Kirill Gerstein, Thomas Ades, Katia Skanavi, Ruzan Mantashyan - Music in Time of War - Debussy/Komitas

Inspired by the music of Komitas, a pioneer of ethnomusicology and revered as the founder of the Armenian national school of music, Kirill Gerstein's most recent initiative epitomizes his approach to music-making. Scheduled for release in the weeks between the anniversary of Debussy's death and Armenian Genocide Memorial Day, Music in Time of War is a double album which places the music of Komitas alongside that of Claude Debussy, a seminal composer in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, who held a deep admiration of Komitas's music. Both composers were profoundly affected by the implosion of their worlds - Komitas by the Armenian Genocide, Debussy by the First World War - and their musics reflect a close emotional alignment. For many Komitas is terra incognita, yet for those already familiar with his work, his memory burns more brightly than ever. The project is presented as an illustrated book with a series of in-depth essays commissioned by Kirill.