Multimedia Guide
What's trending in the world of Armenian culture
Photo credit: Norayr Kasper, "Residues of a Slogan." Fotoistanbul 2015.Join our community and receive regular updates!
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‘Lala & Ara’ and ‘Arti’: Bringing colorful language to a new whole dimension
This Christmas, consider the priceless gifts of language and script! Download the “Lala & Ara,” free and interactive mobile apps and experience our beautiful mother tongue and alphabet with the youngest members of your brood.
'Ari Im Sokhag': Armenia’s favorite lullaby
No list on Armenian folk music would be complete without the inclusion of the lullaby, "Ari Im Sokhag" ("Come Hither, My Nightingale"). There are countless versions of this song all over the Internet and it remains one of Armenia’s favorite folk songs, which may seem baffling. Why so much love for a children’s song?
'Leylum': Try not to dance when you hear this
French ethno folk band, Collectif Medz Bazar, is comprised of young Armenian, Kurdish, Turkish, French, and American members from Paris. One of their most renowned songs, "Leylum," is based on the popular Sasuntsi wedding dance song, "Mayroke," about a beautiful, black-haired girl named Mariam—“Mayro” in the Sasuntsi dialect.
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'Tamam Ashkharh': The multilingual gusan's masterpiece
When 6’4’’ Russian-Armenian Eva Rivas burst unto the Armenian music scene less than a decade ago, many branded her the “Armenian Angelina Jolie." The attention on her looks quickly overshadowed her impressive vocals—that is, until she released her cover of "Tamam Ashkharh" (“The Whole World”). Then, it seemed like tamam ashkharh began to notice her musical talent.
'Here's to You, Ararat': Seeing the mountain from 'the other side'
Grammy Award-winning Turkish-Armenian avant-garde folk artist, Arto Tunçboyaciyan, has been reinventing the modern Armenian folk genre for the past few decades. Though not a cover, the song "Here's To You Ararat," released with his group, the Armenian Navy Band, tells of Arto’s love for Mount Ararat, once in Armenia, now in Turkey.
Transparent Language Online: Become bilingual today
CEO of Transparent Language, Michael Quinlan, states, ”No language is so small that no one needs to learn it. If we could, we would provide learning material for all 7,000 languages in the world." This mantra has steered the company to become one of the world’s leading language-learning programs, offering over 100 languages in its vast arsenal, including Armenian!
'Ashkharhums Imn Dun Is': A modern take on a 300-year-old masterpiece
The great 18th-century multilingual Armenian troubadour, Sayat Nova (“King of Songs” in Persian), captivated the Caucasus with his tales of love—often, unrequited. One of his most famous compositions, "Ashkharhums Imn Dun Is" ("In This World, You Are Mine"), is a love song in the Classical Armenian dialect. It’s romantic, poetic, and oh-so-Sayat Nova-esque.
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AGBU Armenian Virtual College: The coolest online course you’ll ever take
The same year Mark Zuckerberg launched Facebook, the world’s tech capital inspired another ingenious endeavor: AGBU’s Silicon Valley chapter set out to create the world’s first online Armenian language program. In true tech fashion, the result was a groundbreaking program, forever changing the game of Armenian language learning
'Yaman Yar': No singing here
From listening to this tune, it may be a bit difficult to parse the folk song from the modern rabiz... After all, there is no singing here, and the main features of the song seem to be the clarinet and dhol (Armenian drums)—staples of rabiz, kef time (party) music in Armenia.
'Sona Yar': Bringing this Mshetsi tune back to life
Taking a note from the immense global popularity of Armenian-American heavy metal band, System of a Down, Armenia has produced a few artists and bands in the heavy metal genre in recent years. Two such bands are the Vanadzor-based, politically conscious ensembles, Vordan Karmir and Zen.