Armenian Lullabies and Songs of Longing

Kitka

One of Armenia's leading folk singers, Hasmik Harutyunyan is world-renowned for her work with Yerevan's Shoghaken Folk Ensemble and for her mellifluous renditions of Armenian lullabies, one of the most ancient and evocative genres in Armenian music. Her quietly passionate interpretations of lullabies from historical villages across the Armenian plateau offer a mesmerizing glimpse at a lost world. She draws strength and inspiration from her ancestors in the province of Mush in Historic Armenia, especially her grandmother, Mafo (pictured above), who sang to her as a child. In addition to songs sung by her family, Hasmik learned many of the lullabies in her repertoire from old women who had emigrated from Anatolia to eastern Armenia before or during the Armenian massacres of 1915, as well as from their descendants and old song collections. Hasmik Harutyunyan's CD, Armenian Lullabies (Traditional Crossroads), was praised in a New York Times review as "The best Armenian recording worldwide."

Kitka, meaning "bouquet" in Bulgarian and Macedonian, is now celebrating its 30th anniversary season. Kitka began as a grassroots group of singers from diverse ethnic and musical backgrounds who shared a passion for the stunning dissonances, asymmetric rhythms, intricate ornamentation, lush harmonies, and resonant strength of Eastern European women's vocal traditions. The group has since evolved into a professional touring ensemble, earning international recognition for its artistry, versatility, and fresh approach to folk music. Through a busy itinerary of live and broadcast performances, recordings, educational programs, commissioning programs and collaborations, Kitka has exposed millions to the haunting beauty of their unique repertoire.

These concerts celebrate the release of Cradle Songs, Kitka's new album and companion songbook of traditional and original lullabies and songs of childhood. Cradle Songs features three Armenian lullabies taught to Kitka by Hasmik Harutyunyan.

The collaboration between Kitka and Hasmik Harutyunyan is part of Kitka's Song Routes in a New Land project, an initiative that explores the preservation and transformation of ethnic music traditions among California's immigrant communities. Song Routes in a New Land is supported, in part by grants from the James Irvine Foundation's New Connections Fund, the Walter and Elise Haas Fund, The City of Oakland Cultural Funding Program, and the Clorox Community Foundation. Other co-sponsors of these events include the St. Vartan Armenian Church Cultural Committee and the CSU Fresno Armenian Studies and Music Departments.