Album expected to make big waves
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Vercihan Ziflioğlu
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mayıs 21, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - Kalan Music is releasing a new album that will become a hot topic in Turkey. The album is named ’Meds Yeghern - 1915 Oratorio' and includes music by world-renowned Armenian composer Khaçadur Avedisyan.
The owner of ethnic Anatolian music label Kalan Music is preparing to release a controversial album by world-renowned Armenian composer Khaçadur Avedisyan. Bound to be a hot topic, the album, titled "Meds Yeghern - 1915 Oratorio," was dedicated to the incidents that took place between the Ottomans and Armenians in 1915.
"I have attempted to release the album in Turkey for many years," Hasan Saltuk, owner of Kalan Music, told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review. "It was not easy to reach the composer’s family. Also, there were no original records of the album."
Saltuk accidentally found the original records during a trip to Paris. With the help of a friend’s son from the Netherlands, Saltuk reached Avedisyan’s son, Mikayel Avedisyan. He then encountered another problem. The composer willed that the album should be released only with the title "Genocide - 1915 Oratorio."
Although Saltuk barely persuaded Avedisyan about the issue, he came up with a new idea. They decided to release the album with the title "Meds Yeghern - 1915 Oratorio" rather than "Genocide - 1915 Oratorio."
The Armenian expression "Meds Yeghern," meaning "great catastrophe," which was used by U.S. President Barack Obama on April 24 to refer to the events of 1915, has caused much debate in Turkey. Saltuk said he was ready for the big discussions that might occur after the album’s release.
"We want to prove that albums like this can be released in Turkey," he said. "This CD will show that the 1915 incidents can be discussed in the country. In this way, the diaspora’s political argument used against Turkey will disappear."
Our fight is for freedom of thought
Saltuk said Turkey has been developing and modernizing very rapidly and that he would not have been able to release an album like that in the 1990s. "I was sued many times because we released music belonging to different Anatolian ethnic cultures in their original languages," he said. "Today the state clearly talks about the issues for which I have been tried in the past."
Saltuk said problems could be overcome only by talking: "Our fight is to ban the bans."
Saltuk said the album included seven songs performed by the Armenian National Radio National Instruments Group and the Armenian National Radio Chamber Music. He said the album was precious in a musical sense and that he was happy to add it to Kalan Music’s archive.
About Khaçadur Avedisyan
Khaçadur Avedisyan was born in 1926 in Armenian’s second largest town, Gyumri. At 25, he was the first Armenian artist to win gold medals at international competitions in Berlin and Moscow. As well as classical music, he worked on Armenian folk music and played traditional folk instruments. He formed the folk music unit at the Gomidas National Conservatory in Yerevan in 1978. He worked as the art director of the National Dance Group and later for Tatul Altunyan Music and Dance Group in 1958. He continued composing music at the same time.
"I have attempted to release the album in Turkey for many years," Hasan Saltuk, owner of Kalan Music, told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review. "It was not easy to reach the composer’s family. Also, there were no original records of the album."
Saltuk accidentally found the original records during a trip to Paris. With the help of a friend’s son from the Netherlands, Saltuk reached Avedisyan’s son, Mikayel Avedisyan. He then encountered another problem. The composer willed that the album should be released only with the title "Genocide - 1915 Oratorio."
Although Saltuk barely persuaded Avedisyan about the issue, he came up with a new idea. They decided to release the album with the title "Meds Yeghern - 1915 Oratorio" rather than "Genocide - 1915 Oratorio."
The Armenian expression "Meds Yeghern," meaning "great catastrophe," which was used by U.S. President Barack Obama on April 24 to refer to the events of 1915, has caused much debate in Turkey. Saltuk said he was ready for the big discussions that might occur after the album’s release.
"We want to prove that albums like this can be released in Turkey," he said. "This CD will show that the 1915 incidents can be discussed in the country. In this way, the diaspora’s political argument used against Turkey will disappear."
Our fight is for freedom of thought
Saltuk said Turkey has been developing and modernizing very rapidly and that he would not have been able to release an album like that in the 1990s. "I was sued many times because we released music belonging to different Anatolian ethnic cultures in their original languages," he said. "Today the state clearly talks about the issues for which I have been tried in the past."
Saltuk said problems could be overcome only by talking: "Our fight is to ban the bans."
Saltuk said the album included seven songs performed by the Armenian National Radio National Instruments Group and the Armenian National Radio Chamber Music. He said the album was precious in a musical sense and that he was happy to add it to Kalan Music’s archive.
About Khaçadur Avedisyan
Khaçadur Avedisyan was born in 1926 in Armenian’s second largest town, Gyumri. At 25, he was the first Armenian artist to win gold medals at international competitions in Berlin and Moscow. As well as classical music, he worked on Armenian folk music and played traditional folk instruments. He formed the folk music unit at the Gomidas National Conservatory in Yerevan in 1978. He worked as the art director of the National Dance Group and later for Tatul Altunyan Music and Dance Group in 1958. He continued composing music at the same time.