The “Armenian National Music Treasury”

The Armenian National Musical Treasury” project launched in February, 2014. It consists of a few subprojects:

  • Creation of a digital music library․
  • Publications of musical literature․
  • Creation of a portable audio-recorder․
  • Digitization of notes․

To start the implementation of the project, highly qualified specialists in the field of Armenian traditional music were chosen. The specialists were professors, instructors of the Yerevan State Conservatory after Komitas, as well as experienced music managers. Having chosen the specialists and the musical pieces, castings were conducted that resulted in the selection of the soloists of Armenian folk songs, and the formation of the male chorus “Zark”, consisting of 10 singers. “Zark” has been operating since February, 2014 and during the next 4 months has recorded 60 spiritual songs from the 5th to the 15th century. From July, 2014 to May, 2015 in collaboration with AP records, more than 500 vocal and instrumental compositions: folk, spiritual, ashug, were recorded. In parallel to recording, processes began directed to the creation of armenianmusic.am online music portal, in which all the recordings were placed. Compositions are organized by all possible filters: type, genre, performer, region, used instruments and etc. The list of compositions includes songs from historic Eastern and Western Armenia’s regions. The web-page is introduced in 4 languages: Eastern Armenian, Western Armenian, English and Russian. It is also available as a mobile app both for IOS and Android. In the portal, each song is accompanied by a thematic illustration, In the portal, each song is accompanied by a thematic illustration,

The “Armenian National Music Treasury”
The “Armenian National Music Treasury”
The “Armenian National Music Treasury”
The “Armenian National Music Treasury”

The “Armenian National Music Treasury” aims at:

  • recording and re-recording Armenian national, folk and religious music
  • preserving the cultural heritage and conveying it to the generations
  • creating a modern digital record library of Armenian folk and spiritual songs, up to international standards
  • revive national songs, rituals and customs
  • restore the literature in musical notation and make Armenian cultural heritage technically accessible
  • create an international portal for Armenian national music, establish a source for scholarly research material for Armenians in Armenia and the diaspora
  • promote the use of Armenian music in film productions, thus mainstreaming ethnic tunes through the cinema.