On the Materials of the 2023 Scientific Expedition Organized by the Department of Armenian Musical Folklore

Abstract

2nd-year master’s student at the Musicology Department, Komitas Yerevan State Conservatory, Heghine Knyaz Sargsyan. - "On the Materials of the 2023 Scientific Expedition Organized by the Department of Armenian Musical Folklore".This article presents the process of formation and development of Armenian musical folklore studies, which began at the end of the 19th century with the work of Sahak Amatuni, Komitas Vardapet, as well as Stepan Demouryan, Spiridon Melikyan, Mihran Toumajyan, and later experienced rapid development throughout the 20th century with the activities of Kristapor Koushnaryan, Margarit Brutyan, Alina Pahlevanyan, and other distinguished figures. On the initiative of Margarit Brutyan, the Cabinet of Armenian Folk Musical Creation was created in 1969, which greatly accelerated the folklore collection work, which continues to this day. Among the folklore collection work carried out by the Department of Armenian Music at Yerevan State Conservatory was the scientific expedition held on December 9, 2023, in the village of Byurakan in the Aragatsotn region, led by Nune Atanasyan. The article examines the melody and lyrics of the famous song "Shusho," recorded during the expedition, which, with its different variations having a similar 100-year history, clearly demonstrates not only the vitality of this song but also outlines the continuing existence of oral folk culture in the 21st century.