Cat. Nr.
ECM 2236
Artist:
The Gurdjieff Folk Instruments Ensemble
Release Titel:
Music Of Georges I. Gurdjieff
Release Date:
22.07.2011
Label:
ECM Records
Genre:
World / Ethno / Armenia
Press Release / Description
Fascinating and highly attractive project which returns the music of Gurdjieff (c. 1866 – 1949) to its ethnic inspirational sources. To date Gurdjieff’s compositions have largely been studied, in the West, via the piano transcriptions of Thomas de Hartmann. Armenian composer Levon Eskenian now goes beyond the printed notes to look at the musical traditions that Gurdjieff encountered during his travels, and rearranges the compositions from this perspective. Eskenian draws attention to the roots of the pieces in Armenian, Greek, Arabic, Kurdish, Assyrian, Persian and Caucasian folk and spiritual music. Enlisting the assistance of some of the leading players in Armenia, Eskenian founded the Gurdjieff Folk Instruments Ensemble in 2008, and with them he has now realized a remarkable album. “What appeals most to me in Levon Eskenian's instrumentation is the extremely meticulous, clear cut work approach - without unnecessary ‘composing’ and ‘cleverness’- when in the wilderness of silence the tiniest intervention is done with sound, which is very characteristic of Gurdjieff's works. There is deep silence at the core of Gurdjieff’s music that relates us to the Ecclesiastes chapter of the Bible, or to the truth told of deep silences from faraway lands, a stillness that has not been darkened at all, and has the degree of density that leaves the Gurdjieffian silence immaculate.” – Tigran Mansurian (source: ecmrecords.com)
The Gurdjieff Folk Instrument Ensemble
Emmanuel Hovhannisyan - Duduk
Avag Margaryan - Blul
Armen Ayvazyan - Kamancha
Aram Nikoghosyan - Oud
Meri Vardanyan - Kanon
Vladimir Papikyan - Santur
Davit Avagyan - Tar
Mesrop Khalatyan - Dap
Armen Yeganyan - Saz
Reza Nesimi Tombak
Harutyun Chkolyan - Duduk
Tigran Karapetyan - Duduk
Artur Atoyan - Dum Duduk
Levon Eskenian - Conductor
Tracklist
01. Chant from a Holy Book (Thomas de Hartmann, Georges I. Gurdjieff)
02. Kurd Shepherd Melody (Thomas de Hartmann, Georges I. Gurdjieff)
03. Prayer (Georges I. Gurdjieff, Thomas de Hartmann)
04. Sayyid Chant and Dance No. 10 (Georges I. Gurdjieff, Thomas de Hartmann)
05. Sayyid Chant and Dance No. 29 (Thomas de Hartmann, Georges I. Gurdjieff)
06. Armenian Song (Thomas de Hartmann, Georges I. Gurdjieff)
07. Bayaty (Thomas de Hartmann, Georges I. Gurdjieff)
08. Sayyid Chant and Dance No. 9 (Thomas de Hartmann, Georges I. Gurdjieff)
09. No. 11 from 'Asian Songs and Rhythms' (Georges I. Gurdjieff, Thomas de Hartmann)
10. Caucasian dance (Thomas de Hartmann, Georges I. Gurdjieff)
11. No. 40 from 'Asian Songs and Rhythms' (Thomas de Hartmann, Georges I. Gurdjieff)
12. Trinity (Thomas de Hartmann, Georges I. Gurdjieff)
13. Assyrian Women Mourners (Georges I. Gurdjieff, Thomas de Hartmann)
14. Atarnakh, Kurd Song (Georges I. Gurdjieff, Thomas de Hartmann)
15. Arabian Dance (Thomas de Hartmann, Georges I. Gurdjieff)
16. Ancient Greek Dance (Georges I. Gurdjieff, Thomas de Hartmann)
17. Duduki (Georges I. Gurdjieff, Thomas de Hartmann)
