The Catholicosate of Cilicia's "Shenorhali"Â Choir and its artistic director and conductor, well-known Lebanese-Armenian musicologist Zakar Keshishian, dazzled a mixed audience of Armenian and foreign music lovers in its annual concert at the Assembly Hall of the American University of Beirut (AUB) on April 15.
Held under the auspices of His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of Cilicia, the concert breathe new life and liveliness into the cultural life of the Lebanese Armenian community. Following the catastrophic consequences of the destructive war in Lebanon last summer, the concert became a cultural breeze with its high artistic performance.
The Armenian Catholicos presided over the event, surrounded by members of the Cilician Brotherhood. Among the attendants were foreign diplomats, ambassadors of several European countries, the president and faculty of AUB, ministers and deputies, representatives from political, cultural, charity organizations as well as a large crowd of art-lovers.
The concert, the result of several months' hard work, presented to the audience a series of song from a rich selection of Armenian music ranging from ancient to modern times. Performing pieces by Yervand Yerkanian, Ruben Altunian, Nerses Shenorhali, Komitas, Barsegh Kanatchian, Tatul Altunian, Tigran Mansurian and others, the choir demonstrated the undying value of Armenian art. Sirvart Boyadjian accompanied the choir on the piano.
The foreign attendants were particularly impressed by the performance of Arabic national songs, delivered confidently and accurately.
At the end of the concert, His Holiness addressed the foreign attendants, guests and diplomats in English, speaking about the qualities of music that can harmonize international life. "Music educated people, reducing violence in the world and making it a habitable place. Music reassesses spiritual-intellectual values in a world where materialism dominates. Music teaches us to live together, when violence rules everywhere. Music is a dialogue between God and man. Through music, we transcend the differences in our race and color and we are transformed with its strength,"Â he said.
The Catholicos then spoke in Armenian praising the Choir and its artistic director, "who during the last few months worked hard to deliver this artistic experience to us with such warmth, freshness and sincerity. Today you not only proved your own worth to us, you also demonstrated the value of Armenian music. Armenian music was reborn from your souls, your minds and hearts. You succeeded in renewing our life through Armenian music, improving our taste, clearing our ears from noise and brightening our collective life with such high and harmonious performance,"Â he said.
The attendants acknowledged that the choir, which had been continuously on the rise during the past few years, had reached its peak in artistic performance with very well prepared singers, solo-artists and the driving force behind it all- artistic director and conductor Zakar Keshishian. - Source: http://www.cathcil.org
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