WATERTOWN — On September 20 at 3 p.m. in the Adele and Haig Der Manuelian Galleries, the Armenian Museum of America will host “Forty Martyrs: Documenting a Musical Heritage,” a presentation by drummer and producer Jason Hamacher about his new CD, Forty Martyrs. This recording is Hamacher’s most recent in a series about the musical traditions of Aleppo, Syria. Hamacher is the founder of Lost Sounds Productions, and he worked on this project with Smithsonian Folkways.
The recording documents the unaccompanied chants of Father Yeznig Zegchanian, the priest of the Forty Martyrs Church of Aleppo. Hamacher became concerned about the devastating impact of the civil war on Aleppo’s varied cultural legacies, and has been trying to preserve these endangered cultures through sound recordings and photography exhibits. The church, built in 1616, was destroyed only two weeks after the CD was released.
“Forty Martyrs” comes with the text of the music in the original Western Armenian and an English translation.
Light refreshments will be served. The event is free and open to the public.
