Vocal Art of Armenian Composers

Abstract

The three volumes of the Vocal Art of Armenian Composers present the works of post- genocide first generation composers, such as Komitas, Alemshah, Ganatchian, and Berberian, to enrich the art song repertoire of the musical community at large. The repertoire is presented for the first time in International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) phonemes accompanied by literal, poetic, and idiomatic English translations. The volumes also include information on Armenian music and historic events relevant to the repertoire, composer biographies, and sources. Classical singers, vocal coaches, and voice teachers will find this Anthology helpful in learning and teaching Armenian art songs. This article describes the process of putting together the volumes, elucidates linguistic and grammatical intricacies of the Armenian language, and provides an IPA transliteration key that will greatly simplify the learning process.