KHATCHADOUR TANKIAN TO RELEASE HIS FIRST ALBUM AT THE AGE OF 72
Ruzan Khachatryan
"Radiolur"
27.11.2009 16:10
Before yesterday’s Telethon of the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund few
people in Armenia knew that Serj Tankian’s father, Khatchadour Tankian
was going to release an album. During the Telethon the father and son
performed Alexey Hekimyan’s song "Bari Aragil" in a new arrangement.
It is a song they would sing together when Serj was a kid and in a
way, the recording of this song and the work put into producing the
album overall is Serj paying ode to his inspiration, his father.
It’s a rare thing for a man aged 72 to release his first album.
"Inchbes Moranank," the debut album of songs sang by Khatchadour
Tankian, features new recordings of traditional Armenian folk songs
that Khatchadour has sang for the majority of his life, along with 2
brand new songs in "Hrant Dink" as well as the title track "Inchbes
Moranank."
Produced by his son Serj with new arrangements from famous Armenian
composer Andranik Mouradian, the album is a collection of 11 songs
that brought the father and son team back to yesteryear, when the
love of singing was passed on from father to son.
Born on October 10, 1937 in Aleppo, Syria, Khatchadour was asked to
sing at the Armenian school he attended at age 6 when a guest from
Armenia came to visit the classroom. His natural gift became apparent
to the visitor from Khatchadour’s ancestral homeland, as the man
embraced the young Armenian boy in Syria upon the child finishing
the last note of the traditional folk song "Cilicia." On that day,
a singer was born, and Khatchadour has had the spirit of music in him
since. Appropriately, the song "Cilicia" was recorded for this debut
album and Khatchadour’s love of the song still exists 65 years later.
This affinity for singing was strengthened in Khatchadour throughout
his youth and after moving to Beirut, Lebanon at age 16, he decided to
form a band with some of his friends. Being that the recorded music
industry was still very much in its own infancy and not readily
available to a teenager living in Lebanon, Khatchadour’s singing
talents were relegated to the weddings and christenings of the various
Armenian families living in the Diaspora region or Beirut. His talents
got him invited to sing in Lyon, France in the year 1959, where he
sang at a celebration event to honor the anniversary of the Armenian
Revolutionary Federation Dashnaktsutyun.
Members of the Systems Of A Down have never concealed that they raise
their voice for universal values, for the recognition and condemnation
of the Armenian Genocide. Serj Tankian has been repeatedly stating
this in his interviews.