The list of performers at this year’s Sevan Music Festival is starting to form every day. To allow our fans to get to know our performers, we will be conducting interviews with some of them. The singer Hasmik Baghdasaryan Doloukhanyan graciously accepted to be our first interviewee.
_What was your motivation to sing spiritual music?
_My motivation was life itself. At first, it wasn’t a specific choice, but out of my own abilities as a chamber singer my voice fit the nuances of spiritual music better. The range that spiritual music allows just feels good. Also, on my mother’s side there were a lot of priests and on my father’s side, a lot of musicians.
_Do you feel like someone needs a certain degree of spiritual maturity to be able to understand and perform spiritual music well?
_Maybe at the beginning someone is able to perform the music beautifully, but it takes years for you to interpret the music in your own way. You just close your eyes, pray, and then the music reaches where it needs to be. When I perform it in the right way, the prayer is joined with the people.
_You have traveled to many different countries. Do you have any interesting or spectacular memories from those days?
_Many years ago, during a concert in Milan, I was sitting with a very interesting man that turned out to be a priest. After the concert, I heard his voice and he approached me and began to touch my face. At first I was horrified, but then I slowly realized that he was blind. After he touched me he said, “Now I know how an angel looks.” That left a great impression on me ans stays with me.
_In the past you have said that it was a very cruel compliment for someone to say that ‘if you had been born in the Soviet Union, you would be a very famous singer.’ Why do you think this is a cruel compliment and not follow the truth.
_You have to understand that it violated my value system in all areas. I always say that those ideas narrow my scope. I do think that spiritual music is for the masses same with listening to Komitas and others who supported spiritual music. Music should not be used for propaganda for people with similar values.
_ Would you talk about the references in “Light” quintet? How was your life? The two became quite inseparable.
_“Light” is a very important point in my life. Years ago I was singing with the Geghardavank Group, but then the group dissolved. The five of us women, decided to part from the group and formed our own five group. We have been singing together for 14 years now. The last tour we went on was very hot, and very interesting, as goes with most tours, recordings and concerts.
_ You have had many collaborations with various composers. There was an American composer named John Hodiyan included in that group. How did that relationship start and how was the collaboration?
_John Hodiyan is an American born Armenian, whose grandparents were survivors of the genocide. One day, I took the opportunity to visit his ancestral home in Geghard, where we were singing at the time I met him. He approached me and we became acquainted and discussed collaboration. A few years later, with my experience and works, I returned to him with an offer to read poems of the Baptist Naghash. The collaboration expanded from the Naghash work. John received many invitations from many singers, but he could not accept them all. Together, we participated in several festivals.
_Why did you decide to take part in the Sevan Music Festival?
_I think many festivals always assemble and with that a nucleus will be revealed for the future. Festivals have to understand this process to make the music creator and the youth work together. I very much love the idea.
Prepared by Hermine Gharibyan