Who was Komitas Vardapet?
Q: Who was Komitas Vardapet?
A: Komitas Vardapet (also Gomidas Vartabed) was an Armenian priest, composer, choir leader, singer, music ethnologist, music teacher and musicologist. He is known as the founder of modern Armenian classical music.
Q: Where and when was he born?
A: He was born on September 26 1869 in Kütahya, Ottoman Empire.
Q: What did he do to become a priest?
A: In 1895 he became a priest and obtained the title Vardapet (or Vartabed), meaning a priest or a church scholar.
Q: What did he study in Berlin?
A: In Berlin he studied music at the private conservatory of Prof. Richard Schmidt.
Q: What major work did Komitas create?
A: His major work is Badarak (Divine Liturgy), still used today as one of the two most popular musical settings of the Armenian Church liturgy.
Q: How many folk songs did Komitas collect and publish?
A: He collected and published some 3000 songs, many of them adapted to choir singing.
Q: What happened to him on April 24th 1915?
A: On April 24th 1915, said to be the day when Armenian Genocide officially began, he was arrested by Turkish forces.
