Tracklist
Վարսակի արտում (Comin’ Thro’ the Rye)
Գութանի երգ (Song of the Plough)
Գարեջուր (Willie Brew’d a Peek O’maut)
Կենաց երգ (Auld Lang Syne)
Կացին ախպեր (Comrade Axe)
Քարը մոտ է գլորման (The Rock Is About to Roll)
Երջանիկ որբևայրի (The Joyful Widower)
Թամբալ Արշո (Arsho the Lazy)
Ոտաբոբիկ աղջիկ (Mally’s Meek, Mally’s Sweet)
Անհաղթ աքլոր(The Invincible Rooster)
Findley (What is That At My Bower-Door)
Հայոց լեռներում (In the Armenian Highlands)
Armenian Scotch (Two Poets)
Armenian Scotch
Armenian folk-rock band Bambir, which is always distinguished by a unique combination of Armenian and international musical and cultural elements, in 2011 released the Armenian Scotch album on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the founding of the group. The album is dedicated to the 140th anniversary of Hovhannes Tumanyan and the 250th anniversary of the Scottish poet Robert Burns. Although “whiskey” was two years late from the mentioned anniversaries, but as the founder of the Jag group, Gagik Barseghyan, notes, it is an Armenian custom. Most of the 18 songs in the album are Jag’s compositions in different years, the thematic similarity of which allowed them to be combined in the album with Armenian-Scottish elements.
The love for Celtic culture, language, music and national customs has always had its influence on the Bambir band’s musical manuscript, and the Armenian Scotch CD is a living testimony of this. In the album, the lada tone and tempo rhythm specific to Celtic music is skillfully used. Although the songs are mostly Armenian, the sense of border between Armenian and Scottish is lost with the means of expression used. The similarities between Armenia and Scotland are highlighted, the most prominent of which are the mountainous nature and landscape, where the Armenian poet Tumanyan and Scotland’s national poet Burns were born and grew up. “They’re both rockers,” jokes Jag. In some cases, the songs included in the album were written based on the works of Tumanyan and Burns. For example, the song “Death of Kikos” is based on Tumanyan’s fairy tale of the same name, and the additions made by Jag helped to bring the prose work closer to the verse composition, giving a lyrical logic. The fifth track on the disc, Auld Lang Syne, is a Scottish folk song, the lyrics of which traditionally use the poem Auld Lang Syne by Robert Burns.
Gagik Barseghyan (vocals, guitar), Gurgen Hakobjanyan (vocals, flute), Armen Sargsan (bass guitar), Vladimir Oskanyan (drums), Tatul Yeghiazaryan (violin) participated in the recording of the album. In addition to the main composition, other musicians were also invited, various instruments were used.
Emphasizing the importance of cultural exchange through music has always been one of the group’s ideological targets. The Armenian Scotch CD is perhaps one of the best manifestations of the crossing of cultures that seem different at first glance. The means of expression used in it, creatively applied artistic solutions know no boundaries.
Album Tracklist:
1․ Վարսակի արտում (Comin’ Thro’ the Rye)
2․ Գութանի երգ (Song of the Plough)
3․ Գարեջուր (Willie Brew’d a Peek O’maut)
4․ Կիկոսի մահը (Death of Kikos)
5․ Կենաց երգ (Auld Lang Syne)
6․ Կացին ախպեր (Comrade Axe)
7․ Նուրբ ակնարկ (Discreet Hint)
8․ Քառյակներ (Quatrains)
9․ Գարու հատ Ջոմ (John Barleycorn: A Ballad)
10․ Քարը մոտ է գլորման (The Rock Is About to Roll)
11․ Երջանիկ որբևայրի (The Joyful Widower)
12․ Թամբալ Արշո (Arsho the Lazy)
13․ Ոտաբոբիկ աղջիկ (Mally’s Meek, Mally’s Sweet)
14. Անհաղթ աքլոր(The Invincible Rooster)
15․ Findley (What is That At My Bower-Door)
16․ Հայոց լեռներում (In the Armenian Highlands)
17․ Armenian Scotch (Two Poets)