Augusta Virtuosi and Grigor Arakelian (Armenia)

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Concert of Baroque Masters

Bach, Handel, Telemann, Vivaldi and more!

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Concert Program

1. Georg Philipp Telemann. Viola Concerto in G major TWV 51:G9 –             11:40
2. Georg Friedrich Handel. Ombra Mai Fu (soprano solo)                     –          3:10
3. Antonio Vivaldi. Cello Concerto a-moll P.V.24 – FIII. No.4 (on Armenian Viola)        –      8:00

4. S.Bach. Soprano Aria from Mess A-dur, BWV 234 –              5:00
5. Georg Philipp Telemann. Concerto for Blockflute, Viola da Gamba TWV 53:a1     –              14:00

6. Nerses Shnorhaly , 12^th New Flower (soprano solo) –              3:30
7. Grigor Arakelian. Komitas-Scherzo –              4:00

Duration: 55 min.

About Grigor Arakelian

Composer, conductor, Armenian viola performer Grigor Arakelian born in Armenia at 1963. He graduated in Yerevan State Conservatory after Komitas in class of composition of professor Eduard Mirzoyan and in Violoncello class of professor Alexander Chaushyan.

Grigor Arakelian  has created a lot of arrangements and compositions for choir, folk and classical instruments while composing music solely derived from musical thinking of Komitas (founder of Armenian classical music in the beginning of 20^th century) and guided by the old Armenian musical system.

In 1993, with the help of luthier Martin Yeritsian he created a new type of djut: the tav (tenor) djut or Armenian viola, which has a unique sounding typical to Armenian spiritual music. This musical instrument has been used on many stages of the world to present such gems of Armenian medieval music as the arrangements of Grigor Narekatsi (10^th century) “The Gem Rose” and “Eyes like the Sea” Taghs, Mesrop Mashtots’s (5^th century) Repentance Psalms, etc.

In 2005 he created the medieval Armenian music “Oshakan” ensemble, which  gained popularity among the ancient music lovers of Europe, having outstanding performances in Paris “Radio France”, in Monaco Central Cathedral, and at the opening of Marseilles “La Majeur” Cathedral.

From 2012 he started several new projects with new Armenian violins, viola and cello (created by M.Yeritsian). With string quintet “Les Violons d’Arménie” he gives a series of concerts with French, Italian and English Baroque music.

He cooperates with different orchestras and choirs as a conductor, presenting his new arrangements and compositions based on Armenian ancient and medieval music, as the National Chamber Orchestra of Armenia, Symphony and Chamber orchestras of Opera Theater of Yerevan, Ensemble Parnassus in Netherlands, Choir VivaVoce in Montreal, University Choir of Moncton (Canada), Orquestra Consonância in Portugal, Aiken Civic Orchestra in USA.

In present he performs on Armenian Viola and conducts different kinds of music, from Armenian medieval to European baroque and romantic, and also Armenian contemporary.