The Aram Merangulyan Folk Instruments Ensemble of Public Radio of Armenia will participate in the Euroradio Folk Festival to be held in Krakow, Poland, as part of the EtnoKraków Festival July 5-11.
The EtnoKraków Festival is an unprecedented combination of two international events dedicated to ethnic music: the Euroradio Folk Festival review organized by Polskie Radio and the European Broadcasting Union, and the Rozstaje /Crossroads Festival Kraków.
The Aram Merangulyan Folk Instruments Ensemble was formed in Yerevan in 1926, coinciding with the foundation of the Public Radio of Armenia.
The formation performs folk songs from various countries, pieces for troubadours and minstrels, and works by Armenian composers. Their performances are transmitted on public TV and radio.
The ensemble’s leader, vocalist Ruben Matevosyan, has given thousands of concerts in all corners of the globe. He has been lecturing at the State Conservatory in Armenia since 1990, and has been the president of the Association of Armenian Musicians since 1999. He is widely regarded as one of the finest singers in the country and has appeared in a few films.
The orchestra’s sound is based on a subtle, harmonious partnership between the fascinating vocalist and the instrumentalists. The main instrument is of course the magical duduk, played by several musicians. There are also wind instruments and strings (including the qanun). The work of the Aram Merangulyan Folk Instruments Ensemble recalls the beautiful, ancient and rich Armenian traditions. The performance is bound to be one of the most emotional concerts during the festival.
The concert will take place at the Church Of St. Catherine at 18:30 on July 9.
More than 200 musicians representing countries from four continents will perform at close to 50 concerts and dance nights in exceptional festival locations.
Euroradio Folk Festival is an event with a long tradition and international prestige. The mission of the festival was to create an international platform for the presentation and promotion of artists inspired by local and regional music traditions. Established in 1980, the review of folk music takes place in a different country each year, and is organised by one of the 57 radio stations affiliated with the European Broadcasting Union.
Festiwal Rozstaje / Crossroads Festival Krakow, established in 1999, is one of the most important world music festivals in Poland and this part of Europe, presenting the best artists of the international and Polish ethno, world music, folk and ethnojazz scenes, as well as traditional scene groups. Rozstaje has hosted several hundred groups from dozens of countries in the world at open-air concerts organised, among others, at the Main Square in Krakow, as well as chamber concerts. A permanent element of the festival are music workshops, which are a unique opportunity for education in the musical cultures of the world and Poland, as well as international art projects commissioned specially for the Festival.