The History Of Armenian Bowing Art

250 pages Published by “Sovetakan grogh” print house Yerevan, 1977(in Armenian)

Book Reviews

" A. Tsitsikian’s study “Armenian Bowing Art” is relevant because she elucidates a sphere of Armenian music culture that has almost never been addressed. The book reveals new pages in the history of bowing art and enriches the history of musical art in our country. It also provides additional data regarding the prehistory and the early history of bow instruments in Europe, filling up this area of musical science with materials related to ancient Armenian culture. In this regard, the bow instrument described in the book (depicted on a vase from the 10th century found during archeological excavations of the ancient Armenian capital city Dvin) is of critical interest.

Further on in the book, the development of the Armenian professional bowing art is addressed. Here, the author distinguishes two branches: the West Armenian branch being drawn toward the European bow schools and the East Armenian branch, with its development being organically connected with Russian musical culture.
Though Tsitsikian stretches her research up to the early 20th century, while elucidating the development of professionalism in the Armenian bowing art of earlier periods, she demonstrates the prerequisites that basically contributed to the high point of Soviet bowing art in our times.” (1977)

Lev Ginsburg,
Professor of Moscow Conservatory,
PhD of Arts,

“Currently, only a small number of specialists are involved in the science of musical instruments in the Soviet Union. In this regard, the work by Anahit Tsitsikian “Armenian Bowing Art” has exceptional value. This work bestows additional information about the development of bow instruments, as well as the development of trends of Armenian performance arts, and its fruitful connections with the European schools and Russian musical culture. This is why the significance of the work goes beyond the boundaries of strictly Armenian musicology. The erudition in this particular field of science and the research inquisitiveness demonstrated by the author helped her to create a valuable musicological work that has critical importance.” (1977)

Edward Mirzoyan
Professor, National Artist of the USSR
President of the Union of Composers of Armenia

The Armenian Bowing Art

255 Published by “Edit Print” print house Yerevan, 2004.(in Russian)

The work offered to the reader is the second supplemented edition of the book “The History of Armenian Bowing Art” (which was first published in 1977, in Armenian). Originally, the book was written in Russian but the author wished to print her work in Armenian, at the same time she dreamed to see her brainchild in its original language, Russian.
The author was planning to supplement the gallery of Armenian performers with new names; performers Avet Gabrielian and Artemi Aivasian; the violin schools of Karp Dombayev and Hrachya Bogdanian; works of modern composers, and the hearths of culture Yerevan Conservatory and Musical Theatre. A second volume, which was dedicated to the development of Armenian musical culture of 20th century, was being planned for publication.
In this second volume the relationships between Russian and Armenian art was to be included, such as: the names of major Soviet teachers(ethnically Armenian) who worked in Moscow and Leningrad; Sargis Aslamasian, Mikael Terian, Asatur Grigorian, etc., as well as contemporary Armenian performers who were living and working abroad; Manuk Parikian, Hamayak Durgarian, etc.

The importance of this work is that it laid out a comprehensive picture of the history of Armenian bowing art and for the first time identified key trends in its development. This distinctive work could be considered a sort of Mendeleyev’s Periodic Table, a work where future generations would be able fill in the missing information.
During the work on the second edition, new photographs were put into this edition: some of them published for the first time and are unique examples from the late 19th-early 20th century. An index of names and a bibliography were added to end of the book, which made the work complete.

A.Tsitsikian was planning to add chapters about her fellow musicians, too
(Hakob Vardanian, Zareh Sahakiants, Medea Abrahamian, Villi Mokatsian and
others), who, no doubt, deserved to be on the list among other names. But
they all were still around and she was sure she would be able to write about
the "young" ones later. So many plans remained unaccomplished ..... With
an attempt to fulfill the author's dreams, we decided to supplement the
current edition with a second part which encompasses her articles (some
never published before, and some other ones that had been printed in
various periodicals throughout many years). It's worth mentioning that this
selection does by no means imply that the proposed names are the only
significant musicians of that period. There were many more gifted Armenian
musicians back then. The book includes only those names who Anahit
Tsitsikian had managed to touch upon. These are just snapshots from life,
assorted fragments of the mosaic of the Armenian bowing art of the XX
century.

Noune Shamakhian

MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS ON THE ARMENIAN PLATEAU IN LIGHT OF ARCHEOLOGICAL DISCOVERIES

The book is in development

Anahit Tsitsikian was the founder of the science of Musical Archaeology in Armenia. For more than 40 years, she studied archaeological evidence regarding the origin and development of musical instruments of the Armenian highlands. The outcome of her extensive research was a fundamental work, which was supposed to be published as a separate book. Unfortunately, Anahit Tsitsikyan didn’t have the opportunity to finish the project: all of the editorial and publishing work for the book is continuing under the "Anahit" Cultural Foundation.

“The work “Musical Instruments of the Armenian Highlands”, in light of archeological findings, is an interesting and rare research experiment in which the author identifies, previously unknown to us, early evidence regarding the spiritual heritage of Armenia.
She studied archaeological material showing the relationship of musical culture, of all periods of Armenian history, in the course of its millennial history.
Musicologist Anahit Tsitsikian is one of the first researchers in musical archaeology in Armenia. The combination of her deep knowledge of musical theory and her interest in specimens of the most ancient musical instruments, found during the archeological research process, gave the author the chance to make most interesting observations and conclusions regarding the development of musical instruments of Armenia. The book will be a useful tool for archeologists and art critics. At the same time, being written in lively language, the work will attract the attention of not only specialists, but also the broader public and young people. It is also very important for portraying the rich traditions of musical culture in Armenia to professionals and amateurs of the entire world…”

Book Reviews
Felix. Ter-Martirosov
PhD of History,
Associate Professor of the Yerevan State University