Last night, I went to a concert at NYU Kimmel Center in support of NK Arts. The featured artist was Lilit Pipoyan from Yerevan. She was magnificent and her concert was engaging, intoxicating and simply wonderful. In a way, she has redefined the Armenian folk genre into her own form, one that is more lyrical and an eclectic combination of Western Pop and Classical Music. What Lilit is doing reminds me of similar efforts in Turkey by Zara, Ali Kirca and Erkan Ogur, and this is meant as a compliment. I have been waiting for Armenians to do something similar and voila, we have Lilit Pipoyan!

 

Lilit said during the concert that she is always looking for songs that had beautiful lyrics, often about love, that were no longer performed. In that, she has done a magnificent job and has resurrected several beautiful pieces from the dustbin of neglect. When she cannot find such songs, she writes her own. She even has written music to the works of obscure, maybe almost forgotten, medieval poets. Lilit reminded us that these poems were originally performed as songs but the music has not been preserved.

 

Some have compared Lilit’s music to the Portuguese Fado and the Greek Rembetiko styles. Represented by such legends as Amalia Rodrigues, Fado singers have for centuries kept their rich tradition alive by singing about love, despair and nostalgia. Much like Lilit, a Fado singer’s success is often judged by the singer’s ability to bring the audience to tears. The difference between Lilit’s music and these other established genres is that Lilit is at the vanguard of inventing a tradition for Armenian culture rather than maintaining one. Establishing new traditions is similar to what NK Arts is doing in Artsakh through its innovative cultural initiatives such as the annual Festival of Shushi.

 

Lilit Pipoyan was backed by an ensemble of Armenian Julliard musicians. There was the Argentinian born siblings, Sami Merdinian on Violin and Solange Merdinian on the flute. The cellist, Lilit Kurdiyan, and the violist, Alexander Nazaryan, were both from Yerevan. Joining this group were American born Raffi Bandazian, oud, and Alex Esteban, a Latin American percussionist. All the musicians did a great job but being partial to the oud, I have to comment on what a terrific job Raffi did. It was the best I ever heard him play. This group had only a few rehearsals the week before the concert but you would never know it. Their skill and talent combined with Lilit’s dominant vocals made me believe they have been performing together for years. This blend of talent and style made this performance among the best World Music concerts I have experienced in New York.

 

The entire concert was mesmerizing. Lilit created that ambiance. The songs and arrangement were, of course, a large part of it, but also Lilit’s delightful mix of Armenian and English words introducing each piece. Her spirit comes through in her music and her charm glowed in her words. She is someone you feel you want to invite to tea and get to know better. In her spoken words, she projected that combination of innocence and deep understanding mimicked by many artists but only natural to the very best, like Lilit.

The concert supported NK Arts, a noble and worthy cause. Its main activities are to assist in the development of Artsakh through the promotion of the Arts. First among the two main efforts is the revitalization of the native pottery industry in the remote, clay rich, village of Nungi in the mountains even above Shushi. Secondly, for three years running, NK Arts has created, sponsored, promoted and is the driving force behind the annual Festival of Shushi. All of this is done in an effort to provide a venue for artists, local and from around the world, to help transform Shushi into the great center of Armenian culture is was at the turn of the twentieth century. Neery Melkonian is the founder and director of NK Arts. They don’t usually includes words like “totally dedicated, driving force” in organization titles, but in Neery’s case we should! Neery invited Lilit for the concert. Bravo ladies on a job well done.