Catalogue

Summary:

“…wistful and reflective … The performances by soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian and her fellow musicians are wonderfully haunting” ★★★★★ – BBC Music Magazine

Lebanese-born, Canadian-Armenian-American soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian is as celebrated for her beauty, dynamic presence, and style as for her strikingly multidimensional voice. With this deeply personal project, she gathers a selection of haunting and poignant lullabies that draw on the memories and experiences of the Armenian people. 29 tracks trace an arc from the Ottoman Empire through the Genocide and beyond, with songs and transcriptions by the country’s beloved folk composer Gomidas Vartabed, Parsegh Ganatchian who joined the diaspora in Lebanon, and Ganatchian’s contemporary Mihran Toumajan. For Isabel, these evocative songs span two centuries and five generations. Sung by her great-grandmother, grandmother and mother, and now to her own children, Isabel’s Armenian Songs have an appeal to children of all ages.

Tracklist:

GOMIDAS VARTABED (1869–1935)

1. Six Children’s Songs * (4.56)
I. Deer
II. Game of fortune
III. Fairy tale
IV. Sun, sun
V. Mountain: Circle dance for girls
VI. A bucket and a half of millet

2. Five Lullaby Fragments * (4.09)
I. Sleep, sleep
II. Sleep, sleep, sleep
III. I have a garden
IV. Lullaby
V. Lullaby

3. Sleep My Child – Lullaby * (3.27)
4. The Dream * (3.37)
5. You are Beautiful – Lullaby from Agn * (3.06)
6. Children’s Prayer (1.19)
7. Song of the Partridge * (1.08)
8. Little Wooden Horse * (0.57)
9. The Swallow * (3.00)

PARSEGH GANATCHIAN (1885–1967)

10. Bjingo (1.41)
11. The Swallow (2.19)
12. Serenade (2.28)
13. Nocturne (2.42)
14. Sleep My Child – Lullaby (3.57)

from the Song Collection of MIHRAN TOUMAJAN (1890–1973)

15. Swinging Song – Lullaby from Bithynia-Bardizag ** (3.04)
16. Cradle Song – Lullaby from Bithynia-Bardizag ** (2.50)
17. Rocking Song – Lullaby from Gesaria ** (1.59)
18. Bouncing Song from Gesaria * (1.12)
19. The Scarecrow from Kharpert * (0.38)

20. Two Playsongs from Agn * (1.47)
I. Bounce, bounce
II. Hey, let’s bounce

21. Two Lullabies from Agn ** (2.39)
I. You are beautiful
II. Sleep, sleep

22. Rocking Song – Lullaby from Khlat-Bitlis ** (2.47)
23. I Sing to You – Lullaby from Dikranagerd ** (2.08)

24. Collection of Alphabet Songs from Medz Nor Kiugh-Bursa * (2.33)
I. Uncle, uncle – P, A, PA
II. version 1
III. version 2
IV. version 3
V. version 4

25. Four Children’s Songs from Van * (3.54)
I. Clap, clap apricot tree
II. Monkey of Adal
III. Greetings, stork!
IV. The mountainside

TRADITIONAL (from various sources)

26. Come, My Nightingale – Popular lullaby ** (3.20)
27. Bouncing Song from Ani * (1.47)
28. Cradle Song – Lullaby from Ani ** (1.26)
29. Rocking Song – Lullaby from Ani ** (2.10)

Total playing time: 73.00

Isabel Bayrakdarian, soprano
Ellie Choate, harp
Ray Furuta, flute *
Ruben Harutyunyan, duduk **

Arrangements: Artur Avanesov (1–7, 9) John Hodian (8, 15–28)
Recording: July–August 2020, Paul Shaghoian Memorial Concert Hall, Clovis, California
Recording Production, Engineering, Mixing and Mastering: David v.R Bowles