Konstantin Volostnov’s new album was recorded on the organ of the Concert Hall of the Composers’ Union of Armenia. A whole chapter of the country’s musical history, linked both to this instrument and to its compositional tradition, remains terra incognita to a wide audience. Volostnov describes the organ culture of modern Armenia as “an unprecedented phenomenon.” It began to develop about 100 years ago, and during this time a significant body of work has been created in Armenia.
The organ of the Composers’ Union of Armenia has an unusual history. Built in 1984 by the Rieger-Kloss company, it is now the largest in Armenia. It can be considered a direct successor of the country’s first pipe-organ, which appeared in 1964 in the Concert Hall of the Composers’ Union of Armenia and moved to a music school in the early 1980s, where it was later dismantled. However, the reed stops were transferred to the new one, and didn’t leave their original place.
The organist Konstantin Volostnov, winner of international competitions and a graduate of the Hochschule für Musik in Stuttgart, often records on historical instruments. He compiles his albums in such a way as to highlight the merits and stylistic characteristics of each organ. His articles in the album booklets can be used as a guide to the world of organ music.
This is what Konstantin Volostnov says about the uniqueness of the new album: “Publicly available sources do not mention the existence of organ recordings in Armenia, nor does the catalogue of Firma Melodiya, the monopolist of Soviet sound recording. Our recording is the first to fill this empty niche, giving the world music community and music lovers the opportunity to hear the organ voice of today’s Armenia.”
The selected works reveal the peculiarities of the sound of the Rieger-Kloss organ and familiarize the listener with works by Armenian composers.
In the words of Konstantin Volostnov, Bach’s Fantasia and Fugue in G minor and the chorales from the Little Organ Book, with their clear, detailed Baroque sound, are “a wonderful test for any instrument... the organ of the Composers' Union of Armenia passes this test with flying colors.” Liszt’s Prelude and Fugue on BACH, a spectacular romantic work, demands a wide range of timbres from the organ. The rarer Prelude and Fugue in B minor from Reger’s Opus 129 meets the design features of the organ of the Composers’ Union of Armenia, a neoclassical instrument that still has elements of late romantic organ building.
Among the earliest examples of Armenian organ music are the works of Khristofor Kushnarev (1890–1960). Like the organ at the Union, his Passacaglia and Fugue bears the imprint of both late romantic and neo-classical styles. The Three Pieces for Organ by Armenian composer Jirayr Shahrimanyan (b. 1988) demonstrates an already modern view of the organ tradition, although Shahrimanyan has been described as a classical and even somewhat conservative composer.
The album booklet contains an article in Russian, Armenian and English.
