Canticum Novum

Armenia is a subject of ongoing fascination in the West: firstly because, as mentioned in the Bible with Mount Ararat where Noah's Ark came to rest, it is the geographical embodiment and memorial of the history of the Chosen People and the Orient of origins.

Secondly, because Armenians are a people of travellers and ascetics who were found everywhere in the Middle Ages: in Rome, where they had their monasteries; in Ireland, where Armenian monks founded the monastery of Cell Achid in the 7th century; and in Jerusalem, where Latin pilgrims and travellers encountered them long before the Crusades: they were the Latins' favourite Orientals. This shows how the Armenian diaspora, born out of the terrible genocide of 1915, retraced the paths trodden by many of them since time immemorial.

Cast - 12 musicians

Barbara Kusa, Emmanuel Bardon, vocals
Varinak Davidian, vocals and kamensheh
Valérie Dulac, fiddle, lira & cello
Emmanuelle Guigues, kamensheh & viols
Aliocha Regnard, nyckelharpa & fidula
Philippe Roche, oud
Spyros Halaris, kanun
Artyom Minasian, duduk
Marine Sablonnière, recorders
Henri-Charles Caget, percussion
Ismaïl Mesbahi, percussion