The Armenian and Georgian composer Sarkis Vasil’evich Barkhudarian is famed for his piano miniatures. Some are among the first piano works to use Armenian folk themes as the basis for a series of original compositions. His colourful and unusual harmonies, created by the sinuous, interweaving modes of Armenian music, are immediately attractive and his miniatures, whether full of grace or pungent dance rhythms, bear out Glazunov’s admiration of his ‘sincerity, elegance and harmony of form’.
Tracklist
Vostochniye plyaski (Oriental Dances) (1913) (00:10:00 )
1
Oriental Dance No. 1 * (00:02:59)
2
Oriental Dance No. 2 * (00:01:47)
3
Oriental Dance No. 3 * (00:02:50)
4
Oriental Dance No. 4 * (00:01:48)
12 Armenian Dances () (00:23:00 )
5
No. 1. Dance of the Bride * (00:01:45)
6
No. 2. Children's Dance * (00:01:05)
7
No. 3. Dance of the Matchmaker * (00:01:48)
8
No. 4. Dance of the Rural Girls * (00:01:43)
9
No. 5. Provocative Dance (Men's) * (00:01:33)
10
No. 6. Maiden's Roundelay * (00:01:20)
11
No. 7. Dance of Friendship (Men's) * (00:02:21)
12
No. 8. Dance of a Mountain Girl * (00:02:05)
13
No. 9. Dance of Farewell (Women's) * (00:02:14)
14
No. 10. Masker's Dance (Men's) * (00:02:17)
15
No. 11. Circular Dance (Joint) * (00:02:27)
16
No. 12. Festive Dance (Men's) * (00:01:43)
Piano Pieces, Series 1 (1918) (00:19:00 )
17
No. 1. Naz-Par * (00:02:29)
18
No. 2. Fairy Tale * (00:03:18)
19
No. 3. Sketch in B Minor * (00:01:43)
20
No. 4. Watercolor * (00:01:05)
21
No. 5. Smooth Dance * (00:01:33)
22
No. 6. Lullaby * (00:01:57)
23
No. 7. Maiden Dance * (00:01:45)
24
No. 8. Boots-Dragonfly * (00:00:41)
25
No. 9. Dance in A-Flat Major * (00:01:32)
26
No. 10. Sketch in D Minor * (00:02:30)
Piano Pieces, Series 2 (1923) (00:22:00 )
27
No. 1. Scherzo * (00:03:01)
28
No. 2. Circular Dance in B Minor * (00:02:51)
29
No. 3. Gulnara's Dance * (00:01:06)
30
No. 4. Nanochka's Dance * (00:01:16)
31
No. 5. Anoush's Sorrow * (00:02:13)
32
No. 6. Prelude in D Minor * (00:00:54)
33
No. 7. Prelude in D-Sharp Minor * (00:01:01)
34
No. 8. Nocturne * (00:04:08)
35
No. 9. Sketch in A Major * (00:02:43)
36
No. 10. Lullaby of Shushani * (00:02:41)
