ORGAN AS PART OF THE ORGANIST’S PLAN

A1+
[02:31 pm] 11 December, 2008

Out of the former Soviet countries only Armenia and Russia have
organs and one of the unique organs of Armenia is in the St. Yot
Verk (Seven Wounds) Church of Giumri. Paris-based organist Narine
Simonyan, who is from Giumri, has planned to order a new organ for
Giumri to be installed in the St. Nshan church. Until then, Simonyan
will give a concert in Giumri on December 13 in memory of the victims
of the earthquake.

Narine’s performances will be accompanied by the duduk. The concert
includes the mundane songs of Komitas, Arno Babajanyan and classic
French pieces.

"This is the first time that the organ and duduk will be heard
together. I had been hearing this in my head for years. The organ is
a precise way of thinking, while the duduk is eloquent. One of them
is about freedom, while the other is clarity," says Narine.

The organist wants innovations by installing an auxiliary equipment
to hear the sound of the duduk. Before coming to GIumri, Narine knew
about the situation of organs in Armenia and has noticed that Armenian
churches have architectural solutions that secure an ideal sound.

In regard to the organ foreseen for the St. Nshan Church of Giumri,
Narine Simonyan said that she is currently trying to find sums and
has already come to an agreement with constructor of the organ Daniel
Kern from France.

The new organ will be prepared with Narine’s plan and will also sound
like the duduk.