"HOMAGE TO KOMITAS"

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Trio Aeternus

Alexander Stewart, violin
Varoujan Bartikian, cello
João Paulo Santos, piano

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(First recording)

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      "His Homage to Komitas [13] is the product of a meeting that Trio Aeternus had with Agoshian in Istanbul, and the resultant work was dedicated to the Aeternus Trio in 2017. Divided into the sections ‘Broken Bells’ [13], ‘Broken Dance’ [14], ‘Possession’ [15], ‘Deus Internus’ [16], ‘Broken Dance 2’ [17] and Sitie (‘Thirst’) [18], the aural ambience of the Homage remains profoundly religious, even as the themes are twisted to portray Komitas’ progressive descent into insanity. The ‘broken’ subtitles are depicted with quotes from liturgical choir and Komitas’ folk transcriptions. According to the composer-writer and producer of this recording, Virgílio Melo, ‘The imitation of broken bells, the lament, elements of an irregular dance, obsessive ostinati, string cadenzas, evocation of a Byzantine choir, impressionistic sonorities of the piano, quotation of melodies notated by Komitas; all these represent characteristics and show the fruits of a work imbued in anguish and disruption’. 22 The final two accented quavers, marked pesante fortississimo, are inscribed with the Latin consummatum est, ‘it is finished’."

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                                                                                                                                    William Melton

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