On November 13, 2017, the Hamazkayin had invited musician and conductor Mkrtich Mkrtichian to present the life and musical works of Gomidas at the House of Armenian Culture in Paris.
The lecturer talked about the composer’s poor and tragic childhood, his student years in Echmiadzin, his stay in Berlin, and then his return to the country, his musical creations and works, which are preserved in 14 volumes in the archives of the Yerevan Literature and Art Museum.
At the end of the program, upon request of the audience, Mkrtichian performed the song of Gomidas Kali Yerg with great enthusiasm.
On Sunday, November 19, the Hamazkayin organized the screening of Vicken Chaltranian’s Silence of Vartabed film in the presence of the director.
The film was made in 2015 on the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. It includes archival recordings from the suburban sanatorium Vil-Jouif of Paris where Komitas spent the last years of his life.
Despite over two-hour duration of the film, the audience watched the film with interest.
At the end of screening, more than two hundred guests had a chance to talk to the director of the film Vicken Chaltranian.