Hamalir

New York - A twelfth-century khatchkar (cross-stone) on loan from the State Historical Museum of Armenia was the centerpiece of the first-ever afternoon of Armenian arts and culture at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, November 23.

The standing-room-only audience at the 708-seat Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium first heard lectures by Nina G. Garsoïan, formerly of Columbia University, on early medieval Armenian history; Thomas F. Mathews of the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, on icons in early Armenia; and Lynn A. Jones of Florida State University on pious ancestry and the decorative programs of the Church of the Holy Cross at Aghtamar.

In their much-anticipated "Evocations of Armenia," actor Nora Armani and cellist David Bakamjian presented poems by Hovhannes Toumanian, Paruir Sevak, Avedik Issahakian, Yeghishe Charents, Gevork Emin, Nahapet Koutchag, Mateos Zarifian, Missak Medzarents, Vahan Tekeyan, and the pre-Christian author of "The Birth of Vahakn." The musical selections included works by Gomidas Vartabed, Alan Hovhaness. and Armenian sharagans, with some original arrangements for the cello by Mr. Bakamjian.

Ms. Armani chose most of the texts of "Evocations" from Sojourn at Ararat, the two-person play she co-created in 1987 and performed for years with Gerald Papasian. For this performance, she added Hovhannes Toumanian's "Dove's Abbey" and "Akhtamar," as well as the story of her grandmother.

"Every time I am on stage performing these pieces," said Ms. Armani, "it is in memory of my grandmother, a Genocide survivor, for others in the family who perished in the Genocide, and for Armenian poems and writers to live on."

For Mr. Bakamjian, the program "was an exploration of my people's cultural past and the richness it offers, not just merely an expansion of my musical repertoire." Armenian music, he added, "is universal and connects one to something larger than oneself. It is humbling in that respect, and the pieces that we played dealt with such universal and moving emotions: homeland, being exiled, love, loss, [and] spirituality, and that makes it meaningful on so many levels."

Both artists are preparing for an engagement in May 2009 at the Gomidas Concert Hall of Armenia's National Museum of Literature and Art, which houses the composer's Grand Royal piano, manuscripts, and personal artifacts in Yerevan.

"The program was ambitious, educational, and moving. It was a delight to learn more about the rich culture of the Armenian people," wrote an audience member to event organizers. "The entire program was a testament to the good works the Met has always and continues to provide." She added, "The superb performance by Ms. Armani and Mr. Bakamjian gave me goose bumps."

Dr. Helen C. Evans, the Mary and Michael Jaharis Curator of Byzantine Art at the Metropolitan Museum, announced that beginning in January, the United Nations will loan another khatchkar as the U.N. building in Manhattan undergoes renovation. Bishop Anoushavan Tanielian, Vicar of the Eastern Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church in America, presented Dr. Evans the Mesrob Mashdotz Medal in recognition of her scholarship on Armenian art and culture.