Identity Construction in Armenian Music on the Example of Early Folklore Movement
Identity Construction in Armenian Music on the Example of Early Folklore Movement

Summary/Abstract: The aim of the article is to present various identity constructions in the early Armenian folklore movement. Armenian identity construction has been affected by various factors, including Armenia being the first country to adopt Christianity, and also the fact that it has a well-integrated diaspora in the West, both of which are used to present the ‘Europeanness’ of Armenians. Yet Armenia is surrounded by Muslim countries with which it shares many cultural similarities. Armenia has also been involved in various conflicts with its neighbours, starting with the Romans in the first century BC and ending with the Nagorno-Karabakh War between Azerbaijan and Armenia between 1988 and 1994. Due to these processes, the country is trying to distance itself from the East and, instead, belong to the West, and music can be used for the benefit of such identity construction. As an example, the article introduces various approaches to transcriptions of Armenian folk tunes that were made by composer and folklorist Komitas (Soghomon Soghomonian, 1869–1935), and folklorist Arshak Brutyan (1864–1936). Komitas is regarded as the most important figure in Armenian music. While transcribing folk tunes, he relied more on the Western way of thinking by standardising tunes according to the Western music system while Brutyan, on the other hand, tried to find transcription methods that would fit more with Armenian musical culture. Nowadays, unlike Brutyan, Komitas’s ideas are still strongly advocated in Armenian academic circles, and he is respected for unifying Armenian music with Western European musical culture.

• Details
• Contents