FOREWORD
One of the brightest representatives of the Armenian composer school of the 20th century is Arno Harutyunovich Babajanyan. A brilliant pianist and talented composer, whose special melodic gift and deep emotionality were clearly manifested in his lyrical and patriotic songs, as well as in the field of theater and film music.
The famous and beloved composer was born on January 21, 1921 in Yerevan. In 1926, Aram Khachaturian, being a young composer, having listened to the melodies composed by 5-year-old Arno, appreciated the boy’s bright musical abilities and predicted a bright future for him.
During the period of study at the music school for Arno, one important event turned out to be significant. The “Pioneer March” created by him in 1932 was printed by “Armgiz” in a circulation of 1000 copies. The initiator was the department of culture of the publishing house, which was headed by the famous poet Yeghishe Charents. According to the composer and choirmaster Martin Mazmanyan, the day before the poet expressed his admiration for the performance of the gifted boy and decided to encourage him. The talented poet on the title page of the “Pioneer March” inscribes “opus 1, (i.e. work No. 1) to be published in 1000 copies.”
Thirteen-year-old Arno wins first places in mathematics and physics at school olympiads. However, the piano remains his favorite instrument. As contemporaries testify, during a solo concert in the Philharmonic hall, when the viewer, with bated breath, admiringly watched Arno play, a young man removes a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe his sweaty hands, and together with a handkerchief a top, a thread from a top, a piece of chalk fall onto the stage. and colored pencils. The hall burst into laughter, however, when the young man’s fingers touched the piano keys, those present again, petrified, in complete silence, listened attentively to the works of Beethoven, Mozart, Mendelssohn. And at the end of the concert, Arno performed the march he had written.
Arno Babajanyan perfected himself in the music studio of the House of Culture of Armenia in Moscow, studying at the same time at the Yerevan and Moscow conservatories.
In 1947 he graduated externally from the composition department of the Yerevan Conservatory (composition class of Professor V. Talyan), and in 1948 from the Moscow Conservatory (piano class of Professor K. Igumnov).
Today it is difficult to imagine the historical path of development of the Armenian pop song without the rich song heritage of A. Babajanyan. The songs of Arno Babajanyan attract with their emotionality, beauty, melodiousness, imbued with indestructible love of life. The song for Babajanyan was a kind of breath. He was a master of song.
Melodic catchiness, intonation incendiary, combined with the vivid imagery of the texts, make Babajanyan’s songs especially attractive.
The boundless love for the motherland, the native city was reflected in the songs “The Best City on Earth”, “Yerevan”, “My Motherland”. In the song genre, he turned out to be an innovator, turning to the fashionable genre of Western music – the twist. An example of this was the song “Queen of Beauty”. Lyrical and lyrical-dramatic songs “Nocturne”, “Waiting”, “Bridges”, “Don’t Hurry”, “Year of Love” worthily entered the repertoire of famous performers to this day.
The music for the films “The Song of the First Love” and “The Bride from the North” gained particular popularity.
Arno Babajanyan is an original composer with a bright national background.
Over the years, the composer’s attitude to the choice of lyrics crystallizes. Turning to the poems of Armenian and Russian poets: A. Grashi, A. Sahakyan, O. Ghukasyan, G. Emin, R. Rozhdestvensky, L. Derbenev, E. Yevtushenko, A. Voznesensky, the composer pays special attention not only to the content of the texts, but also rhythmic and melodic basis of the songs, which makes it lively and spiritual.
So, what is the secret of the popularity of Babajanyan’s songs. First of all, they were created by the hand of a talented musician with a high sense of taste. Relief imagery, expressiveness, originality, harmonic diversity are the characteristic features of the composer’s song creativity.
The songs of Arno Babajanyan are the call of his heart, the epic strength of his powerful character, the warmth of his feelings.
Professor David GHAZARYAN