Gomidas Songs  (Audio CD) 
by Isabel Bayrakdarian

Although the pieces performed here by the internationally acclaimed, Canadian-based soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian
are sung entirely in Armenian, these songs cast a powerful spell long before their literal meaning has been gleaned.
Bayrakdarian born in Lebanon, the daughter of Armenian parents explores the extraordinary legacy of Gomidas
Vardabet, a well-traveled, turn-of-the-nineteenth-century 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. His work would have
been remarkable under any circumstances, but it has become all the more significant in light of the Armenian genocide
of 1915, which left him emotionally devastated and put an end to his life as a composer.
Bayrakdarian performed Gomidas' s music as part of the score to Canadian filmmaker Atom Egoyan s 2002 Ararat,
a multi-layered drama about contemporary filmmakers attempting to dramatize and come to terms with the events
of 1915. However, mainstream moviegoers will more readily recognize her voice from The Lord of the Rings: The
Two Towers. Composer Howard Shore invited Bayrakdarian to sing on the Grammy Award-winning soundtrack after
hearing one of her recordings. She s even more renowned among opera fans the world over, especially for her performances,
on stage and on record, as Cleopatra in Handel s Giulio Cesare and in such Mozart works as Don Giovanni
and The Magic Flute. Her voice, says Time, combines lyricism with remarkable dramatic instincts. Bayrakdarian
made her Metropolitan Opera debut in William Bolcom s A View from the Bridge.
Sings Gomidas contains love songs, devotional songs, evocations of nature, children s songs, and lamentations, and
comic songs. It was recorded at the Aram Khachaturian Philharmonic Hall in Yerevan, Armenia with the Chamber
Players of the Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra. All the songs were arranged and orchestrated by scholar and pianist
Serouj Kradjian, her concert partner and husband. Egoyan contributes eloquent liner notes to the album package,
illustrating the importance of Bayrakdarian s undertaking to music lovers everywhere: The strength of any culture
resides in its ability to preserve, cherish, reinvent and grow.