Tigran Hamasyan – Luys I Luso (2015) [ProStudioMasters FLAC 24bit/96kHz]

Pianist Tigran Hamasyan’s Luys I Luso (“Light from the Light”) is an extraordinary exploration of Armenian sacred music, hymns and sharakans (Armenia’s liturgical songs) as well as chants, all arranged for voices and piano. This music of the 5th to 19th centuries is given new and dramatic expression through Hamasyan’s improvisational imagination and committed performances from Armenia’s leading choir, the Yerevan State Chamber Choir. Hamasayan has long been deeply interested in Armenian sacred music, increasingly drawn to its “incredibly beautiful melodies”.

For his first recording on the ECM label, Tigran Hamasyan releases an album that is wholly unique, set apart from his previous work. With Luys i Luso (translated as Light of Light), the 27-year-old prodigy engages in an extraordinary exploration of Armenian religious music. Hamasyan selects both hymns and sharakans (Armenian liturgical songs), arranging them for voice and piano. Music written between the fifth and the nineteenth centuries finds new and dramatic expression in the hands of an artist possessing inordinate imaginative and improvisational talent. Hamasyan has been shaking the jazzosphere for several years now, and these interpretations tie in the talents of the Yerevan State Chamber Choir, Armenia’s most prominent choir, in collaboration. Produced by ECM’s Manfred Eicher, Luys i Luso was put to tape in Yerevan in October 2014, and released in 2015 in commemoration of the centenary of the Armenian genocide. This album is, most evidently, an important and singular piece in the burgeoning oeuvre of Tigran Hamasyan; a jazzman renowned for his ability to refashion artists as diverse as Thelonious Monk and Led Zeppelin! New listeners are urged to recognise the capacious memory that constitutes Luys i Luso. It is a fascinating and brilliantly thought out collection from a young pianist expanding his repertoire with great originality.

Tracklist:
01 – Ov Zarmanali (1)
02 – Ankanim Araji Qo
03 – Ov Zarmanali (2)
04 – Hayrapetakan Maghterg (1)
05 – Bazum En Qo Gtutyunqd
06 – Nor Tsaghik
07 – Hayrapetakan Maghterg (2)
08 – Hayrapetakan Maghterg (3)
09 – Havoun Havoun
10 – Voghormea Indz Astvats
11 – Sirt Im Sasani (1)
12 – Surb Astvats
13 – Sirt Im Sasani (2)
14 – Orhnyal E Astvats

Produced by Manfred Eicher. Engineer: Markus Heiland.
Recorded in October 2014 at Argo Recording Studio, Yerevan, Armenia.
Mixed March 2015 at RSI Studio Lugano by Markus Heiland, Manfred Eicher,Tigran Hamasyan.

Musicians:
Tigran Hamasyan – piano, prepared piano
Yerevan State Chamber Choir – Conducted by Harutyun Topikyan.

Download:

TigranHamasayanLuysILus2015PrStudiMasters2496.part1.rar
TigranHamasayanLuysILus2015PrStudiMasters2496.part2.rar