KOMITAS CHOIR PERFORMS FOR BARONESS COX’S HART CONCERT

11:40, 22 Dec 2014

A Christmas Carol Concert was organized by the Humanitarian Aid Relief
Trust (HART) in St. Cyprian’s Church in London on December 4. Every
year Baroness Caroline Cox, founder of HART, initiates such concerts
for the representatives of ethnic minorities of countries that receive
humanitarian aid from the trust, the Armenian Weekly reports.

This year the Christmas concert featured four choirs, the Armenian
Komitas Choir of the Tekeyan Trust London, the Ugandan Acholi London
Choir, the St. Martin Singers and the University of London Chamber
Choir.

At the concert the choral art, music and languages of different
nationalities were introduced to the British audience.

While inviting the Komitas Choir to perform, Father David of St.

Cyprian’s Church recalled vividly the choir’s perfect performance
dedicated to the 145th birth anniversary of Komitas (the concert was
held in St. Yeghishe Church, London, on October 18). The priest also
introduced the life and activity of the great Armenian composer and
the founder of Armenian classical music. He particularly mentioned
the horrifying scenes of the 1915 Armenian Genocide because of
which Komitas experienced a nightmare and witnessed the brutal
extermination of the nation’s bright minds. Unfortunately, it left
a deep ineradicable impression on his soul and after 20 years of
sufferings his life came to an end in psychiatric hospital in Paris.

At the concert, the Komitas Choir performed songs by Komitas (Today
Is Christmas), Marty Nystrom (As the Deer Pants for Water) and Stepan
Lusikyan (New Armenia). The latter was interpreted and presented to
the audience by Sipan Hakobyan, artistic director and conductor of
the choir.

The Komitas Choir performance was followed by honourable Baroness
Caroline Cox’s welcoming speech. Once again she praised the choir,
Conductor Sipan Hakobyan and Chairman Vartan Ouzounian who initiated
such an important project and on the threshold of the Centennial of the
Armenian Genocide founded a longed-for choir, the first Armenian one
in the UK. Baroness Cox also spoke about the Genocide denial policy
of the Turkish government and condemned it. She presented the past
and present situations of Karabagh and mentioned historical injustice
and deprivations of the Armenian nation. Baroness touched upon current
challenges to Armenians, such as atrocities and ceasefire violations
by Azerbaijan, as well as the future of Karabagh and the achievements
of Armenians. Caroline Cox’s long speech was a good opportunity to
raise the awareness of the British audience.

At the concert among the audience present were representatives of
a number of British-Armenian organizations, and there was a guest
from Karabagh Vardan Tadevosyan who presented his plan to build a
new hospital in Karabagh.