Music of Komitas Vardapet

One of the most influential figures in Armenian classical music, Komitas Vardapet was a composer, choir singer, pianist, flutist, and musicologist. He was immensely gifted – let us say, he was chosen by a local priest to be sent to study at the seminary after singing a hymn without knowing the Armenian language (it was deprecated in Kütahya, his native town, back then). One of his performances made Claude Debussy deeply flurried – French composer said to Vardapet he adores his music genius. Among other admirers were also Gabriel Faure and Camille Saint-Saëns. Unfortunately, Vardapet is a victim of the Armenian Genocide and died in a psychiatric clinic, broken-down and desolated by inhumanity he had seen. Many of his manuscripts were destroyed and lost, but those that left are integral part of classical music. Here is Dances for Piano.