WITNESS | Silent Cranes I. slave to your voice - Kronos Quartet, Mary Kouyoumdjian, Laurie Olinder
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WITNESS | Silent Cranes I. slave to your voice by Kronos Quartet and Mary Kouyoumdjian (video by Laurie Olinder)
Composed by: Mary Kouyoumdjian (Project Schott New York)
marykouyoumdjian.com
Performed by: Kronos Quartet
David Harrington, violin
John Sherba, violin
Hank Dutt, viola
Paul Wiancko, cello
kronosquartet.org
I. slave to your voice
II. you did not answer
III. [with blood-soaked feathers]
IV. you flew away
April 24, 2015 marked the centennial of the Armenian Genocide, a tragic event that led to the mass extermination of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Turks. While over 20 countries have formally recognized the Armenian Genocide, the United States only recognized it as recently as 2021, and modern-day Turkey continues to deny the Armenian Genocide, threatening consequences to those who push the topic within its borders. Even now, this historic event continues to be just as unresolved as it was before. As an Armenian-American composer who values freedom of speech and whose family fled the genocide, I feel this is an essential time to remember those who were lost, while continuing a dialogue about what happened and how we can prevent further genocides from happening in the future.
Silent Cranes is inspired by the Armenian folk song “Groung (Crane)” in which the singer calls out to the migratory bird, begging for word from their homeland, only to have the crane respond with silence and fly away. The first, second, and fourth movement titles quote directly from the folk song lyrics. Those who were lost during the genocide are cranes in their own way, unable to speak of the horrors that happened, and it is the responsibility of the living to give them a voice.
The prerecorded backing track includes testimonies by genocide survivors, recordings from the genocide era of Armenian folk songs, and a poem from investigative journalist David Barsamian in response to the question ‘Why is it important to talk about the Armenian Genocide 100 years later?’
Silent Cranes is dedicated to those lost and to those living who can promote change.
Silent Cranes was commissioned for the Kronos Quartet with support from the David Harrington Research and Development Fund, the Angel Stoyanof Commission Fund, Zvart and Rouben Potoukian, Andrea A. Lunsford, Gates McFadden and Robert Straus, Dayna Sumiyoshi and Greg Smedsrud, many funders in the Indiegogo community, and other generous individuals. Silent Cranes was premiered by the Kronos Quartet at the Yerevan Perspectives 16th International Music Festival in the Armenian National Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet in Yerevan, Armenia, on April 29, 2015.
Audio excerpts of recordings: Komitas Vardapet/Armenak Shah Muradian and “Andouni (Homeless)” Paris, France, 1912 (courtesy of Traditional Crossroads, CD 4275 The Voice of Komitas, www.traditionalcrossroads.com); “Groung (Crane)” performed by Zabelle Panosian, Harlem, New York, 1917 (courtesy of Tompkins Square and Ian Nagoski, www.tompkinssquare.com)
Survivor Testimonies: Araxie Barsamian, Bishop Hagop, Victoria Mellian, (courtesy of David Barsamian); Haig Baronian, Aghavnie Der Sarkissian, Elise Hagopian Taft, Nium Sukkar, (courtesy of the Armenian Film Foundation); Azniv Guiragossian (interviewed by Taleen Babayan and the composer).
https://www.phenotypicrecordings.com/witness-liner-notes
WITNESS
Album full track list:
1. Groung [Crane]
(inspired by Zabelle Panosian)
Traditional, arr. Mary Kouyoumdjian
(Track Pack Productions)
Bombs of Beirut
Mary Kouyoumdjian
(Project Schott New York)
2. I. Before the War
3. II. The War
4. III. After the War
5. I Haven't the Words
Mary Kouyoumdjian
(Track Pack Productions)
Silent Cranes
Mary Kouyoumdjian
(Project Schott New York)
6. I. slave to your voice
7. II. you did not answer
8. III. [with blood-soaked feathers]
9. IV. you flew away
https://www.phenotypicrecordings.com/kronos-quartet-mary-kouyoumdjian-witness
Produced by Reshena Liao and Kronos Quartet
Recorded December 9–13, 2023 at 25th Street Recording in Oakland, California
Scott Fraser, Engineer
Gabriel Shepard and Karishma Kumar, Assistant Engineers
Edited and mixed by Scott Fraser and David Harrington
Mastered by Scott Fraser
Executive Producer: Janet Cowperthwaite
Cover art and design by Osheen Harruthoonyan
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