Deep chant of lamenting voices
“Kovkas” (‘Caucasus’) tells the story of the Armenian people, starting with their ancestors — traced to have inhabited today’s Armenia from Lower Palaeolithic onwards, as supported by findings of obsidian lithic tools dated ca. 1 million years-old — until their present descendants, who faced persecution and genocide armed with the force of their hope for survival.
The melismatic chant theme that opens Kovkas is based on the Hurrian hymn to Nikkal (ca. 1400 b. C.) discovered in Ugarit and transcribed by Anne Kilmer (1974). (Anne Kilmer "The Cult Song with Music from Ancient Ugarit: Another Interpretation". Revue d'Assyriologie 68 (1974): 69–82.) The overall melodic contour of Kovkas is built using the Armenian infinite scale. Kovka’s cordal structures and clusters depict the impact that the discovery of fractions had on music.
The violin techniques used in Kovkas were specially created by Hayk Manukyan, who was the performer in the World premier of Kovkas.
- The voice of the stones
- Mount Ararat
- Deep chant of lamenting voices
- Words of hope
- The Force