Komitas: the priest who saved Armenian folk music, and where to start listening
Many Armenian songs you know from a family gathering, a duduk album or a choir concert reach us because one priest wrote them down. Here is who Komitas was, the songs and pieces of his that people play most, and recordings to start with.
By The Armenly team. Written October 30, 2026.
- About The Armenly team — The people who build and check the Armenly catalog of Armenian music.
Key findings
- Komitas was born Soghomon Soghomonian on October 8, 1869, in Kütahya, and took the name Komitas when he was ordained a priest in 1894 [1].
- He collected and wrote down more than 3,000 pieces of Armenian folk music. More than half were lost, and about 1,200 survive [1].
- He was arrested on April 24, 1915, with about 180 other Armenian notables, never recovered from what followed, and died near Paris in 1935. His ashes rest in the Komitas Pantheon in Yerevan [1].
- On Armenly, the most played Komitas recording is Mikael Ayrapetyan's "My Darling and Marjan" from his 12 Pieces for Children, with about 7.1 million Spotify plays (catalog of September 17, 2026).
Who Komitas was
Soghomon Soghomonian was born on October 8, 1869, in Kütahya in the Ottoman Empire. He lost his mother as a baby and his father around 1880, and a childhood friend described him as "virtually homeless." He studied at the Gevorgian Seminary in Etchmiadzin from 1881 to 1893, and took the name Komitas, after a 7th-century poet and musician, when he was ordained in 1894 [1].
From 1896 to 1899 he studied music at the university in Berlin. He is considered the founder of the Armenian national school of music, and the Yerevan State Conservatory is named after him [1]. Western Armenians read his name Gomidas, and many diaspora recordings credit Gomidas Vartabed ("Father Gomidas").
The songs he saved
Komitas collected and transcribed more than 3,000 pieces of Armenian folk music. More than half were lost, and about 1,200 survive [1]. He also published the first collection of Kurdish folk songs, in 1903 [1]. His collected works are on UNESCO's Memory of the World Register [1].
"Chinar es" ("You are a plane tree") is a traditional love song he heard, wrote down and published around 1905: the singer asks the one they love not to stay away from the door [2]. It is one of many songs that reach us only because he wrote them down.
- Chinar Es — Arax — about 144,000 plays
- Chinar es - You are a plane tree — Sharakan Early Music Ensemble — about 103,000 plays
- Chinar es / Tall as the Poplar Tree — Isabel Bayrakdarian — about 52,000 plays
- Chinar Es (You Are as Tall as a Plane Tree) — Tigran Hamasyan — on piano
Krunk, Hov arek and Kele kele
Three more songs credited to him that duduk ensembles, choirs and singers keep recording. The recordings themselves translate the titles: "Krunk" is "The Crane," "Hov arek sarer jan" is "Cool me, dear mountains" and "Kele kele" is "Strolling." These are the versions played most on Armenly, by Spotify plays as recorded in the catalog on September 17, 2026.
- Kele Kele — Levon Minassian, Armand Amar — about 267,000 plays
- Hov Arek Sarer Djan — Arax — about 141,000 plays
- Krunk (The Crane) — The National Duduk Ensemble of Armenia — about 113,000 plays
- Hov Arek Sarer Jan (Cool Me, Dear Mountains) — The National Duduk Ensemble of Armenia — on duduk
- Krunk — Aghasi Ispiryan — about 39,000 plays
Komitas on piano
His piano pieces, the 7 Folk Dances, the 7 Songs and the 12 Pieces for Children, are the most played Komitas on Armenly by far, led by Mikael Ayrapetyan's recordings.
- 12 Pieces for Children: No. 6, My Darling and Marjan (Variation) — Mikael Ayrapetyan — about 7.1 million plays
- 7 Songs for Piano: No. 6, This Night, the Moonlit Night — Mikael Ayrapetyan — about 530,000 plays
- K'eler, tsoler — Yulia Ayrapetyan — about 163,000 plays
- 7 Songs: I. Semplice — Lusine Grigoryan — about 146,000 plays
- Msho Shoror — Komitas — the dance from Mush
Sacred music
Komitas was ordained a vardapet, a celibate priest of the Armenian Church [1], and recordings of his church music are among his most played. On Armenly the most played is "Der voghormia" ("Lord, have mercy"), and the Latvian Radio Choir has recorded his Divine Liturgy in an arrangement by Vache Sharafyan.
- Der voghormia — Choeur Sipan-Komitas — about 363,000 plays
- Divine Liturgy: Sanctus — Latvian Radio Choir — about 144,000 plays
- Ov zarmanali — The Hilliard Ensemble, Jan Garbarek — about 125,000 plays
April 24, 1915
On April 24, 1915, Komitas was arrested in Constantinople and deported with about 180 other Armenian notables. Others intervened and he was sent back to Constantinople, but he suffered a breakdown and severe post-traumatic stress. He spent his last years in psychiatric hospitals in Paris and died on October 22, 1935. His ashes were taken to Yerevan the next year and buried in what is now the Komitas Pantheon [1].
- Songs for April 24 — in the patriotic songs guide
Where to listen
- Komitas — his artist page
- Gomidas Vartabed — diaspora recordings under his Western name
Questions people ask
Who was Komitas?
An Armenian priest, composer and musicologist, born Soghomon Soghomonian in 1869. He collected more than 3,000 Armenian folk songs and is considered the founder of the Armenian national school of music.
Is it Komitas or Gomidas?
Both. Komitas is the Eastern Armenian reading of his name and Gomidas the Western one. Diaspora recordings often credit Gomidas Vartabed, "Father Gomidas."
What are Komitas's most famous songs?
On Armenly the most played are his piano pieces, led by "My Darling and Marjan," and the songs "Chinar es," "Kele kele," "Hov arek" and "Krunk." "Chinar es" is a folk love song he wrote down around 1905.
What happened to Komitas?
He was arrested on April 24, 1915, with about 180 other Armenian notables. He was sent back but never recovered, spent his last years in Paris psychiatric hospitals, and died in 1935. He is buried in Yerevan.
Sources
- [1] Komitas — Wikipedia, read October 30, 2026
- [2] A note on the folksong "Chinar es" — Folkstreams, read October 30, 2026
Cite this page
The Armenly team, "Komitas: the priest who saved Armenian folk music, and where to start listening." Armenly, October 30, 2026. https://armenly.com/guides/komitas
Read next
Listen free
- Start listening on Armenly — free, in any browser, no account and no ads