One of the more unique voices in modern global classically-based compositional music is The Naghash Ensemble. Described by Armenian composer Tigran Mansurian as “The sound of Ancient Armenia reinvented for the 21st century,” their music combines elements of neo-classical, Armenian folk, contemporary post-minimalism, with the energy of rock and jazz.
The Naghash Ensemble hails from Yerevan, Armenia and has been performing around the world for 15 years. The current, and most enduring, assemblage of the group is soprano vocalist, Hasmik Baghdasaryan; soprano vocalist, Tatevik Movsesyan; alto vocalist, Shahane Zalyan; duduk player, Harutyun Chkolyan; dhol player, Tigran Hovhannisyan; oud player, Aram Nikoghosyan and pianist/composer, John Hodian.
John Hodian
The initial inspiration for this ensemble originated from the marriage between Hodian’s original music and the ancient medieval sacred texts of Armenian mystic poet and priest Mkrtich Naghash. The Naghash Ensemble’s debut CD is entitled “Songs of Exile, Volume I.” In 2006, Hodian was living in Yerevan and, by chance, had heard soprano Hasmik Baghdasaryan singing medieval spiritual music in an ancient temple in a neighboring city of Garni. He was taken aback by the beauty and purity of her voice, and that, combined with his quest to find texts that would match the sound of the music in his head, happened upon fragments of a poem by the 15th century poet and priest Naghash. The initial poem, and the inspiration for the first album, was called “Composed in Exile.” It dealt with the tragedy of life in exile from an Armenian perspective. Naghash only left 16 poems behind, and Hodian spent 12 years setting all of them to music.
Trailer
Currently The Naghash Ensemble is releasing a new album and book package entitled “Songs of Wisdom: The Work of Darkness, Volume I.” It is based on another medieval Armenian poet named Kostadin Erznkatsi. As with their first release “Songs of Exile,” there will be three CDs released over the course of the next decade.
The Naghash Ensemble is in the midst of their second U.S. tour that runs through early April 2025. Hodian, the only American-Armenian in the group, expounds on their experiences taking this diverse and complex music on the road. “We’ve been touring in Europe about 12 years or so,” says the composer. “We built up a following there. It’s really good for us and we tour regularly. We’ve only toured in the States one other time and that was in 2023. And, even then, several of the shows were sponsored by the Armenian community. Our second U.S. tour is not sponsored by the Armenian Community or anybody. They are all commercial venues and it’s great that they’re taking a chance on us. And I don’t wanna say anything negative about touring in America because, truthfully, all venues are different, but sometimes we may have to negotiate for a hotel or meals. In Europe it’s a little more accepted that they’re definitely gonna house you, feed you and take care of you. But that’s because we’re a little better known in Europe.”
Songs With Orchestra, excerpts
In addition to grand piano and three classically trained voices, the band employs ancient and traditional instruments germane to Armenian and Near Eastern culture. The oud is a lute/guitar-like instrument that is fretless and is micro-tonally expressive. The duduk is a flute-like woodwind instrument that has an ethereal haunting tone. And the dhol is a drum that locks in the beat and rhythmically brings it all together.
Hodian takes all these elements and dutifully immerses himself in a daily writing regimen. It is a physical and mental meditation that prepares him for the day. “Right now, I’m working through the Bach keyboard works which should take me through the rest of my life (laughs),” says Hodian. “And then I’ll write for three or four hours. And it’s hard. It takes me a long time to write these pieces. Everything is written out. There’s sometimes a little room for improvisation or embellishment, and sometimes there’s full-on improvised solos, but those are pretty rare. Because there’s a lot of intricate working out of counterpoint and things, there’s a whole lot of re-writing in my writing.”
A major part of the Naghash Ensemble sound revolves around the three singers and the sacred texts. Over the past 15 years, the blending of the words and music has been a delicate and thoroughly engaging process. “You kind of meditate on the words and listen to the prosody of those words, the rhythms of the words,” says Hodian. “Prosody is everything. You wanna do something that closely follows the text. The meaning of the text, what they’re saying and the rhythm of them is what kind of kicks everything off. My writing process is like what Winston Churchill said about America’s political process during WWII. He famously said, ‘You can always count on the Americans to do the right thing, after they’ve done every other possible choice first’ (laughs). That’s the way it is with my writing. I eventually get there, but boy it takes a long time! And so often it’s a really, really small adjustment that makes it all click. It’s that one small adjustment in the writing that makes everything hauntingly beautiful.”
It’s very interesting because there is a cross-cultural exchange between Hodian, with his American and western influences, and his Armenian musical counterparts. But it makes for fascinating conversation and enlightening music as a result.
“I grew up in Philly and you heard a lot of music on the street,” says Hodian. “When I grew up there was a lot of Motown, and now it’s hip-hop. And there’s a lot of that in my music, even though I’m also obsessed with medieval polyphonic vocal music or whatever the influences might be. I’ll talk to my oud player –and the oud is a very specific Medittereanean or Arabic-type instrument—and I’ll say no, no right now I need you to be a heavy metal guitarist. And I want you to rock out on this thing. Or, right now you’re James Brown’s bass player. I might say to the girls, yeah that’s great, but you’re singing it a little straight. Give me that behind-the-music-feel, like Billie Holiday. It’s all about feel and the music will dictate the feel. We all grew up listening to different things. But music is a universal language and the musicians in our band are open to different things and trust me. Sometimes, at first, they might ask ‘what are we trying to do here?’ But, eventually, it all makes sense and we get there.”
Agahoutyan song
Perhaps a major part of Hodian’s somewhat unorthodox approach to composing and arranging can be attributed to his professional and educational background. He studied and taught composition and conducting and was immersed in a very traditional classical music milieu. In the early ‘70s the world of new music was very austere. It had taken a formalized bent toward the Viennese School, 12 Tone Writing and Serial Composition. It was all very heady and avant garde. And the young composer could not relate to all the rules and the music’s abstract nature. But around this time he had heard about a school started by the American poet Allen Ginsberg called The Naropa Institute in Boulder, Colorado. Hodian needed a whole change of creative perspective so he applied and was accepted. He first attended the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poets that included such famous and influential literary giants as Ken Kesey and William Burroughs.
The Naropa Institute soon followed that up with a music program that offered alternative education to traditional classical and jazz norms. Hodian attended there for two summers and studied with improvisational luminaries such as Ralph Towner, Charlie Haden, and Art Lande.
Hodian, prior to moving to Yerevan and dedicating his life to The Naghash Ensemble, had a successful career in New York City as a television and film composer. But, just like in his approach to education, after a number of years in service to the corporate world, it was time for a change.
“In the hierarchy of things, if you’re a film composer, you’re not up there,” says Hodian. “You’re not a movie star or the director. You’re just the guy at the end of the thing taking orders and trying to make everybody happy. And that’s fine. I liked doing it and it’s a craft. But after 20 or 30 years I thought it was time to do something else.”
Around this pivotal time Hodian was approached by a very persuasive Armenian gentleman named Nareg Hartounian. He invited the composer to dinner, with a proposal that changed his entire life. Hartounian was the director of an arts community house in Yerevan called Naregatsi Art Institute. Hartounian invited Hodian to come visit the place in Armenia and see what they were culturally doing there. It’s an artist facility dedicated to promoting Armenian and world culture through concerts, lectures, films and literature. At first Hodian was reluctant, but found time in his schedule and came to Yerevan.
Hartounian had convinced Hodian to move to Armenia and contribute to the culture. He eventually took him up on the offer and started working with younger composers and built a recording studio there.
Over the past 15 years the eclectic nature of The Naghash Ensemble’s music has served them well with audiences of every stripe around the globe. And they have crossed over stylistically in very surprising ways.
“We got a call from a Frenchman who has a music festival called ‘Trans Musicales.’” recalls Hodian. It’s one of Europe’s biggest alt-rock, alt-electric, alt-pop, alt-hip-hop festivals. Some of the artists you might have heard of but, it’s all the outer edges of those genres. We’re kind of in between a world music band and a new classical thing. So, I called the guy and asked ‘are you sure we are what you want?’ And he said ‘yes, we want you to headline!’ It was like a three day festival and they wanted us to go on at midnight. He had seen us at the Rennes Opera House in France and was really knocked out. The festival was in this big airplane hangar in France and there were 7 to 8,000 people there. Everyone was drunk and stoned and then we came on and they are totally silent. You could practically hear a pin drop between pieces. They went nuts! After the show I went back to our merch table where we sold CDs and, by the time I got there, everything was gone. And it was kind of amazing because I didn’t know what to expect.”
Because of the heavily notated and pseudo-operatic nature of The Naghash Ensemble’s music they tend to perform at a number of classical music venues. But, increasingly, there have been more bookings at unusual spots like “Trans Musicales” and world music events.
“I must say that audience response has been very favorable considering we came out of nowhere,” says Hodian. And we don’t have a big record label or management team. I have the same manager I’ve had from the beginning. And we’ve been able to sneak in the side door of these very large venues, even though we’re not managed by these large management companies like IMG who handle all the name acts. And I like it that way. I’m not saying it’s for everybody, and it’s a very specific thing, but I think we’ve been able to do things based on the strength of what we’re doing. A lot of classical music venues are looking for ways of presenting music that, not to sound elitist, is art with a capital ‘A.’ And I think we fit that bill because our music is very melodic, accessible and rhythmic.”
Songs of Exile Trilogy CD trailer
The Naghash Ensemble performs essential music for these troubled and divided times. Although the sacred texts of poets Mkrtich Naghash and Kostadin Erznkatsi are based on ancient civilization and sung in native Armenian, the music clearly crosses all lines of language and culture. And, undeniably, Hodian and company’s intention is to offer the unity, healing and solace these sage literary masters were trying to achieve.
For up-to-date information on The Naghash Ensemble please visit www.naghashensemble.com .
