Welcome Back to the Twenties!

VARTAN MARGOSIAN

Well, a hundred years have gone by (though it seems sometimes like it should be eighty...) and we are once again in a decade called the Twenties. Whether these Twenties will be "roaring" or not remains to be seen. Frankly I'm a little surprised that we haven't seen more "Great Gatsby" themed parties. Maybe it's because since the beginning of the year, social media has been consumed with speculating whether World War 3 is going to start, and when they aren't doing that, speculating whether the President of the United States has really been impeached or not, and when they aren't doing that, talking about the upcoming election. 

Well, dear readers, I am not going to talk about any of those things, but rather take you on a little trip back to the Nineteen Twenties. Cousin Harry - you say with a groan - I already know about the 1920s! I read the Great Gatsby in school! (ok, I read the Cliff's Notes.) And I know all about the jazz age. I watched that Ken Burns documentary. Ok, I watched one episode and fell asleep but WHAT IS YOUR POINT? 

My point is, I am going to introduce you to the Armenian-American 1920s. Which sounds a lot more like my style, now doesn't it?

So let's start at the begining. And just as the American 1960s didn't really begin until the JFK assasination, the Armenian-American 1920s didn't really begin until the Armistice of Mudanya. What is the Armistice of Mudanya?

Here we go down the rabbit hole. 

So what most Americans know about World War I is that the Allies won, Germany lost, Turkey was an ally of Germany, and during the war Turkey committed the Armenian Genocide. But wait a second. Turkey LOST. How did they then get away with Genocide?

The answer is, that I would argue Turkey never really lost WWI. The government surrendered to the Allies with the Armistice of Mudros (October 1918). Britain and France occupied Constantinople, the Committee and Union and Progess or Ittihad Party was kicked out, and the Itilaf Party was brought to power and initiated war crimes trials, the Allies carved up Turkey...But at the same time a young army officer named Mustafa Kemal got the army to rebel against the Allied victory..... and fought the Allies until they ... sort of surrended in a second armistice - the Armistice of Mudanya (1922). The British gave the Kemalists all of Anatolia and Constantinople, and the Allies got trade routes and the oil fields of Mosul. Armenian issues were swept uder the rug.

Essentially, the government lost the war, but the army didn't give up.

Over the course of the winter, spring, and summer of 1923 the Treaty of Laussanne worked out these details. All Greeks still living in Turkey were sent to Greece. All Muslims in Greece were sent to Turkey. The last Armenians left in orphanages were deported from the country; the large orphanage in Kharpert was evacuated to Lebanon. The last hope of Armenians having any kind of independence on these lands were crushed. A small remnant was left in the interior, but for most, there was no going back. 

After the treaty of Lausanne was signed in July 1923, Armenians in America went into preservation mode. That September in NYC, singer and violinist Vartan Margosian released 12 recordings of his native Kharpert folk songs in Armenian and Turkish. Longing for the homeland, he sounds like he's crying on some tracks.

Armenian recordings hadn't been made in America since the war ended 5 years earlier, and back then it was the big record labels looking to capitalize on immigrants. But Margosian set in motion a independent recording movement that became a whole industry. Before the year was up businessman Sarkis Sarafian started the Sohag record label in NY in order to record and promote Armenian show tunes and classical pieces.

And the records just kept coming - record labels such as M.G. Parsekian, Oriental, Pharos, Stamboul, Shamlian, and even privately pressed recordings by the biggest star in the Armenian world, Armenag Shah-Mouradian. All of this culminated in Armenians being picked up by the major labels, Victor and Columbia. Oud, violin, dumbeg, clarinet, kanun, blul, tar, mandolin, and piano players along with singers vocalizing in Armenian, Turkish, Kurdish, and even French were all featured. Armenian-owned record labels were putting out material by Anatolian Greeks and Sephardic and Romaniote Jews. In fact, as far as I can understand from my research, during the 1920s New York / New Jersey was the world capital of the Armenian recording industry.

It wasn't just music. Literature took a turn toward preservation mode as well. Coming out of Boston, in the summer of 1924 the writer Hamasdegh (Hampartzoum Gelenian) published "Kiughe" (The Village), his book of short stories about growing up in the village of Parchanj outside of Kharpert. At the same time, Kharpert-Hussenig native Peniamin Noorigian headed up a committee to seek out and publish all surviving works of their teacher at Kharpert's Central High School, the famed writer Tlgadintsi (Hovhannes Haroutiunian), father of provincial Armenian literature, known to his students simply as Hovhannes Effendi. Tlgadintsi was murdered in the Genocide, but his complete works (as many as could be found) were published in Boston in 1927. With all physical connection to the Old Country lost, Armenian-Americans wanted to make sure that the lands and the life they left behind was not forgotten in their new home, the United States.

SETRAK SOURABIAN

And they built churches, and newspapers, and compatriotic societies, and other organizations. The 1920s were the era of the "picture brides" - orphaned Armenian girls who came to America to marry men they had never met, but who were from their home village, had left a few years back to make money in America, and who were lonely themselves. Usually these men were vouched for by some common relative or family friend among the survivors. These newlywed couples began to start families and new lives. And to the sprightly, optimistic tune of Setrak Sourabian's immortal song "Akh Im Anoush Yar," (which was, however, tinged with loss in the actual lyrics), a new Armenian community was born, thrived, and made it in America.

The Fabulous Vosbikians: All American Kef

Today's post concerns one of the most influential groups in the history of Armenian dance music in America. It can be said that without this group the music as we know it today would not exist anymore. The group of which I speak is the "Fabulous" Vosbikian Band.

The Vosbikian Band is the longest running Armenian band in America. Founded in 1939, they are a family band still going strong today with second and third generation members.

The band was founded originally by three brothers, Samuel, Manuel (Mike), and Joseph Vosbikian, born to Armenian immigrant parents from Malatya, Turkey, just after WWI. They were typical members of the "Greatest Generation", grew up during the Depression, served in WWII, and listened to Big Band music of the time like any other American kids.

SAM, MIKE, JOE

But the Armenian legacy held strong in the Vosbikian family. Sam, Mike and Joe's immigrant father Bedros Vosbikian (b. 1892 in Malatya) was a clarinet player, who performed Armenian folk music with his brother Thomas on violin and Harry Santerian on dumbeg. Bedros had stowed away on a ship to America in 1913 and in 1916 brought his brother and his bride-to-be, Vartanoush, who had miraculously survived the Armenian Genocide, to Philadelphia. Bedros' saga is told by his daughter-in-law, Irene, in her new book "Bedros": http://www.amazon.com/Bedros-Irene-Vosbikian/dp/0615887244

BEDROS AND VARTANOUSH

Bedros and Vartanoush had 4 sons and 3 daughters but it was the 3 oldest boys, Sam, Mike, and Joe who in 1939 took the revolutionary step, when some of them were still in high school, of starting the first Armenian band composed of American-born members. (Picture below.)

L to R: Garo "Charles" Mardigian (usually played banjo), Sam Vosbikian (leader), Joe Vosbikian, Mike Vosbikian, Peter Endrigian (on dumbeg). The 1939-1941 band.

The first band played at various functions in Philly and made their first out of town appearance at an AYF Mid Atlantic Jamboree in Union City, NJ in 1940. When the boys went off to WWII the band was put on hold but after everyone had returned a new band was formed in 1946, with the original 3 core members and some new band members. It was this second band, billed as "The Fabulous Vosbikian Band," which really made a mark in the Armenian social and music scene as the first American born Armenian band, performing regularly at social functions, releasing records, etc.

L to R, top row: Mike Vosbikian (sax), Jirair Hovnanian (vocals), Jimmy Vosbikian (clarinet, vocals)
L to R, bottom row: Steve Ajdaharian (piano, vocals), Joe Vosbikian (dumbeg, vocals), Albert Santerian (dumbeg),
Sam Vosbikian (oud, bandleader)

In the 1946 version of the band, Sam switched from clarinet to oud, Joe from drum set to traditional dumbeg, and Mike stayed on sax. Joe was also one of the band's vocalists known for his "deep emotional vocals bringing the old intensity into modern Armenian music." The 3 brothers teamed up with cousin Jimmy Vosbikian (son of Bedros' brother Thomas) on clarinet and vocals (he was the star vocalist of the group, to whom "everyone pauses to listen"), and Albert Santerian also on dumbeg. In 1948 Jirair Hovnanian, who had immigrated with his brothers from his birthplace in Baghdad, Iraq, and ended up marrying Vosbikian sister Elizabeth, joined the band as a vocalist, adding many new songs. In 1949 Steve Ajdaharian joined as a pianist and sometimes vocalist. Joe also contributed vocals. In 1950 Steve Terkanian was added as a tambourine player. The above oil painting depicts the 1940s-1950s era Vosbikian band. 

From 1949-1951 the Vosbikian Band recorded 22 songs, the first by an American-born Armenian band. These recordings became hugely popular and influential in kef music. Later, in 1957, the Vosbikian Band produced the first LP by an Armenian-American dance band. Influenced by the Big Band Swing music of the time, the Vosbikians used saxophone (for the first time) and piano in an Armenian folk/dance band. They added an American flair to traditional Armenian folk music - for example Steve Ajdaharian's piano solos and Mike Vosbikian wailing on the sax on numbers like "Vosbikian Special II". Even aside from that, the Vosbikians had a unique sound like no other Armenian group; instead of making everything seem sad, they made everything seem happy. Yet, though they had a happy-go-lucky "American-Armenian" image and sound, they were actually more authentic in many ways that many of their peers who were giving into commercialism. For instance, on listening to their 1957 LP, "Vosbikian Presents Armenian Folk Dances," I felt I was there, live at an Armenian youth dance in the Catskills or the Jersey Shore in the 50s, - without the smoothed-out, Westernized style that makes some other bands of that era sound like the soundtrack to "Cleopatra" with Elizabeth Taylor. It was these recordings and this sound that was influential to the careers of a whole generation of American-born Armenian musicians.

But perhaps even more influential was the fact that they had started a band at all. For a bunch of American-born guys to take such a step of creating a working Armenian dance band in the 1940s was no casual act. This was a time when the first American born generation of Armenians was coming of age and deciding whether they wanted to continue the Armenian heritage or not. No doubt their father's musical talents and strong Armenian pride inspired the Vosbikian brothers in this significant, and influential decision. When other ethnicities were forgetting their traditional music (i.e. the Jewish community all but rejected "klezmer", their folk music, to the point where it had to be "revived" in the 1970s), the Vosbikians started a movement among young Armenians to live out their heritage through music.

Some of the bands in that era were the Nor-Ikes of NYC (founded by oudist Charles "Chick" Ganimian in 1948), the Artie Barsamian Orchestra of Boston featuring the legendary clarinetist of the same name, the Gomidas Band of Philly, founded by Hank Mardigian around 1950 and featuring the legendary oudist George Mgrdichian, Mike and Buddy Sarkissian's group operating out of the Merrimack Valley (Lawrence and Lowell, Mass.), the Aramites Band of Worcester, Mass, founded in 1951, the New England Ararats hailing from Rhode Island, the Ardziv Band of Detroit, founded by clarinetist Simon Javizian, and the Arax Band of Detroit who were the first Armenian group to have a recording on the Billboard charts. All of these bands were formed by first-generation-American-born Armenians, and almost all of them, with the exception of Mike and Buddy Sarkissian, copied the Vosbikian line up of 1946 in their basic format: oud, clarinet, saxophone, and two dumbegs (or a dumbeg and a "cocktail drum") an instrumentation that was standard until the mid-60s. Some have called it the Armenian Big Band era. Rather than a dumbeg and guitar, the pace was set by 2 dumbegs, and the Vosbikians had their own giant, hand made versions.

CHRIS VOSBIKIAN PLAYING GIANT DUMBEG HAND MADE BY HIS UNCLE JOE VOSBIKIAN

As to their success in the community, an article in the Armenian press by Elizabeth Noorigian Simonds, who having grown up in that era, stressed that the Vosbikians brought together all the Armenians regardless of political affiliations stemming from the old world that unfortunately were tearing the Armenian community apart, and regardless of generation gap between the old and the young. The Vosbikian band was a phenomenon in the Armenian community, breaking down barriers and simply creating good times and memories for the generation that grew up dancing to their music.

It was in this era that kef music as we know it today was born. Styles and repertoire from all the parts of Turkey that Armenians had immigrated from combined into a new pan-Armenian-American style. New dances like the Armenian Shuffle were created and a host of songs from Soviet and Russian Armenia were adopted - always being transformed in the process into an Anatolian style, notably by changing the 6/8 meter to a 10/8, which the Vosbikians excelled at. According to Gary and Susan Lind-Sinanian, with the melding of the different regional styles from Turkey, although "The music lost much of the subtle [regional] characteristics," the new style "brought new vigor" and "enabled the community to integrate itself on a much wider scale as a common interest of all groups." 

By the mid-1950s, it was official: it was apparently "cool," among young American-born Armenians, to play Armenian dance (kef) music. Even as the "Big Band Armenian" era came to an end in the 60s, a second generation of Armenian-Americans, in relatively large numbers, continued to enter the field of Armenian and Near Eastern music. You can probably count the number of Armenians who made any kind of name for themselves in jazz or pop music on your two hands, and even less for rock music. As for classical music, many Armenians entered that field, but certainly not as many as who entered the "Near Eastern" scene. This strong trend continued throughout the 60s and 70s, and the tradition continues unbroken, though maybe on a lesser scale, today. In a 1978 interview, veteran singer Onnik Dinkjian had this to say about the bands from the 40s and 50s: "All I know is that those bands--the Nor-Ikes, the Gomidas, and the Barsamians, and so on--were really the pioneers, the beginners of what we are trying to do today...A lot of credit is due these bands because to be living far, far away from Armenia and to first learn the instruments, and then to get together, listen to their parents and the old records, and learn that music is highly commendable. These boys could just as well have learned jazz, or any other type of music, but they put their heart and soul into the Armenian music...My hat is off to them."

In other words, if it wasn't for the Vosbikians and those who followed them, we might be dancing to only American music at our Armenian weddings and social functions today.

The Vosbikians continued their family tradition. In 1963, the teenage sons of the original band members first appeared on stage, billed as the Vosbikian Juniors, which developed into the Steve Vosbikian Ensemble coming out with their LP, "Armenian Reflections" in the early 1970s.

In 1975, the first and second generation musicians joined together to create an album entitled "Armenian Dance Favorites." It was to be the first of 10 volumes of albums released periodically up until 2004, featuring a vast array of Vosbikian family members. The albums are available here: http://armenianvendor.com/armenian-cds-dvds-armenian-dance-music-cds-c-24_37.html?page=3 The most active members in the second generation were bandleader Steve Vosbikian (clarinet), Greg Vosbikian (oud), Sam Vosbikian Jr. (dumbeg) (all sons of Sam), Mike Vosbikian Jr. (sax), and Steve Hovnanian, son of Jirair, on vocals, who along with Roger Krikorian is one of the two best kef singers of his generation in this writer's opinion. Skippy Krepelka (of Greek descent) on guitar was added to the group to round out the sound. 

Out of that generation, oudist Greg Vosbikian has also recently released his own solo album, "Armenian Stone." www.cdbaby.com/cd/gregoryvosbikian

The third generation of Vosbikian family talent has developed with Chris Vosbikian (dumbeg/keyboards - son of Greg), and Stephen Hovnanian (saxophone) and for a time Haig Hovnanian (dumbeg), sons of Steve Hovnanian, all playing as members of the Philly Kef Band (most active in the late 90s and early 2000s). Later, Chris joined the Michael Gostanian Ensemble on dumbeg, and with them, recorded one of the most well-received kef albums of the current generation ("Traditions"), and Steve Vosbikian Jr. joined the Philly Kef Band on clarinet. Steve Jr. continued his Armenian music education and became adept at the Eastern Armenian folk and rabiz styles, prompting him to create his new band, Artsakh. Chris continues to be an in-demand dumbeg player in the more traditional kef combinations. Stemming all the way back to their great-grandfather Bedros, Steve Jr. and Chris are continuing the family tradition. Steve Hovnanian's daughter Karinne Andonian is also a talented vocalist that has appeared on one of the band's albums and appeared with the band at Return to Asbury 2015.

Unfortunately, almost all of the original band members have passed on, with the noted exception of Mike Vosbikian, first saxophonist in an Armenian band, now in his mid 90s. Check him out, singing with Leo and Mal Barsamian a few years back:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HVzs4gkLqs

At the Vosbikian Band's appearance at Return to Asbury 2015, Mr. Mike Vosbikian Sr. was honored for his contributions and did his rendition of "Dollarjee." The band as put together for that event is pictured below at their rehearsal.

THE VOSBIKIAN BAND REHARSING FOR RETURN TO ASBURY 2015
(L to R: GREG, MIKE JR., STEVE SR., STEVE HOVNANIAN, CHRIS, kneeling: STEVE JR.)

What makes the Vosbikians different? In conversations with others of my age, we often compare the various bands and musicians that we've listened to, especially the older groups, and analyze them: i.e. John Berberian or Richard Hagopian might be the greatest oud player, and Richard is no doubt the "heaviest" and most traditional. John might have more soul, say some, but the dancers who want to get their groove on to an old school "chifte telli" go for Richard all the way. Hachig Kazarian, too brings the traditional style along with soul and technique, and Onnik Dinkjian has the vocal chops to be called the Armenian Frank Sinatra while his son Ara's oud style is minimalist, modern, and expressive. It's a tossup whether John Berberian's first two albums, or Richard and Hachig's four "Kef Time" albums are the best records in the genre, although Onnik's albums, still appearing in his late 80s are phenomenal and so is his stage presence!

So what do the Vosbikians have, aside from being the originators of it all? Well they do have their own inimitable style, that I don't think any other band has even tried to replicate. But the thing that stands out for me is this: they play with the most HEART. They put their all into it, forget being an oud virtuoso, forget eastern makams and quartertones, when you listen to the Vosbikians, more than any other band, you can tell that they really and truly LOVE this music. They play for love of the music, not for fame, or virtuosity, or ethnomusicology, or to impress belly dancers, or to sound heavy, or to sound badass.....they play because they love the music and want to spread the love and joy and happiness through Armenian music and dancing...they are the most authentic not in the ethnographic sense, but in the human sense, because it was never fake with them, never posturing, never trying to impress, just playing the best they knew how, to make people happy...just check out the below youtube videos I took at Return to Asbury 2015....I'm sure their father/grandfather/great-grandfather Bedros more than approves!

BEDROS VOSBIKIAN ARMENIAN DANCING

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TL0Vgz1IGUM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88_eIaa0zWk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmiWnfp3e1M

"Your Homeland And The Phonograph" (old advertisement)

The following advertisement was found on the back cover of the Pharos Records songbook of 1928. Pharos Records was an Armenian-owned record company in New York City in the 1920s. Their catalogue contained numerous Armenian and Turkish songs by mostly Armenian artists, with Greek and a few other ethnicities represented. The songbook is a valuable document with lyrics to the songs that are on many of their records, whether in Armenian or Turkish, printed in Armenian letters.

Pharos was not a producer of phonograph equipment and the advertisement below was not selling any particular brand of phonograph. But of course, Pharos wanted you to have a phonograph, so that you could buy their records to play on it. The ad is interesting and touching because it probably gives some of the real reasons that early Armenian immigrants did buy phonographs, and what listening to Armenian and Turkish songs meant to them, especially considering the events of 1915.

Your Homeland And The Phonograph

                The phonograph is that instrument of music, through the grace of which it has become possible to make alive the songs of the homeland and the sweet memories of them. The picture of your ancestral country, the faces of its folk singers, and each syllable of all those songs which lullabied your childhood to sleep and enflamed your youth, will always remain burning and alive in your memory through the grace of the phonograph.

                Let the phonograph be an indispensable object in your house, a beautiful ornament in your parlor, and enjoy it a bit, in order to draw inspiration from the pleasures of an unmatched branch of the fine arts, Music.

                The phonograph is the live communicator of music, through the grace of which you can at all times, in your home, have near you all the singers, not only those who are your compatriots, but also those belonging to other nations and who have fame and talent. Through the grace of the phonograph, even the dead artists will speak with you in the sweet-sounding language of their songs.

Onnik's latest album takes us back to the "old country," but with a fresh vibe

For years, singer Onnik Dinkjian has been one of the biggest names in the Armenian-American kef scene. Born in Paris in 1929, and living in America since 1946, Onnik might be the oldest active kef musician today but his energy still outpaces many of his younger peers. Personally, I last saw him sing at AYF Olympics in Detroit last September and in the words of my generation, he "killed it." Both Onnik and oudist son Ara's careers have been profiled elsewhere and I will get straight to the point of my post.

Onnik's latest production, "Diyarbekiri Hokin" (The Soul Of Diyarbekir [Dikranagerd]), is truly a landmark album in our music. I knew that a recording specifically of Dikranagerdtsi folk music was in the works, and that fact in itself was notable, as far as I was concerned. But I didn't anticipate how great the album would actually turn out!!! From the first listen I couldn't believe my ears. Onnik, and son Ara who led the ensemble on oud and did most of arrangements along with Istanbul-Armenian guitarist Ari Hergel, managed to create an album that was as traditional as you could possibly get in this day and age, yet sounded fresh, alive, vibrant. Musician friends around the country agreed with me that this album was something special. Opening with a traditional Diyarbakir Peshrev, the audience is kept waiting for Onnik's vocals but enjoys this expertly played Near Eastern classical piece: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNFFA9gYIfg, setting the mood for the album you are about to hear. Best enjoyed with a bottle of arak, mezza, and good friends, this is not your typical "kef" dance album, but a real work of art.

The instrumentation and songs are completely traditional but the arrangements at times were very modern, especially in the background rhythm section. On the intro to a few of the songs you hear some modern guitar playing and percussion that then leads into a traditional kef song. But even the typical kef songs were made fresh and new by Onnik's interpretation. For example, on the every popular song "Kale Kale" (i.e. Hayde Kale) Onnik sings not like he's at a kef belting out lyrics, but gently, as if he's in his backyard singing to his wife or perhaps granddaughter. Of course, this understated style was always what has set Onnik apart from his fellow kef singers and earned him the name of "the Armenian Frank Sinatra." This song in particular was a highlight for me and one feels you can actually hear Onnik smile as he sings the lyrics.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CE4Cthhw2Ms

ARA AND ONNIK

An interesting aspect of the album were the two tracks interspersed between the songs, where Onnik speaks in fluent Diyarbekir Armenian dialect about life in the old country. Most Armenians will be unable to understand it - I was just able to get the gist of what topics he was discussing - but his enthusiasm shows through and it is a valuable legacy of our heritage. Maybe those tracks will go over a little better in New Jersey :)

In correspondence with Ara, he told me that his intention with the project was "to reclaim Armenians' historical presence in Dikranagerd". To this end, many songs from Dikranagerd that previously have been sung in both Kurdish and Turkish (by Armenians as well as Turks and Kurds) were sung with lyrics written mostly in Diyarbakir Armenian dialect by Onnik, or lyrics taken from Dikranagerdsi Armenian poetry or folk songs. Devoted kef music fans will note the song "Liberde" recorded by John Berberian with Robert Afarian on vocals, done here as "Siranoush." The instrumentation seems to have been chosen with the same idea in mind, taking us back to the Diyarbakir that could have been if 1915 had never happened. Notably, the producer of the album, Aytekin Ataş, who FUNDED the entire project is a Kurd from Turkey. If you have been following Armenian current events, you know the now Kurdish-run municipality of Diyarbakir gave the historic St. Giragos Church back to the Armenian community, the first return of a historic Armenian church to ever take place since 1915 (see http://armenianweekly.com/2011/10/25/mouradian-armenians-locals-in-diyarbakir-send-powerful-message/) (Onnik mentions the St. Giragos church in his Diyarbakir monologues on the album.) Aytekin, like the leaders of the Diyarbakir municipality, is one of a growing number of Kurds who have embraced the Armenian cause (which as Ara reminded me, is really a human cause), sometimes putting themselves at risk for doing so. Not only Kurds, but Turks as well, as the ensemble on this recording, aside from Onnik, Ara, Ari, and Greek kemence player Socratis Sinopoulos, were to my knowledge mostly Turks. Quite impressive. As Onnik is quoted in the liner notes: "See, we are very happy together. If 1915 had never happened; we could have been brothers and sisters, relatives, neighbors and we could have lived on the same land all together."

ARMENIAN KANUN AND VIOLIN PLAYERS
IN DIKRANAGERD BEFORE 1915

In addition to the traditional pieces are a number of songs written by early Armenian-American immigrants from Dikranagerd, notably Hovsep Shamlian, many of whose compositions, written in 1920s New Jersey, are still popular today. (Famous oudist Roupen Altiparmakian had a saying "if you want to have kef with Armenians, you need to find Dikranagerdtsis") Two of the 3 Shamlian songs on the album are the already mentioned "Kale Kale," and "Sheg Mazerov Er," which are extremely popular and well known to most Armenian-Americans and the third, "Zuyk Me Jermag Aghavni" is well known at least to people like me who own kef albums, having been recorded years ago by Onnik with John Berberian. Based on my collection of 78 rpm records, I would have to say that Dikranagerdtsi immigrants had an influence on kef music that was probably out of proportion to their numbers in the community.

HOVSEP SHAMLIAN

And then there are the songs Onnik has written, mostly episodes from his life. The second track, where we hear Onnik sing for the first time, was written by Onnik to a Diyabakir folk melody. The lyrics in Western Armenian paint a picture of Onnik's mother Zora who tragically passed when Onnik was five. Her voice was legendary among the Dikranagerd Armenians of Paris, who, as the song depicts, would come and sit on the floor, eagerly waiting to hear her sing the songs of their homeland. Onnik dedicated the album to his mother Zora, and this tribute to his mother who I'm sure was a huge influence on his pursuit of Armenian music, seemed like a great way to open this album of songs, some of which she probably sang herself.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q94tiEXfJHM&list=PL3_XjKN0AXNwC14ebaA0XDlyfGrl_v2MT&index=2

ONNIK'S PARENTS GARABET AND ZORA

It seems like a good way to end this review, too. If you haven't yet, get Onnik Dinkjian's "Diyarbekiri Hokin" on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, or however else you get music!!! You won't regret it.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00UNY6EVM/ref=dm_ws_sp_ps_dp

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/diyarbekiri-hokin-ermenice/id976619931

OOR EH? HOS EH!

In my last post I said that I would tell some more about recent dance events and explain what a henna party is. Unfortunately technical issues prevented me from uploading the music that was supposed to go with that post. So I'm going to go ahead with a post I've been meaning to do for a while.

Readers of this blog will remember this picture from several posts ago:

At the time I was responding to a request for more old pictures on the blog and I had found this cool picture in a newspaper clipping. I did not know the identity of the gentlemen in this picture other than that they were the "Ardziv" (Eagle) Band of Philadelphia. Thanks to noted oudist Mr. Richard Hagopian we have the answer. From left to right they are Bernard Kondourajian (1897-1988), violinist - who seems to have been the leader of the band, G. Kalayjian, vocalist and oudist, and K. "Tommy" Nersesian. Here's a recording of them playing a "Haleh" (titled on the disc as "Halay-Kotchari") :

Kondourajian appears to have immigrated to the US from Arabkir in 1913. The other band members may have been from Arabkir as well since many people from that town settled in Philadelphia. (Thanks goes out to Paul Sookiasian for some of this background information.) In English they wrote their name as the "Arziv Orchestra" and according to Mr. Hagopian they played in the 40s. Well, it turns out I have several 78s from this group - I had confused the 78s with another Ardziv band that was out of Boston, and didn't realize it was the group pictured. On several of the 78s including the one above, they are accompanied by an "M. Kalemkerian" who is listed as playing "fingan". My assumption is that this "instrument" consists of looping a string of worry beads around your vest button, holding the other end out, and scraping the worry beads with a glass (finjan means cup in Turkish.) I know that this percussion "instrument" was often used among Armenians and Greeks in the old days, and specifically Joe Vosbikian mentions it as having been used in Philadelphia in the 30s in an essay on the website dedicated in his memory "Hoachland."

Now, those of you who aren't familiar with the kef culture will ask me "what's a Haleh?" The Haleh is type of dance also known as Halay, Kochari, or Govand. These different terms are used in different parts of Armenia. Govand is specifically the term that was used in Van. Modern day Armenia uses the term Kochari. The term "Haleh" is apparently a broken down form of "Halay", a word that in the Turkish language refers to (I believe) an even wider spectrum of line dances than its usage in the Armenian culture. The Turkish word halay is apparently derived from a Kurdish word meaning circle.

The way everyone older than 30 in Detroit does the Haleh is very similar to this video, except in the video they are holding pinkies as in a regular Armenian dance, while in a Haleh they would be holding hands with all fingers interlocked, and standing very close to one another: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcTysM9jUC0. Also, they tell me that when the old timers would dance it they would stand together "like a wall" and they would "barely move". Now when I say it was slow and they would barely move I don't want you to get the impression that its an old man's dance. By old timers, I simply mean the older generation that had been born in the Old Country. The movements are slow but done with strength and power. The barely moving means in terms of moving to the right like a normal Armenian dance. They do move up and down quite a bit. The video indicates the dance as Gyovnd (Govand). As far as I know, that's a Vanetsi term, and so I suspect that the Detroit Haleh is of a Vanetsi origin. This dance is used as the "Chapter Dance" for the Detroit AYF Chapter at AYF Olympics.

Some may argue that Kochari, Halay and Govand are all different dances. But they have important things in common: they are circle dances, or as we say "line dances," originally they were done by men only, they have a masculine character to them expressive of strength and vitality, and originally they were done by holding hands with fingers interlocking, the men standing very close shoulder to shoulder to each other so they almost form a wall. And then there are some steps but these are done slowly, steadily, and with strength and as said the old timers would barely move. The fact that Haleh and Kochari are considered synonyms is shown by the above recording's label, which reads "Halay-Kotchari".

The current most popular Haleh today among young Armenian men in the Eastern US especially in the ACYOA is seen in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYEKg3zAg8o. According to Tom Bozigian this one was created by Armenian youth in Yettem, California (near Fresno) in the 1970s. It was made up by a group of guys for a dance contest. In the past 10 years it has gained popularity among the young men of the Eastern US. It was reintroduced to the ACYOA events by a couple of guys who learned it at camp. Names will not be disclosed to protect the innocent. This dance is only done by guys, while the girls dance in a circle around the men's circle, doing the "old haleh."

Apparently what happened is that the men got sick of the fact that their "men's only" dance was taken away from them, they needed a dance that the girls wouldn't even want to do, thus the Yettem Halay filled a need that was there. Supply and demand.

Oh and Detroit has added to the Yettem Halay by adding the "Southfield Spin" as one of the "special moves" (shout out to Mr. Banks). Not only that, but in the past 5 years or so we have developed the position of "halay caller" who stands in the center of the circle and yells out the next move that should be done. This was created by Brandon Maake to solve the problem of huge Haleh circles which, getting larger and larger, were increasingly hard to coordinate, and generally included a ton of people who apparently didn't know what the hell a Haleh was.

I will have to disappoint Mr. Jon Pelaez at this point and inform you that this version of the Hale is not native to Dikranagerd, New Jersey, or Puerto Rico. As stated this Haleh was created by the Yettem, California ACYOA guys in the 70s. The steps seem to be a more elaborate version of the "Kharpertsi Haleh" as seen in the Aradzani Dance Group instructional video (http://www.armenianvendor.com/product_info.php?products_id=1043).

Speaking of Kharpert, here's a version of the Haleh recorded in circa 1927 by violinist Stepan Simonian (who was born in Kharpert,) with his son Haigaz on piano and an unknown dumbeg player.

Special thanks to Fr. Garabed Kochakian (grandnephew of Stepan Simonian) who shared his precious copy of this 78 rpm recording with me.

In both the old and new haleh, the call and response shouts of "Oor eh?" "Hos eh!" can be heard. Oor eh means "where is it" and "hos eh" means "it's here," but in context it means "where's it at?" and "it's right here," a statement of machismo by the guys dancing the Haleh. It was taught to me that the whole point of the Haleh is to impress the girls by showing off.Sometimes one guy will yell "oor eh" and all the others yell "hos eh," another variation is that the girls yell "oor eh" and the boys yell "hos eh." Haleh is one of the favorite dances of the Armenian youth in the United States. It's also often a show-off piece for the musicians, who treat it as an improvisation on a short theme or riff. Probably you have caught the drift of that by now - none of the pieces above were the same yet they all have a similar pattern to them. Armenians from present day Armenia are used to hearing the kochari played on a davoul and zourna, and the older Armenian-American recordings of the halay are usually played on the similar clarinet or at least a violin as above. But at some point in Armenian American culture, the halay became a showcase for the oudist - perhaps inspired by George Mgrdichian's great rendition on his album "The Oud" recorded under the pseudonym "Aram Arakelian" in 1958. (http://www.amoeba.com/the-oud-aram-arakelian-ensemble/albums/841766/). But undoubtedly the best Armenian oud halays are played by Mr. John Berberian, seen in the video above, but also in this great California performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3LeJbmqSig. I can't follow that act, so to all a good night and a Happy Thanksgiving.

Kef in Review: the Summer of 2013

Hello to everyone out there in cyperspace - I can't believe it's been since April that I've blogged on here. A lot has taken place since then. So here's the rundown of the latest Kef events.
(Click below to hear a clip from Kef Time Providence: Onnik Dinkjian singing Ko Siro Hamar with an oud solo by John Berberian)

SPORTS WEEKEND/KEF TIME PROVIDENCE

L to R: Mal Barsamian, Richard Hagopian, John Berberian
at Kef Time Providence/ACYOA Sports Weekend

This year's ACYOA (Armenian Church Youth Organization) General Assembly and Sports Weekend was held in Providence on Memorial Day (yes I know that was a long time ago!). The entertainment for Saturday night was a dance held officially under the auspices of the local parish (rather than the ACYOA), billed as "Kef Time Providence." And boy did they put together some band! The headliners were Richard Hagopian (oud/vocals), John Berberian (oud), and Onnik Dinkjian (vocals). Betwen the three of them, we've got two of what I would rank as the top three living Armenian oudists (the other being John Bilezikjian), as well as the two most popular vocalists in the kef genre. I've never heard of the three of them being on one stage at once and neither had most people I talked to. The rest of the band was a veteran group as well, up to the task of participating in this supergroup: Mal Barsamian (clarinet), Ara Dinkjian (background keyboard), Ron Tutunjian (dumbeg), Chris Vosbikian (dumbeg), Paul Mooradian (one of the most veteran musicians in the kef scene) on tambourine (which we call the "daf"), and up and coming oudist Brian Ansbigian (the only member of the group in his 20s). Before the music started, I had no idea what to expect. All these people had never been on one stage before. How would they balance out all the star players that were on stage? My friends and I went with Brian to the the ballroom when the musicians were setting up. It was there that I snapped this photo of the two masters conferring (Richard Hagopian with his back to the camera and John Berberian facing it), one would assume to discuss the format of the evening's music:

The Summit Meeting

In any case they did not disappoint. What ended up happening was that John and Richard played oud at the same time (their hands were practically strumming up and down in unison), accompanied by the rest of the group. It seems to me that Richard took most of the taksim intros and John took most of the "rides" (solos during the song). Richard and Onnik switched off on vocals, and the group performed many of the signature songs of Richard, Onnik, and John.

Richard and John grinding away

A friend of mine was continually telling me as we stood watching in awe: "This is it, Harry. This is the best it's ever going to get." While I didn't want to think that I would never see a performance this good again, he had a point. It's unlikely we'll see all three of these guys on the same stage again. All three of course are legends, but my personal favorite is Richard Hagopian (John or Onnik are just as good - its just personal preference), and my all time favorite song played by him is Parov Yegar Siroon Yar, an Armenian love song written by Oudi Hrant. I was sitting with the girlfriend of a friend of mine (who had gone to use the restroom) when Richard started to play a taksim in his old familiar style:
I was really feeling it - a mixture of excitement and contentment/relaxation/nostalgia in hearing my favorite music live. To me its a sensation like no other. Kef still lives and all is right in the world. But then when the melody started into "Parov Yegar" I couldn't control myself. It was drawing me irresistibly to the dance floor. I felt bad about leaving the girl sitting by herself, especially because she didn't know anyone else there, but she said "no, go ahead."  Figuring my friend would return momentarily I made it for the dance floor. My favorite song, this was it! And not only that, but it turned into an epic medley. Parov Yegar was followed by a clarinet solo by Mal, then "Sivasda Bir Yar Sevdim" (a popular Turkish number), then a oud solo by what sounds like John Berberian from the recording, then "Hele Hele Ninnaye" the well known Armenian folk song of Dikranagerd (among other places), on which Richard and Onnik (a Dikranagertsi himself) traded verses back and forth, "Dikranagerdi Halay", and finally "Sut Ictim Dilim Yandi" (Turkish) during which I experienced some new dance moves :) It was an unbelievable performance, but the rest of the dance was just as great, as you can hear from the short clip at the top.

The end of the night (Richard picking up dollar bills
that are customarily thrown at the musicians)

RETURN TO ASBURY

While you're listening to the 15 minute-long clip I just threw at you, let me tell you a little about the Asbury Kef. This event took place August 2-4 in Asbury Park, New Jersey. In the 40s, 50s, and 60s, Asbury Park was a popular summer resort town frequented by Armenians (among other people). However, it's probably best known as the Jersey Shore beach town where Bruce Springsteen got his start. At any rate the idea of the weekend was to recreate the old glory days of Armenians going to the Shore with hanging out at the beach during the day and socializing at night. The title of this event was "Return to Asbury" and the Armenian Students Association (ASA) did a great job putting it on. One of the stated purposes was to propagate the traditional Armenian dance parties with a live band playing the old instruments, meaning kef music and other traditional styles of Armenian music - in my mind a great cause. The first night was a bar night and the second night was a dance. My cousin and I drove all the way from Detroit to Asbury Park, a feat I don't think I'll try again. We stayed in Ocean Grove with its interesting Victorian architecture. During the day before the dance there was a happy hour at the pool at which dumbeg player Ohannes Berin had organized an open jam session (or as they called it in the old days, a "hookup"). He had contacted me to play at it as well as serve as MC, and I agreed. Ohannes asked me if I could get other musician friends to participate and I was able to get Paul Derderian on oud and Mike Givelekian on vocals. The others didn't step up to the plate....you know who you are. :) Nevertheless we had a GREAT time.

L to R: Paul Derderian, myself, Ohannes Berin

During the jam session I played clarinet, Paul played oud and Ohannes, dumbeg. Mike G. and I shared vocal duties. We also had as guest vocalist Mike's father Mirijohn who did a great rendition of Dele Yaman! I'm sure someone has video of this. Michael Gostanian (probably the most prominent kef singer in the younger generation) even sat in on dumbeg. In all we had a great time and thank you to Ohannes for organizing this. 

The dance was played by a combination of the Michael Gostanian Ensemble and the Artsakh Band, with Chris Marashlian on bass guitar. I wish I could name all the musicians but I can't. To my memory, Chris Vosbikian (dumbeg) and Stevie Vosbikian (clarinet) were there, Michael Gostanian (vocals), Armen Sevag (violin), Anthony Deese, Aram Hovagimian (keyboard), Antranig Kzirian (oud), and Chris Marashlian (bass guitar). I think Dave Hoplamazian was also there (?) but we've already got two ouds and a violin so if he was I don't know what he played. Sorry kefji's I can't remember much of that night! I know some of you will read this so please send in corrections. A special guest who showed up in town at the last minute was Brian Ansbigian on the oud. I don't remember too many specific details from that night but the two bands kept the crowd dancing nonstop and we did everything from tak bar to tamzara. In all, the assembled kefjis of the young generation did a spectacular job. 

After the dance we had a little hookup of our own in the hotel lobby, Brian played oud, I sang, Garo Papazian (I don't remember where he showed up from!) played dumbeg, and Ohannes played tambourine. Stevie Vosbikian also joined us on dumbeg at one point. Now at this time all the bars in town closed down because it was 2 AM or whatever. So a stream of people started showing up at the hotel, who were staying there. For some reason, they were all hipsters. This crowd of hipsters enters the lobby as we are in full blown kef mode playing and singing really heavy stuff, like chifte telli's and whatnot. The hipsters were enthralled by our sounds and crowded around us. They started to ask Brian questions. "What is that" (an oud) "What kind of music is this" (Armenian) "Where are you guys from" (Brian says Boston) "Do you do this in Boston? I want to be Armenian!" (said one drunken hipster). If any of you hipsters are reading this I'm glad we were able to introduce you to our music. So that was my kefji summer. I was unable to attend AYF Olympics as I had a friend's wedding to attend. But I did get to play oud and sing at the henna party the night before the wedding!  (the bride is a huge fan of kef music). Unfortunately the hotel had no microphones and no one could hear me. We had fun anyway. If anyone has stories or videos or audio of the music at AYF Olympics, feel free to post it and/or send it to me and I will put it up. OK, that's all for now. Next post I will catch you all up on the events of the past couple months, get back to checking out my 78s collection, and explain what a henna party is.

The inevitable Lobby Hookup - yes, we do this at every Armenian event
L to R: Me, Garo Papazian, Brian Ansbigian, Ohannes Berin, Paul Derderian.
With his back to the photo, Timothy "Dimig" Aivazian.
Brian intentionally posing as the young John Berberian from the cover of Oud Artistry.

In Memory of the Armenian Genocide of 1915

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtcSavLRWpE
click on the above link to hear "Derzor Dasdanaaci" by Vahan Boyajian

First a couple notes, yes I know I'm almost a week late on this, but what can I say. Second, I actually own this same record but when I tried to upload it to Soundcloud it kept coming out extremely soft even though it was playing loud and clear on my iTunes. So that's why we have a link today instead of an embedded track.

Derzor Dasdaanaci means something like "the ballad singer of Derzor" or "one who sings a ballad about Derzor." A destan is a type of Turkish song that I am roughly translating as ballad. And the c is pronounced as a "j" here according to modern Turkish spelling. This song is more commonly known as "Derzor Cheollerinde" (Derzor Çöllerinde) meaning "in the deserts of Derzor." Derzor or Der Zor is the Armenian name for Deir ez-Zor, a city in present day Syria. During the Armenian Genocide of 1915, it was the main destination of the deportations ("death marches") of the Armenians from their homes by the Ottoman Turkish forces. When the Armenians arrived in the desert outside Der Zor, they were killed. Even though it is actually the name of a city in Syria, to most Armenians the words "Der Zor" has no other meaning than "the killing fields."

This song, sung in Turkish, describes the conditions in Der Zor during the genocide. It was apparently composed by those who were on the death march. Dr. Verjine Svazlian has done much research on this and other songs related to the Genocide, all sung in Turkish. A summary of her research can be found here: http://www.cilicia.com/armo_geno-songs.html

The first verse of Boyajian's version goes like this (in phonetic spelling):

Der Zor cheollerinde yarali chokdir - In the deserts of Der Zor there are many wounded
Gelme doktor, gelme, charesi yokdir - Don't come doctor, don't come, there is no remedy
Bir Allahdan gayri hech kimsem yokdir - Aside from the One God I have no one at all
Millet ughurina giden Ermeni - Armenians who go (i.e. march, are deported) for the sake of the Millet

He also ends every verse with that last line. Millet is a special word used in Ottoman Turkish often translated "nation," which in our modern parlance would be translated "ethnic group." The Ottoman Empire had 4 main Millets, the Islamic Millet, the Greek Millet, the Armenian Millet, and the Jewish Millet, in addition to the smaller millets such as the Assyrians or the Protestants. Each ethnic group was self-ruling in internal matters like education, marriage and divorce, and inheritance law. The head of each ethnic group was their religious patriarch, who was directly answerable to the Sultan. Of course in the case of the Muslims, the Sultan himself was basically their patriarch (as the Caliph). So in other words, the Armenians were being deported and killed because of their ethnicity.

Other versions of the song have "Dininin ughurina giden Ermeni" (Armenians who go for the sake of their religion), or "Armenians who die for....."

Vahan Boyajian was an Armenian singer who recorded as far as I can tell, almost exclusively in Turkish. He was an immigrant to the US and recorded here in the 1920s for Columbia as well as his own record label "Bilbil" (Nightingale) as seen in the above video. Here he is accompanied by the typical violin and oud duo.

My great-grandmother Vartanoush narrowly escaped being sent to Der Zor by paying a large bribe to the Turkish gendarmes while the caravan was near the city of Rakka in present day Syria. She and her family crossed the river into Rakka where they lived for a time, before her family all died, she was adopted by Bedouin Arabs, and after the war, sent to an orphanage in Aleppo and subsequently brought to the United States in 1921 to be the bride of my great grandfather Onneg Kezelian. Grandma Vartanoush's sister-in-law Sirvart was not so lucky, however. After being taken to Der Zor, the group she was with was slaughtered. She was cut across the back with a sword and she fell, they thought she died but later someone came and found her and another woman still alive, she was taken away and eventually came to America where she remarried my great-grandfather's cousin - but she had the scar of the sword mark in her back the rest of her life. I could go on and tell about my other great-grandparents that were in the massacres but I'll leave it at that so as to not drag out this post. This post is in memory of all those who died in 1915, and to all those who survived. Asdvadz hokineruh lousavoreh/may God enlighten their souls.

PS here is another version of the song, sung a capella by Vartan Shahpazian from Kharpert, living in Fresno in 1939 http://memory.loc.gov/afc/afccc/audio/a426/a4266b2.wav

It is also interesting to note the similarity of this melody to Gyozals Khrov Eh by Kusan Shahen

Who Are These Guys?

I've had some requests for more pictures on the blog so here's an interesting one I have come across. These gentlemen are apparently the "Ardziv" Band of Philadelphia. The picture was accompanied by an advertisement for 2 of their records, "Lai-Lai Sofigus" and "Khunchouyki Yerk" along with the lyrics to the songs. (Khunchouyki Yerk is the well known Wine Song or Seghann Eh Arad; Sofig was the second part of the opening number on John Berberian's "Echoes of Armenia" album with Onnik Dinkjian and Armen Babamian on vocals). I have no idea who the guys in this band are, and would welcome any information about them. The picture was cut out of an old Armenian newspaper, I'm guessing from the 1950s based on other clippings found with it. This picture shows a typical Armenian band of the 20s-40s, almost certainly of the immigrant generation. Oud, violin, and drum was a very popular combination in that era. The plucked and sustained sounds of the oud and violin respectively, complement each other, and the drum of course gives the beat. The fact that the oud and violin are both fretless and can play any note also adds to the versatility of this combo.

Since I haven't before, let me also explain the title picture that appears at the top of the blog. This was found in a book on Yerzinga published in Yerevan, but the picture is of a Yerzengatsi picnic in Detroit! As you can tell the picture shows one man playing the oud and another the tambourine while a woman and man dance, and a crowd looks on. (The man dancing with the woman is at the far right). If anyone knows who any of the people are in that picture I would welcome that information as well. The picture is I believe from the 1930s but I am not sure.

For those unfamiliar with Armenian culture the style of dance they are doing is called "tak bar" which is usually a couples dance with a man and a woman, facing each other with arms at shoulder length and forward, sometimes snapping fingers. This is the second most common type of Armenian folk dance, after the line or circle dances where a large group lines up linked by pinkies and dances that way. The Armenian youth today refer "tak bar" in English as "freestyle". As you can see from her face it seems the woman is really feeling the music.

Ode To The Gamavors

Karekin Proodian - Gamavor Zinvor by Harry Kezelian

Hello everyone, the hiatus is over and "Kef Time U.S.A." is officially back in action.

Today's recording, "Gamavor Zinvor" is in 10/8 time and is sung in Armenian by Karekin Proodian with oud and violin accompaniment. (The oud is possibly played by Mr. Proodian himself). This was originally recorded in the 1920's on M.G. Parsekian Records and later in the 20's pressed by Pharos Records, who seem to have bought out MGP (both were independent Armenian record labels). Note the nice taksim intro on the oud.

The lyrics are as follows:

Gamavor zinvor too yes - You are a volunteer (gamavor) soldier
Verkis palasan too yes - You are balm for my wounds
Amen kisher kez g'erazem - Every night I dream of you
Srdis hadoruh too yes - You are a piece of my heart

Yes ullam, yes ullam, hop! - I want to be, I want to be (hop!)*
Koo dadragut yes ullam - I want to be your turtledove
Asdoodzmen meg moorad g'oozem - I want one wish from God
Hureshdagut yes ullam (2nd time: nushanadzut yes ullam) - That I should be your angel (2nd time: that I should be your fiancee)

Guh kales zinvori bes - You walk like a soldier
Getsvadzkut usbayi bes - Your stance like an officer
Ches garogh kudnel aghchig muh - You cannot find a girl
Vor kez sire indzi bes - Who would love you like me

Yes ullam, yes ullam, hop! - I want to be, I want to be, (hop)*
Koo dadragut yes ullam - I want to be your turtledove
Yegeghetsin jermag koghkov - In church, in a white veil
Kovut ganknadz yes ullam - I want to be standing next to you

*Hop or Hopa is an Armenian exclamation similar to the Greek "Opa"

Although gamavor simply means "volunteer" in Armenian, it also has a specific historical connotation. The Gamavors were members of the "Armenian Legion" which fought under French command against the Turks during World War I. The recruits were made up mostly of the Armenian Genocide survivors of Musa Dagh, then living in refugee camps in Port Said, Egypt, and Armenian immigrants living in the US. Musa Dagh was a mountain with 6 Armenian villages just north of Antioch. When the Turkish Army came to deport the Armenians there, the Armenians had engaged in armed resistance and held out until they were rescued by a French battleship. The Armenian Legion fought notably in the Battle of Arara in Palestine and then, with other French forces, moved north into Cilicia, which they occupied while the exiled Armenians returned and declared independence. After a couple years, the new Kemalist Turkish army drove the French out and the (native) Armenians with them. This song is in tribute to those brave soldiers. It was later made popular by Mike Sarkissian - more information about Sarkissian and his version of the song is found on Prof. Leon Janikian's site, The Archive of Armenian Music in America. The song has proved popular and was recorded by John Berberian in '66 (instrumental only), the Vosbikian Band with the late Joe Vosbikian on vocals in  '97, and by Khatchig Jingirian in 2009 (in a 6/8 meter). The beginning of this youtube video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tTBF201BIU also features the song played by John Tarpinian and Souren Baronian, in a style similar to John Berberian's '66 version - on which Souren played.