Some observations on Vache Sharafyan's Ballet "Divinity" or "Ancient Gods"

Abstract

The genre of ballet holds an important place in the history of Armenian music. Starting with Aram Khachaturian ՝s work, ballet has had diverse manifestations in the compositions of prominent representatives of the national composition school. The author focuses on Vache Sharafyan's ballet "Gravitation". A prominent figure of contemporary Armenian composer art, Sharafyan's musical legacy spans symphonic, choral, and chamber-instrumental works in various styles. Musical-theatrical genres play a significant role in his work, incorporating new methods of choreography. This article provides a brief overview of Sharafyan's creative profile and delves deeper into the history of the creation of his ballet "Gravitation", based on Levon Shant's drama "Ancient Gods", as well as highlighting certain features of its musical language. The ballet is distinguished not only by the synthesis of traditional and contemporary elements in its musical material but also by the unexpected combination of classical ballet and modem choreography.
Through interesting musical-theatrical solutions, the emotions of the ballet's characters are dramatized and psychologically deepened. The composer employs modem compositional techniques in the musical language. In this article, some thoughts and insights from a personal conversation with Vache Sharafyan regarding the ballet "Gravitation" are also presented, which are documented for the first time.