Assignment #2
Music Appreciation
27.10.2020
In 1906 Komitas Vardapet wrote a cycle of dances for piano in Paris called "Six Dances."
It is an exciting and unique composition, where the piano first appears as the Master's core
means of performance. This paper will look at one of the fantastic compositions from this cycle
named "Shushiki." The title of each piece includes both the name of the dance itself and the area
from which it originates. Hence, the listener and performer can better imagine the specific
region’s identity and feel the rhythm and character of the dance. So let's compare three
performances of the same composition in order to see how pianists interpreted Armenian folk
music.
The first performer is Armenian pianist Hayk Melikyan. Comparing with other performances,
he plays at a relatively fast pace, a more mobile tempo, so here we can feel that "Shushaki" is
dance music that achieves some of the grace, elegance, and tenderness of a woman's dance. He
illustrates it very natural and flexible so we can imagine dancers’ body movements by harmonic
forms and rhythmic patterns. Moreover, he emphasizes the supple and wealthy rhythm and
prevalent articulations. Also, he creates an echo effect with the help of a pedal, which makes the
performance very tender and interlaced. So, Melikyan performs this excellent piece with ease
and airiness, highlighting all dignities of Armenian folk music.
In contrast, Khatia Buniatishvili performs more gently and wiser, reliving each note. Here
she emphasized the broad and sweet melody, which consists of various intertwined melodic
fragments. It is obvious that she plays much slower than the other two pianists and maintains
constant pianissimo during the whole performance. In my perspective, in Buniatishvili's
performance, you can feel sadness and thoughtfulness; it no longer resembles a dance. You can
feel the pain and sophisticated fate of the Armenian nation. Hence, by profound involvement into
music, this amazing pianist flawlessly performed this work, which is harmonized by Komitas
with rare skill and excellent taste.
And the last performer is the Russian pianist Grigory Sokolov, whose performance is like a
mixture of the first and the second pianists since we can hear the lightness of performance and, at
the same time, deep living profound involvement into music. His dynamics are very colorful and
vivid, and it seems that he plays with rhythm and characters. Likewise, as the Buniatishvili's
performance, we can not hear national dance music; it is more storytelling by a unique
interpretation of the pianist. I really like the pianist's way of playing this composition, but to be
honest, I feel that here he lost that Armenian folk music's identity. For instance, Melikyan clearly
shows the gentle and elegant dance of Armenian girls, and in Buniatishvili's performance, as I
mentioned, you can feel the sadness and pain of Armenians, but here I can not connect it with
Komitas. However, Sokolov's interpretation is very versatile and amusing.
To conclude, I always admire the works of the greatest composer of all time, Komitas, and it
was my pleasure to write about one of the most beloved compositions. As we can see, the three
pianists of different nationalities interpreted the same work totally in another way. Of course, it is
impossible to perform the same piece in the same way, and each musician feels and interprets it
individually. However, I believe that in the case of Komitas, the nationalities of pianists also
have an impact on the performances.
Reference:
Komitas Vardapet: Six Dances Keiko Shichijo
https://makkumrecords.nl/mr17.html#:~:text=In%201906%20Komitas%20Vardapet
%20wrote,dances%20for%20piano%20in%20Paris. HYPERLINK
"https://makkumrecords.nl/mr17.html#:~:text=In%201906%20Komitas%20Vardapet
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%20based,tenderness%20of%20a%20woman's%20dance"& HYPERLINK
"https://makkumrecords.nl/mr17.html#:~:text=In%201906%20Komitas%20Vardapet
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