The Aram Khachaturian Philharmonic Hall In Yerevan, Armenia, With The Chamber Players Of The Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra Conducted By Eduard Topchjan. All Of The Songs Were Arranged And Orchestrated By Scholar And Pianist Serouj Kradjian, Bayrakdarian’S Concert Partner And Husband—Who Also Plays On The Record. This Recording Was Made Possible By A Generous Contribution From The Agbu (Armenian General Benevolent Union) And Louise Manoogian Simone.
Bayrakdarian, Who Was Born In Lebanon To Armenian Parents, First Performed Gomidas’ Music As Part Of The Score To Canadian-Armenian Director Atom Egoyan’S 2002 Ararat—A Multi-Layered Drama About Contemporary Filmmakers Attempting To Dramatize And Come To Terms With The Armenian Genocide Of 1915, Which Left Gomidas Emotionally Devastated And Put An End To His Life As A Composer. (His Name Was Changed When He Took Monastic Vows; Was Ordained A “Vartabed,” Or Celibate Priest; And, As Is The Practice In The Armenian Church, Assumed A New Name, Gomidas.)
Isabel Bayrakdarian Is Highly Regarded For Her Opera Performances, On Stage And On Record—Particularly As Cleopatra In Handel’S Giulio Cesare And In Mozart Works Like Don Giovanni And The Magic Flute. Her Voice, Says Time, “Combines Lyricism With Remarkable Dramatic Instincts,” And The Chicago Tribune Praised Her “Full, Gleaming Soprano And Fine Musical Intelligence.” Bayrakdarian Made Her Metropolitan Opera Debut In William Bolcom’S A View From The Bridge.
Gomidas Songs Contains Love Songs, Devotional Songs, Evocations Of Nature, Children’S Songs, Lamentations, And Comic Songs. Egoyan Contributes Liner Notes To The Album Package, Illustrating The Importance Of Bayrakdarian’S Undertaking: “The Strength Of Any Culture Resides In Its Ability To Preserve, Cherish, Reinvent, And Grow. This Was The Gift That Gomidas Gave To His People, And This Is The Gift Which Isabel Has Revealed And Brought To The World.”
Isabel Bayrakdarian Fall 2008 Remembrance Concert Tour
Saturday, October 4, San Francisco, Ca, Herbst Theatre
Sunday, October 5, Costa Mesa, Ca, Orange County Performing Arts Center
Friday, October 17, Toronto, Canada, Roy Thompson Hall
Sunday, October 19, Boston, Ma, New England Conservatory, Jordan Hall
Monday, October 20, New York, Ny, Carnegie Hall, Zankel Hall
Thursday, October 23, Duluth, Mn, University Of Minnesota, Weber Music Hall
For More Information, Please Visit Http://publicity.nonesuch.com Or Contact:
Glenn Petry, 21C, 212.625.2038 Or Gpetry@21Cmediagroup.com
# # # #
November 05 2008
Nonesuch Records Releases Soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian’s Label Debut, Gomidas Songs, September 23
Chamber Players Of Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra Join Bayrakdarian For
22 Songs By Armenian Composer Gomidas Vartabed
Nonesuch Releases The Label Debut By Canadian-Armenian Soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian, Gomidas Songs, On September 23, 2008. The Record’S 22 Songs Are Sung In Armenian, The Language Of Their Composer: Gomidas Vartabed (Born Soghomon Soghomonian, Keotahia, Ottoman Empire, 1869), A Well-Traveled Composer Who Made It His Life’S Work To Seek Out, Transcribe, And Re-Interpret The Ancient Liturgy, Songs, Lullabies, Hymns, And Folk Dances Of His Homeland. Bayrakdarian Will Perform Concerts That Include Gomidas’ Music This Fall, Including An October 20 Date At Carnegie Hall’S Zankel Hall (Complete Dates Below).
The Album Was Recorded At The Aram Khachaturian Philharmonic Hall In Yerevan, Armenia, With The Chamber Players Of The Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra Conducted By Eduard Topchjan. All Of The Songs Were Arranged And Orchestrated By Scholar And Pianist Serouj Kradjian, Bayrakdarian’S Concert Partner And Husband—Who Also Plays On The Record. This Recording Was Made Possible By A Generous Contribution From The Agbu (Armenian General Benevolent Union) And Louise Manoogian Simone.
Bayrakdarian, Who Was Born In Lebanon To Armenian Parents, First Performed Gomidas’ Music As Part Of The Score To Canadian-Armenian Director Atom Egoyan’S 2002 Ararat—A Multi-Layered Drama About Contemporary Filmmakers Attempting To Dramatize And Come To Terms With The Armenian Genocide Of 1915, Which Left Gomidas Emotionally Devastated And Put An End To His Life As A Composer. (His Name Was Changed When He Took Monastic Vows; Was Ordained A “Vartabed,” Or Celibate Priest; And, As Is The Practice In The Armenian Church, Assumed A New Name, Gomidas.)
Isabel Bayrakdarian Is Highly Regarded For Her Opera Performances, On Stage And On Record—Particularly As Cleopatra In Handel’S Giulio Cesare And In Mozart Works Like Don Giovanni And The Magic Flute. Her Voice, Says Time, “Combines Lyricism With Remarkable Dramatic Instincts,” And The Chicago Tribune Praised Her “Full, Gleaming Soprano And Fine Musical Intelligence.” Bayrakdarian Made Her Metropolitan Opera Debut In William Bolcom’S A View From The Bridge.
Gomidas Songs Contains Love Songs, Devotional Songs, Evocations Of Nature, Children’S Songs, Lamentations, And Comic Songs. Egoyan Contributes Liner Notes To The Album Package, Illustrating The Importance Of Bayrakdarian’S Undertaking: “The Strength Of Any Culture Resides In Its Ability To Preserve, Cherish, Reinvent, And Grow. This Was The Gift That Gomidas Gave To His People, And This Is The Gift Which Isabel Has Revealed And Brought To The World.”
Isabel Bayrakdarian Fall 2008 Remembrance Concert Tour
Saturday, October 4, San Francisco, Ca, Herbst Theatre
Sunday, October 5, Costa Mesa, Ca, Orange County Performing Arts Center
Friday, October 17, Toronto, Canada, Roy Thompson Hall
Sunday, October 19, Boston, Ma, New England Conservatory, Jordan Hall
Monday, October 20, New York, Ny, Carnegie Hall, Zankel Hall
Thursday, October 23, Duluth, Mn, University Of Minnesota, Weber Music Hall
For More Information, Please Visit Http://publicity.nonesuch.com Or Contact:
Glenn Petry, 21C, 212.625.2038 Or Gpetry@21Cmediagroup.com
# # # #
