RE-CREATION Mariam Kharatyan, Vigen Balasanyan, Alessandra Bossa

• Komitas (1869 - 1935): Lullaby (Trio version):
• 1 Komitas: Lullaby (Trio version) 05:37
• Anania Shirakatsi (610 - 685): For Our Salvation (Trio version):
• 2 Shirakatsi: For Our Salvation (Trio version) 04:51
• Grigor Narekatsi: Bird, Bird (Trio version):
• 3 Narekatsi: Bird, Bird (Trio version) 05:22
• Nerses Shnorhali (1102 - 1173): New Flower (Trio version):
• 4 Shnorhali: New Flower (Trio version) 05:46
• Komitas: The Ring Misfit My Finger (Trio version):
• 5 Komitas: The Ring Misfit My Finger (Trio version) 05:08
• Come Home (Trio version):
• 6 Komitas: Come Home (Trio version) 04:48
• He Walked Shining (Trio version):
• 7 Komitas: He Walked Shining (Trio version) 04:28
• You Are A Plane Tree (Trio version):
• 8 Komitas: You Are A Plane Tree (Trio version) 04:13
• Call, Crane (Trio version):
• 9 Komitas: Call, Crane (Trio version) 06:45
• Lullaby (Duo version):
• 10 Komitas: Lullaby (Duo version) 05:12
• Anania Shirakatsi: For Our Salvation (Duo version):
• 11 Shirakatsi: For Our Salvation (Duo version) 04:33
• Grigor Narekatsi: Bird, Bird (Duo version):
• 12 Narekatsi: Bird, Bird (Duo version) 04:37
• Nerses Shnorhali: New Flower (Duo version):
• 13 Shnorhali: New Flower (Duo version) 05:13
• Komitas: The Ring Misfit My Finger (Duo version):
• 14 Komitas: The Ring Misfit My Finger (Duo version) 01:06
• Come Home (Duo version):
• 15 Komitas: Come Home (Duo version) 01:19
• He Walked Shining (Duo version):
• 16 Komitas: He Walked Shining (Duo version) 02:29
• You Are A Plane Tree (Duo version):
• 17 Komitas: You Are A Plane Tree (Duo version) 02:37
• Call, Crane (Duo version):
• 18 Komitas: Call, Crane (Duo version) 03:45
• Total Runtime 01:17:49

Info for RE-CREATION

Medieval hymns like Havun, Havun (Bird, Bird) by Grigor Narekatsi (10th century) and Nor tsaghik (New Flower) by Nerses Shnorhali (12th century) were seamlessly blended with improvisations, allowing the audience to experience these spiritual works in a fresh, modern context. Balasanyan’s mastery of the blul brought the haunting, ancient melodies to life, while Bossa’s live remixing techniques wove contemporary textures into the traditional framework.

The performance also featured a selection of folk songs documented by Komitas Vardapet (1869-1935), including Matniqy Matovs Cher (The Ring Misfit My Finger), Tun Ari (Come Home), and Kanche Krunk (Call, Crane). These lyrical love songs, performed with a deep reverence for their origins, were transformed through live electronics and piano into complex, layered compositions. Kharatyan’s emotive playing breathed life into Komitas’ works, while Bossa’s remixing and vocal effects introduced an unexpected yet harmonious element to the traditional melodies.

The RE-CREATION project’s emphasis on improvisation and live remixing gave the concert a dynamic, spontaneous energy. The fusion of classical piano, Armenian folk instruments, and live electronics created a unique soundscape that felt both ancient and futuristic. Bossa’s live electronic manipulations were particularly innovative, adding depth and texture without overshadowing the traditional instruments.

Vigen Balasanyan’s performances on duduk and blul provided a strong connection to Armenian cultural heritage, while Kharatyan’s virtuosic piano playing anchored the performance in classical music traditions. The interplay between these elements, guided by each performer’s artistry and improvisational instincts, allowed for a fresh reinterpretation of Armenian music.

Mariam Kharatyan, piano
Vigen Balasanyan, duduk, blul
Alessandra Bossa, live electronics, voice

Mariam Kharatyan
Armenian-Norwegian pianist Mariam Kharatyan performs internationally as a soloist and chamber musician and her performances being described by critics as a rare musical experience, her playing as sensitive, natural, and free as if the music has been created at the moment of the performance, dazzling the audiences with her interpretations.

Kharatyan has her musical background as a classical pianist with two Master’s degrees in piano performance – from the Komitas State Conservatory in Yerevan, Armenia, and the University of Agder, in Kristiansand, Norway, where she is based since 2012 and currently is Associate Professor at the Department for Classical Music and Music Education.

Kharatyan is regularly invited to perform recitals and chamber music concerts in international music festivals, among others “Volt Classics” in Bergen, Norway, “Kamar Art” in Yerevan, Armenia, “Protest festivalen” with legendary Norwegian violinist Arve Tellefsen in Kristiansand, Norway, “Edvard Grieg Festival” in Münster and “Europeiske Notespor” in Leipzig, Germany. In 2020, during the pandemic, as well as in 2021 she has been an artist in residence at the Troldhaugen – Edvard Grieg’s Museum in Bergen, Norway.

Always eager to expand her horizons within pianism, challenging the accepted traditions of interpretations, Kharatyan has worked from 2015-2019 on artistic research doctorate (Ph.D.) project “Armenian Fingerprints: interpreting the piano music of Komitas and Khachaturian in light of Armenian folk music”, admitted in Norwegian Artistic Research Programme and published on researchcatalogue.net (2019). The same year with the album release recital in Sentralen, Oslo, she released two albums – Khachaturian, Chamber Music (2019) in Simax Classics: this album was a collaboration with Adam Grüchot, Stig Nordhagen, and Leonardo Sesenna; the second album – Komitas, Shoror (2019), included the solo piano works of Komitas Vardapet and Armenian peasant songs in new interpretations on piano with Armenian folk musician Vigen Balasanyan, on blul and duduk, and was published with Grappa Musikkforlag. Both albums of Komitas’ and Khachaturian’s music have received warm resonance among the listeners and enthusiastic reviews from international critics.

Kharatyan has been a soloist with Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra and the performance of Aram Khachaturian’s Piano Concerto – a major milestone of her artistic research project “Armenian Fingerprints” was live recorded in Kilden Teater og Konserthus. The interplay between folk and classical music was a vital element in her explorations towards the new sound on classical piano. The performance was under the baton of Norwegian conductor Eivind Gullberg Jensen and has received an enthusiastic review in Fedrelandsvennen: “She made a formidable performance in Aram Khachaturian’s Piano Concerto in D major, elegant, playfully light, beautifully veiled when needed, and with an exquisite pedal use, it was music and performance to be really inspired and happy by” (Fedrelandsvennen, 2018).

Kharatyan has collaborated with the Norwegian composer Konrad Mikal Øhrn and has performed the premiere of his “Concert piece for piano, strings, and timpani” with the String Orchestra of Sarajevo Music Academy and conductor Tijana Vignevic, Bosnia Hercegovina, in 2015. Øhrn’s “Nansen Suite” was premiered within the Musical Dialogues concert-project that she performed among other compositions in the National Gallery of Art, in Washington DC, USA, in 2017. Kharatyan is a prize winner in several international piano competitions and has performed concerts in Sweden, Germany, Italy, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Belarus, Lithuania, the USA, and Armenia.

This album contains no booklet.