· Classical
“Echoes”․ An album recorded in one breath
Legendary German Deutsche Grammophon released the new album of German-based Signum Quartet “Echoes”. The quartet was founded in 2006 at Cologne Conservatory, and in 2018 our compatriot, a graduate from the same institution Hayrapet Arakelyan (alto saxophone) joined them. Other members of the quartet are Slovenians Blaž Kemperle (soprano saxophone), Alan Lužar (tenor saxophone), and Italian Guerino Bellarosa (baritone saxophone). Armenian National Music had an interview with Hayrapet Arakelyan, who told about his activity in Signum and “Echoes”.
“In 2016-2018 I was playing at “Alliage Quintett” founded by my professor Daniel Gauthier. In 2018 we had a big concert tour in Australia when one of the guys of Signum sent me a message. I met them and they offered to join them. Of course, Signum is closer to me, because of my age and the music played by the quartet. So, I made a decision to leave the “Alliage” without offending my colleagues”.
"Echoes" is the 7th album recorded by the Armenian saxophonist, but the first in this format. It was recorded in 1.5 days, the preparations took 3.5 days. But everything started in 2019 when the director of Deutsche Grammophon attended the guy's concert in Italy, after which active discussions on cooperation began, which became more relevant in Berlin.
Founded in 1898, the Deutsche Grammophon company doesn’t betray its principles and still adheres to its strict record-making policy. What makes it unique to Signum? "The content of our previous recordings was created by us, the musicians. These are mainly our concert programs, which are performed in sold-out concerts. During the concerts, we performed only one of the pieces included in the album. The pandemic was a disturbing circumstance, due to which everything was closed in Germany until May, we didn't even have the opportunity to rehearse. Everything was done in June, in one and a half months, that is, in one breath."
In general, the Covid-19 pandemic was a big challenge for the Signum. Not only concerts were canceled, but also the working style was changed. There had even been cases when the artists recorded a piece without seeing each other. The album includes repertoire from the Renaissance to contemporary music: John Dowland, Max Richter, Philip Glass, Gabriel Fauré, Peter Gregson, Joep Beving, Guillermo Lago, Tomaso Albinoni, Paul Hindemith, and Pēteris Vasks.
“Many generations have grown up with the products of Deutsche Grammophon, many world-famous artists are still recording their CDs under this label. I have been buying company CDs since I was a child. I knew that one day my records would be sold in music stores, but I couldn’t even imagine that I would be released under the Deutsche Grammophon label ”.
Let us remember that Hayrapet Arakelyan and pianist Nare Karoyan initiated an online concert-fundraiser during the last Artsakh war, in which the Signum Quartet participated together with Armenian and foreign musicians.
By Sona Khachatryan
Photo by Andrej Grilic
“In 2016-2018 I was playing at “Alliage Quintett” founded by my professor Daniel Gauthier. In 2018 we had a big concert tour in Australia when one of the guys of Signum sent me a message. I met them and they offered to join them. Of course, Signum is closer to me, because of my age and the music played by the quartet. So, I made a decision to leave the “Alliage” without offending my colleagues”.
"Echoes" is the 7th album recorded by the Armenian saxophonist, but the first in this format. It was recorded in 1.5 days, the preparations took 3.5 days. But everything started in 2019 when the director of Deutsche Grammophon attended the guy's concert in Italy, after which active discussions on cooperation began, which became more relevant in Berlin.
Founded in 1898, the Deutsche Grammophon company doesn’t betray its principles and still adheres to its strict record-making policy. What makes it unique to Signum? "The content of our previous recordings was created by us, the musicians. These are mainly our concert programs, which are performed in sold-out concerts. During the concerts, we performed only one of the pieces included in the album. The pandemic was a disturbing circumstance, due to which everything was closed in Germany until May, we didn't even have the opportunity to rehearse. Everything was done in June, in one and a half months, that is, in one breath."
In general, the Covid-19 pandemic was a big challenge for the Signum. Not only concerts were canceled, but also the working style was changed. There had even been cases when the artists recorded a piece without seeing each other. The album includes repertoire from the Renaissance to contemporary music: John Dowland, Max Richter, Philip Glass, Gabriel Fauré, Peter Gregson, Joep Beving, Guillermo Lago, Tomaso Albinoni, Paul Hindemith, and Pēteris Vasks.
“Many generations have grown up with the products of Deutsche Grammophon, many world-famous artists are still recording their CDs under this label. I have been buying company CDs since I was a child. I knew that one day my records would be sold in music stores, but I couldn’t even imagine that I would be released under the Deutsche Grammophon label ”.
Let us remember that Hayrapet Arakelyan and pianist Nare Karoyan initiated an online concert-fundraiser during the last Artsakh war, in which the Signum Quartet participated together with Armenian and foreign musicians.
By Sona Khachatryan
Photo by Andrej Grilic
