Performance

When Friday, 7 April 2017
Where Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin
Presented by
Waltons World Masters
Honorary Consulate of the Republic of Armenia in Ireland

‘Hamasyan’s distinctive musicality blends jazz, European classical music and an array of influences like progressive-rock and DJ mixing. Yet the common thread is the inventive way the music balances ethnicity with a modernist verve.’
– All About Jazz

‘Tigran, you are my teacher.’
– Herbie Hancock

‘He plays piano like a raga – the next Keith Jarrett.’
– Trilok Gurtu

‘the hottest pianist in jazz’
– The Guardian

‘Tigran stands out for his burning intensity.’
– The Telegraph

‘Tigran Hamasyan’s music exists in its own universe’
– JazzTimes

‘You’ll hear nothing else like this’
– NPR Music

‘hauntingly melodic’
– The Arts Desk

Audience Comments

‘The venue was gorgeous, and the juxtaposition of that and the beautiful music was something truly special.’
– T. Armstrong

‘Tigran’s music is sublime.’
– E. Cameron

‘A dream come true!’
– C. Carvalho

‘Unique and evocative.’
– H. Dawson

‘Tigran is class. Chapeau bas!’
– M. Kaluska

‘The acoustics in Christ Church Cathedral were outstanding and the setting itself created a mood, which captivated the audience from the very first key-stroke until silence left us waiting for the next piece.’
– G. Lawlor

‘A superb performance, beautiful music and special surroundings.’
– C. Murray

‘An absolute privilege to see. Tigran’s…ethereal, spiritual music had a perfect setting in Christ Church Cathedral, and it was very easy to get lost in it.’
– C. O’Mahony

‘Beautiful soundscapes in wonderful setting.’
– A. Price

‘The music was wonderful; I feel privileged to have been there. Thanks for bringing Tigran back to Dublin. Please bring him back again.’
– G. Sullivan

Tigran Hamasyan

Pianist, composer and singer Tigran Hamasyan is one of the most remarkable musicians of his generation – trained as a classical and jazz musician but drawing on a wide range of influences, including the Armenian folk tradition, rock, electronica, poetry and more.

Tigran first came to Ireland in 2012, at the age of 24, to perform a solo concert, based on his album A Fable (Verve), of astonishing range and depth in the National Concert Hall’s John Field Room.

‘This was a virtuosic tour de force, the wealth of ideas matched by genuine craft in his songwriting.’
– Laurence Mackin, Irish Times review

Returning here for a second World Masters Series concert in 2014, Tigran and his trio performed music from his second album, Shadow Theater (Universal) in the Button Factory and explored new avenues – both sonic and electronic – drawing on sources as diverse as Madlib, Sigur Rós and Steve Reich.

‘I had seen Armenian/American pianist Tigran Hamasyan live in a solo concert some time ago and have enjoyed his various studio combinations, but nothing prepared me for the musical experience of his recent Button Factory trio concert. Bassist Sam Minaie and drummer Arthur Hnatek, along with Tigran’s use of electronic loops and beat-box vocals, place the trio in the forefront of contemporary sounds while still maintaining elements of the jazz piano influence of Keith Jarrett and Chick Corea, all rooted by a strong backbone of traditional Armenian folk music. A rare combination – a rare treat – if it comes your way don’t miss it!’
– Carl Corcoran, RTÉ lyric fm

Tigran’s third visit here was in 2015 for a performance in Christ Church Cathedral commemorating the centenary of the Armenian Genocide and presented by Waltons World Masters in association with the Honorary Consulate of the Republic of Armenia in Ireland. Tigran and the superb Yerevan State Chamber Choir performed music from Luys i Luso (‘Light from Light’, ECM), a breathtaking re-imagining of Armenian sacred music from the 5th to 20th centuries, Tigran’s sublime improvisations woven into the musical texture.

‘an utterly mesmeric masterpiece’
– PopMatters

‘The music and setting were sublime. I drove for an hour and a half to attend the concert and the same again after it. It was well worth the effort. More like this please.’ – C. Corrigan

‘Thank you for a wonderful concert. It was very moving to hear sacred choral works that are part of a centuries-long tradition being reinterpreted and given new life with such respect and appreciation for their original beauty.’
– Y. Fujita

‘Transportingly beautiful, both the choral and the piano parts, in a most appropriate and beautiful surrounding – Christ Church Cathedral.’
– D. Kelly

‘I thoroughly enjoyed the Tigran Hamasyan – Luys i Luso concert in Christ Church Cathedral Dublin. The music was breathtaking, very sombre and also somehow very uplifting.’
– L. Brogran

We were delighted to bring Tigran back for his fourth World Masters Series concert – also in association with the Honorary Consulate of the Republic of Armenia in Ireland, and also in the beautiful surroundings of Christ Church Cathedral – in which he returned to his musical roots as a solo pianist to showcase music from his new album An Ancient Observer (Nonesuch). Conceptually, this poignant album is all about the art of observing. ‘It’s something that humans have been practicing for ages, sometimes even subliminally’, he says. ‘It’s the feeling of the ancient eternal and permanent versus the present day ephemeral and impermanent. The intertwining of this ancient with the modern world creates an existential feeling. This album is presenting an observation of the world we live in now and the weight of our history we carry on our shoulders, which is influencing us even if we don’t realize it. This album is the observation of influences and experiences I had.’

Most of all, the music is inspired by Tigran’s recent return to live in his native Armenia: ‘I gaze out of my window and see the biblical mountain Ararat with perpetual snow on its peak, with electrical towers with wires in the foreground cutting the picture, and satellite dishes melted onto old and modern houses – ancestral smoke coming out of their chimneys – and birds hovering above the trees along with occasional airplane trails in the vast sky. It is a dialogue, this interaction of God-given ancient nature with our modern human achievements…. For me it is an awakening, and a beautiful feeling, to be able to observe the magnificence of this sleeping volcanic giant, which has existed for millions of years and was observed by the Ararat Valley Koura-Arax culture through to the present day citizens of the Armenian republic. I can see and observe the same birds, animals, rivers, and mountains that the craftsman of 4,000 years ago painted on a clay vessel. He was observing the same thing I observe now, and what remains is his or her beautiful work of art.’

An extraordinary solo concert by a truly extraordinary musician.

Selected YouTube Videos