Arzumanov V. Small Christmas Concerto. For mixed Choir a cappella

Valery Arzoumanov was born in 1944, in Kochmes (Komi Republic, Russia, formerly USSR), where his parents were deported in 1936 as “enemies of the people”. He lived in Vorkuta until 1958, when he moved to Leningrad to study the violin and composition at the Special School of Music. He completed his study of composition at the Leningrad Conservatoire with Vadim Salmanov. In 1974, after his marriage to a French woman, Valery Arzoumanov was forced to emigrate to France where he studied composition at the Paris Conservatoire with Olivier Messiaen. He has been living in Normandy since 1976.

Valery Arzoumanov’s catalogue includes more than 270 titles in various genres. In recent years, he has given a prominent place to chamber music, piano music and vocal or choral music.

Valery Arzoumanov has built a powerful and unique oeuvre outside of the major musical movements of the second half of the 20th century, in the legacy of Mussorgsky and Shostakovich, and the influence of Olivier Messiaen and Indian traditional music. His music, often dramatic, supported by intense lyrical poetry, is suffused with memories of his childhood spent in the shadow of Stalinist terror. His works, profoundly imaginative and nourished with a nostalgia for Russia, encompass the diversity of human emotions and reveal a deep sensitive soul.

Anthony Girard

Contents

About the author

1. Beginning (Music text example)
2. Christmas morning
3. Alone
4. Awe of God
5. Work
6. Prayer (Music text example)
7. End