Poetry
Անլռելի զանգակատուն
Not translated into English
Paruyr Sevak · 1959
Synopsis
The life of Komitas, a priest and musician who collected the songs of the Armenian people, followed song by song. Each age bears the name of one of his melodies, the orphan, the exile, the lover, up to the year 1915, when the man who had saved these songs is taken away with the others, and from which he returned with a broken spirit.
Context
The poem was written in Moscow, where the author studied and then taught, and appeared in 1959; it is dedicated to Komitas and to the memory of the genocide. It follows the musician's songs to mark the ages of his life, Antuni for the orphan, Krung for the exile, Sona yar for love, up to the deportation of 1915 and madness. After independence, the poet's native village, where he is buried, was given the name Zangakatun, the belfry, in homage to this book.
Who it is for
Long, in several parts, and difficult without some background on Komitas and his melodies, which the text assumes the reader knows.
Prizes and reception
The book that made its author famous throughout the Armenian world, and that won him the State Prize of Armenia in 1966.