ARMENIANS CROSS GENRES: THE MASSIVE KOHAR SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA AND CHOIR SPELLS ENJOYMENT
Don Heckman, Special to The Times
Los Angeles Times
October 22, 2007 Monday
It was apparent, even before a single member of the Kohar
Symphony Orchestra and Choir arrived onstage Thursday at the Gibson
Amphitheatre, that a special event was about to take place. The front
edge of the stage was covered with a colorful garland of flowers,
two pillars spelled out the word "Kohar" and the stage was set for
a full orchestra and a large choir.
Despite the setting, the first performer — Hamlet Tchobanian — was
neither a musician nor a singer but a mime. His arrival announced
by a loud cymbal crash, he lurked across the stage in classic,
white-faced, Marcel Marceau fashion. Opening a pair of illusory gates,
he majestically introduced the 130-plus members of the Armenian Kohar
Symphony and Choir.
Led by artistic director Sebouh Abkarian, his long white hair waving
dramatically with each thrust of his baton, the Kohar players offered
a buoyant waltz to begin a long, stirring evening of Armenian-tinged
music. Here, as in many of the pieces to follow, Kohar’s sound and
style often had the lightweight but entertaining quality of a summer
pops orchestra.
But Kohar crossed genres far more freely than the average pops
ensemble. Gagik Malkasian’s virtuosic duduk playing and the busy
fingers of kanoun artist Anahid Valesian added Armenian authenticity.
Classically oriented pieces were delivered in well-crafted fashion,
and Kohar went so far as to open the second half with a surprisingly
swinging number titled "Tetmajazz."
As the mime-introduced opening implied, however, a Kohar performance
is more spectacle than concert. Most of the music was vocal, sung by
soloists whose styles ranged from big-voiced operatic to international
lounge. In most cases, the singers’ numbers were enhanced by the
engaging presence of eight female dancers led by the gorgeously
lithe Sousana Mikayelian. Letters from the Armenian alphabet were
spotlighted across the ceilings and walls, and the program climaxed
with a burst of golden streamers flying out into the audience.
Much of the second half of the concert, in fact, was strongly oriented
toward the predominantly Armenian crowd. Spirited patriotic songs, pop
tunes and familiar traditional numbers drew an escalating response —
hand-clapping, sing-alongs and enthusiastic shouts.
Kohar was founded in 1997 by Harout Khatchadourian and his brothers,
who entirely sustain the ensemble and its concerts. Named in honor
of their mother, Kohar, the founders’ goal with the ensemble is the
"aim of reviving and promulgating the Armenian alphabet and culture."
Kohar did that and more Thursday, positioning the capacity of Armenian
music to reach out stylistically while retaining its rich creative
identity.