The directory «Plots»

Sayat-Nova (Սայաթ-Նովա)
(1712—1795)

Sayat-Nova, or 'King of Songs' is the name given to Harutyun Sayatyan. His mother, Sara, was born in Tbilisi, and his father, Karapet, either in Aleppo or Adana. He was skilled in writing poetry, singing and playing the kamancheh. He performed in the court of Heraclius II of Georgia, where he also worked as a diplomat, and apparently helped forge an alliance between Georgia, Armenia and Shirvan against the Persian Empire. He lost his place at court when he fell in love with the king's daughter, and spent the rest of his life as an itinerant bard. In 1795 he was killed in Haghpat Monastery by the army of Agha Mohammed Khan.

About 220 songs can be attributed to Sayat-Nova, although he may have written thousands altogether. These songs are still sung today. Most of his extant songs are in Armenian; the rest are in Azeri Turkish and Georgian. He also knew Arabic.

Sayat-Nova is considered by many the greatest ashough (folk singer-songwriter) that ever lived in the Caucasus (the area between the Black and the Caspian sea, shared among current Armenia, Russia, Georgia and Azerbaijan). The world-famous Armenian composer Alexander Arutiunian wrote an opera called "Sayat Nova". There is a street and music school named after him in Yerevan, Armenia, as well as an Armenian-American dance ensemble in the United States, and a pond located in Mont Orford, Quebec, Canada.

In Armenia Sayat Nova is also considered a poet with a considerable contribution to the Armenian poetry of his century. Despite the fact that he lived his entire life in a deeply religious society, his poems are mostly secular and full of Romantic expressionism.

Armenia, 2012, Monument of Sayat-Nova

USSR, 1962, Sayat-Nova

USSR, 1987.10.30, Yerevan. 275th Birth anniv of Sayat-Nova

USSR, 1963, Sayat-Nova

USSR, 1965, Sayat-Nova

USSR, 1972, Sayat-Nova monument in Yerevan

USSR, 1987, Sayat-Nova

USSR, 1971.01.20, Sayat-Nova monument in Yerevan