Hover Chamber Choir of Armenia

The internationally acclaimed, award-winning Hover: Chamber Choir of Armenia was established in Yerevan, Armenia in 1992 as a performing arts group, consisting of 26 singers many of whom are students, or graduates, of the Komitas National Conservatory in Yerevan, Armenia. The choir is supported by donations and honoraria. Sona Hovannisyan was born in 1963 to a musical family in Yerevan. She graduated from the Yegishe Charents English-language secondary school and the Sayat-Nova music school. Her early attraction to choral art led her to become a founding member of Arthur Veranyan's experimental woman's choir. In 1984, she graduated with honors from the conducting faculty of the Romanos Melikyan Musical College in Yerevan and then studied at the Komitas National Conservatory from 1984-89, graduating with honors and staying on to pursue graduate work. Since her student years Sona has been a choir director, leading the school choir at Secondary School No. 119 to national acclaim, as well as directing the children's choir of the Yerevan Pioneers Palace and Hayren Chamber Choir (founded by S. Ter-Ghazaryan). In 1992, Sona founded the Hover Chamber Choir, which she continues to serve as artistic director and conductor. The Hover Chamber Choir has three main goals: (1) releasing Armenian and international classics from their Œpetrified state' and infusing them with life; (2) bringing contemporary works to Armenian audiences and expanding choral repertoire and tastes with rarely performed works; (3) creating a new choral genre, combining mime and song, adding a visual, kinetic dimension, though not a dance element, using movement symbolically, as signs of life, death, eternity, love, farce, and folk traditions, and yet presents a fresh, modern synthesis of the performing arts.

Discography

Armenian Voices

Esti Dal (Evening Song) (Zoltan Kodaly) Carol (Benjamin Britten) Ye that Pasen by (Benjamin Britten) Remember not, Lord, Our Offences (Henry Purcell) Crucifixus (Antonio Lotti) Timor et Tremor (Francis Poulenc) Nicolette (Maruice Ravel) Lenten is Come (Benjamin Britten) A Hymn to the Virgin (Benjamin Britten) Ode (Sirt im sasani) (Mkhitar Ayrivanetsi) Threshing Song (Sandi Yerg) (Komitas) Ploughing Song of Lori (Loretsineri gutani horovel) (Komitas) A Pumpkin Grows on the Garden Wall (Baghi pate ddum a) (Komitas) Greeting the Morning (Aravotun bari luys) (Komitas) Cloudy Skies (Ampel a kamar-kamar) (Komitas) Dance-songs (Parerger) (Komitas) Secretary to God (Asttso kartughare) (Arzas Voskanyan) A Quiet Place (Ralph Carmichael - Jerry Rubino) Swing Low, Sweet Chariot (George Gershwin) Michelle (John Lennon - Paul McCartney) Scherzo (Lars Edlund)

In Armenian, Hover (Hoh-vér) evokes the image on song soaring on the wind, and it's also the name of one of the most beautiful Armenian folk songs by Komitas vardapet, a revered name in Armenian folk and sacred music, also part of Hover's repertoire. The 24-strong mixed-voice Choir came together in Yerevan in 1992 as a volunteer performing arts group, mostly students and graduates of the Komitas National Conservatory; led by founder and artistic director Sona Hovhannisyan. There are 21 folk and sacred songs here, particularly nice are Kodaly's "Esti Dal" (Evening Song), Britten's "Carol" and "Ye that Pasen By," Poulenc's "Timor et Tremor," Ravel's "Nicolette," and a number of wonderful tunes by Armenia's Komitas: "Ode," "Threshing Song," "Ploughing Song of Lori," "A Pumpkin Grows on the Garden Wall," and "Greeting The Morning," Gershwin's "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" and Lennon/McCartney's "Michelle." A joyful, well-chosen mix, beautifully performed by this fine mixed Choir. The extensive, colorful liner notes tell us about the music and lyrics.

7112 CD $15.98

Vardan Aigektsi - Six Fables

Prologue. The Healing Bird The Hermit And The Sheepdog Interlude The Eagle And The Arrow The Ailing Lion And The Fox The Camel, The Donkey, And The Pigs The Fox And The Armor Epilogue

Hover performs the Choral Mystery, a work based on the fables of the The Armenian Renaissance fabulist and monk Vardan Aigektsi (1170­1235). The fables were adapted for the stage by Yuri Sahakyan, and set to music specially for Hover by Stepan Babatorosyan, and performed under the direction of Mikayel Vatinyan and Arthur Manukyan at the Io-Theatre, Although thoroughly modern and innovative, the Choral Mystery springs from the traditions of ancient theater and contemporary opera. Like its predecessors, including the Christian mystery plays, classical cantata, comedia della arte, this work is morality theater in the manner of an oratorio. The Aigektsi fables with their varied themes and colorful characters provide the perfect material for fusing the dramatic, graphic, kinetic and musical capabilities of Hover. Although 700 years old, the Aigektsi Fables are as relevant today as when they were written. They combine modern and traditional Armenian musical elements with dramatic device dating to early Greek drama.

7131 CD $15.98

To find a specific song on any recording (or to find recordings by group name or CD title),
pick the search method and type the item you are searching for here:

By Song Title

By Group Name

By Recording Title

By Music Category Any Category Contemporary Vocal Jazz Barbershop Doo-Wop Choral Collegiate Gospel World

    or use our for more search options