“East meets West and antiquity meets modernity in this hauntingly beautiful collection of ruminations, lamentations, and incantations.” — NAI
“Unique music with a soulful, delightful depth … It is an almost courtly, noble music that never seems distant, but rather radiantly warm, allowing the spiritual horizon of the Middle Ages to beat with a contemporary pulse.” — Badische Zeitung
All of the music in this collection is based on medieval Armenian poet and priest Mkrtich Naghash's profound meditations on the plight of living life in exile and man's relationship with God. Written by contemporary Armenian-American composer John Hodian, The Naghash Ensemble's “Songs of Exile” is a dazzling hybrid of Armenian folk and new classical music.
The Complete “Songs of Exile” Trilogy contains all of The Naghash Ensemble’s music written between 2010 and 2020. The collection comprises three CDs, accompanied by three beautifully designed books with essays on Naghash's life and the Ensemble's history. All texts are translated into English, Armenian, German and French. The collection comes in a limited edition collector's case.
Songs of Exile (Volume I) - Tracks:
- Composed in Exile
- On Behalf of Ghareebs
- Lamentations for Those Who Die in a Foreign Land
- Prelude to Lamentations for the Dead
- Lamentations for the Dead
Credos & Convictions (Songs of Exile, Volume II) - Tracks:
- Meditation on Greed and Poverty
- If in This World by Sin You Wander
- On the Vanity of This World
- Futile Judgment
- Passing is the Glory of This World
- Ode to Weddings and Human Happiness
Lamentations & Benedictions (Songs of Exile, Volume III) - Tracks:
- Prelude to Lamentations on the Death of a Child
- Lamentations on the Death of a Child
- Woe to Those Who Keep a Grudge
- Prelude to Advice and Admonitions to the Soul
- Advice and Admonitions to the Soul
- Ode to the Prophets, Christ and St. Gregory the Illuminator
