Komitas: a Biographical Mixtape | Chris Gratien

103.    An Ottoman Tragedy

Komitas Vardapet (1869-1935)
in Istanbul, circa 1910

The biography and intellectual legacy of Komitas Vardapet, an orphan from Kütahya who became one of the foremost Armenian intellectuals of his day, is firmly embedded within Armenian national lore. Yet, seldom has it been told as an Ottoman story. Drawing on sources in Turkish, Armenian, and English, this mixtape presents the life and works of Komitas through some of the earliest recordings of Armenian music, including his own performances. 

Section 1: From Bursa to Berlin: the Rise of an Armenian Ethnomusicologist

Download via iTunes

Section 2: Komitas Between Armenian and Turkish Nationalism

Download via iTunes

Chris Gratien is a PhD candidate studying the history of the modern Middle East at Georgetown University. (see academia.edu)

SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY

Komitas. Komitas: Essays and Articles : the Musicological Treatises of Komitas Vardapet. Pasadena, Calif: Drazark Press, 2001.

Kuyumjian, Rita Soulahian. Archeology of Madness: Komitas, Portrait of an Armenian Icon. Princeton, N.J.: Gomidas Institute, 2001.

Gasparean, Gurgen. Komitas Vardapet: 1869-1935. Yerevan: Sargis Xačenc̕, 2009.

Azatean, Toros. Komitas Vardapet̕: Ir keank̕n ow gorçownēowt̕iwnë. Istanbul: Kiwt̕emperk, 1931.

Adıvar, Halide Edib. Memoirs of Halidé Edib. New York: Century Co, 1926. (click for PDF)

Komitas Virtual Museum (komitas.am)

TRACK LIST

To read about the history of the recordings of Komitas, see Will Prentice's commentary.

"Antouni" performed by Armenak Shahmuradian and Komitas Vardapet [audio]
"Qristos i mej mer haycanav" performed by Male Chamber Choir of the Yerevan Opera Theatre [audio]
"Mokats Mirza" performed by Komitas Vardapet [lyrics] [audio]
"Hol Ara Yezo" performed by Komitas Vardapet and Vahan Ter Arakelian [audio]
"Andzrevn Ekav" performed by State Academic Choir of Armenia, artistic director and conductor Hovhannes Tchekidjian [audio]
"Tsirani Tsar" performed by Lusine Zakarian [audio]
"Lorva Gutanerg" performed by Komitas Vardapet [audio]
"Garun a" performed by Armenak Shahmuradian and Komitas Vardapet [lyrics] [audio]
"Krunk" performed by Armenak Shahmuradian and Komitas Vardapet [lyrics] [audio]

Additional Background Music

Zemphira Barseghian piano performances the works of Komitas
Komitas String quartet, 1st violin - Edward Tadevosyan, 2nd violin - Souren Hakhnazaryan, viola - Alexander Kosemyan, chello - Felix Simonyan
"Urakh Ler" performed by Mari Pozapalian [audio]

IMAGES

Komitas in Cairo, 1911
Source: komitas.am

Komitas in Berlin
Source: komitas.am

Komitas in his Pangaltı Apartment in Istanbul, 1913-4
Source: Gurgen Gasparian, Komitas Vardapet (2009)

Komitas with pupils and teacher of Gevorgian Seminary in Etchmiadzin, 1904
Source: Gurgen Gasparian, Komitas Vardapet (2009)

Komitas's Choir in Alexandria, 1911
Source: Azatean, Toros. Komitas Vardapet̕: Ir keank̕n ow gorçownēowt̕iwnë (1931)

Komitas with his students in Istanbul, 1914
From left to right: Hayk Semerjian, Mihran Tumajian,Vardan Sargsian, Artashes Abajian,
Vagharshak Srvandztian, Barsegh Kanachian
Source: Gurgen Gasparian, Komitas Vardapet (2009)

Komitas with Astuatsatur Harents on Büyük Ada near Istanbul, 1916
Source: Gurgen Gasparian, Komitas Vardapet (2009)

Season Three Roundup

The complete playlist (embedded below) for Season 3 of Ottoman History Podcast (E101-150 / 04-2013 - 04/2014) is now available for download through our Soundcloud page as well as our podcast feed (click for iTunes).

150. The Lives of Ottoman Children, Nazan Maksudyan (3/22/2014)
149. Common Ground and Imagined Communities, Daniel Pontillo (3/16/2014)
148. Alevis in Ottoman Anatolia, Ayfer Karakaya-Stump (3/8/2014)
147. Muslims in the Middle Kingdom, Kelly Hammond (3/1/2014)
146. Polonia Ottomanica, Michael Polczynski & Paulina Dominik (2/22/2014)
145. Ottoman Sea Baths, Burkay Pasin (2/15/2014)
144. Galata and the Capitulations, Fariba Zarinebaf (2/8/2014)
143. The Ottoman Scramble for Africa, Mostafa Minawi (2/1/2014)
142. A History of Police in Turkey, Leila Piran (1/24/2014)
141. Race, Slavery, and Islamic Law in the Early Modern Atlantic, Chris Gratien (1/18/2014)
140. Darwin in Arabic, Marwa Elshakry (1/10/2014)
139. History on the Internet, Chris Gratien (12/29/2013)
138. Wandering Physicians in Israel/Palestine, Anat Mooreville (12/28/2013)
137. Across Anatolia on a Bicycle, Daniel Pontillo (12/27/2013)
136. Arabs Through Turkish Eyes, Nicholas Danforth (12/26/2013)
135. Lubunca: Sociolinguistics of Istanbul Slang, Nicholas Kontovas (12/20/2013)
134. Water and Politics on the Tigris, Julia Harte / Anna Ozbek (12/13/2013)
133. Turkey and Russia After Empire, Onur İşçi (12/7/2013)
132. Ottoman Alchemy, Tuna Artun (12/1/2014)
131. The Frontiers of the First World War, various scholars (11/25/2013)
130. Family and Property in Ottoman Lebanon, Zoe Griffith (11/17/2013)
129. Osmanlı'da Mahremiyetin Sınırları, Fikret Yılmaz (11/10/2013)
128. Hayretle Seyret, Nezih Erdoğan (11/3/2013)
127. The Enlightenment and the Ottoman World, Harun Küçük (10/25/2013)
126. Jewish Citizens on Exhibit, Alma Heckman (10/18/2013)
125. Plague in the Early Modern Mediterranean, Edna Bonhomme (10/4/2013)
124. History of Science, Ottoman and Otherwise, Nir Shafir (9/27/2013)
123. Sultan ve Musahipleri, Günhan Börekçi (9/19/2013)
122. Hidden Histories at the French Archives, Sandrine Mansour-Mérien, (9/11/2013)
121. A Short History of Iraqi Refugees in Syria, Chris Gratien (9/2/2013)
120. Osmanlı Döneminde Bursa Otelleri, İsmail Yaşayanlar (8/30/2013)
119. World War I and the Ottoman Home Front, Yiğit Akın (8/23/2013)
118. Colonialism, Sovereignty, and Medical Practice, Philippe Bourmaud (8/16/2013)
117. Sufism and Society, John Curry (8/9/2013)
116. Kurdish Music Industry, Alev Kuruoğlu (8/2/2013)
115. Kadı'nın Günlüğü, Selim Karahasanoğlu (7/26/2013)
114. Painting the Peasant in Modern Turkey, Seçil Yılmaz (7/19/2013)
113. Local Autonomy and the Tanzimat, Elektra Kostopoulou (7/11/2013)
112. Anadolu'ya Bir Göç Öyküsü, Mehtap Çelik (7/4/2013)
111. The Crimean Khanate and the Ottoman World, Denise Klein (6/28/2013)
110. Occupy Gezi: History, Politics, Practice (6/7/2013)
109. Osmanlı'da Siyasal Ağlar, Güneş Işıksel (5/31/2013)
108. Dragomans, Emrah Safa Gürkan (5/24/2013)
107. Türkiye'de Tarih Öğretimi, Emrah Yıldız (5/17/2013)
106. Sources for Early Ottoman History, Christopher Markiewicz (5/10/2013)
105. Girit Müslümanlarının Ada'da Son Yılları, Melike Kara (5/3/2013)
104. Crypto-Christianity in the Ottoman Empire, Zeynep Türkyılmaz (4/29/2013)
103. Komitas: a Biographical Mixtape, Chris Gratien (4/24/2013)
102. Child and Nation in Early Republican Turkey, Yasemin Gencer (4/18/2013)
101. Hydropolitics and the Hajj, Michael Christopher Low (4/12/2013)

The Lives of Ottoman Children | Nazan Maksudyan

150.     From the Mouths of Babes

Much has been written about shifts in the concept of childhood and the structure of families, particularly for the period following industrialization. However, seldom do the voices and experiences of children find their way into historical narratives. In this podcast, Nazan Maksudyan offers some insights about how to approach the history of children and childhood and discusses the lives of Ottoman children during the empire's last decades.

	Nazan Maksudyan is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at Istanbul Kemerburgaz University. Her work examines the social, cultural, and economic history of children and youth during the late Ottoman period. (see academia.edu)
	Chris Gratien is a doctoral candidate at Georgetown University researching the social and environmental history of the Ottoman Empire and the modern Middle East. (see academia.edu)

Listeners might also like:

#102 Child and Nation in Early Republican Turkey | Yasemin Gencer
#119 World War I and the Ottoman Homefront | Yiğit Akın
#047 Muslim Families and Households in Ottoman Syria | Chris Gratien 

Citation: "The Lives of Ottoman Children," Nazan Maksudyan and Chris Gratien, Ottoman History Podcast, No. 150 (22 March 2014) http://www.ottomanhistorypodcast.com/2014/03/children-childhood-ottoman-empire-turkey.html.

SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY

Nazan Maksudyan, Orphans and Destitute Children in Late Ottoman Empire (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 2014).

Nazan Maksudyan, “Foster-Daughter or Servant, Charity or Abuse: Beslemes in the Late Ottoman Empire”, Journal of Historical Sociology, vol. 21, no. 4, December 2008, pp. 488-512.

Yahya Araz, Osmanlı Toplumunda Çocuk Olmak (İstanbul: Kitap Yayınevi, 2013).

Mine Göğüş Tan, Özlem Şahin, Mustafa Sever, Aksu Bora, Cumhuriyet'te Çocuktular (İstanbul: Boğaziçi Üniversitesi Yayınevi, 2007).

François Georgeon, Klaus Kreiser (eds.), Childhood and Youth in the Muslim World (Paris: Maisonneuve & Larose, 2007).

Elizabeth W. Fernea, ed., Children in the Muslim Middle East (Austin: Univ. of Texas Press, 1996).

_________, ed., Remembering Childhood in the Middle East: Memoirs from a Century of Change (Austin: Univ. of Texas Press, 2003).

Karen Sanchez-Eppler, Dependent States: The Child's Part in Nineteenth-Century American Culture (Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press, 2005).

Carl Ipsen, Italy in the Age of Pinocchio: Children and Danger in the Liberal Era (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006).

Marjatta Rahikainen, Centuries of Child Labor: European Experiences from the Seventeenth to the Twentieth Century (Hampshire: Ashgate Publishing, 2004).

IMAGES

Nursery/Wet-nursing Ward (ırzahane) of Darülaceze in Ottoman Istanbul

Band of Ottoman islahhane (reform home) in Salonika

Surgery patients at Hamidiye Children's Hospital in Istanbul, c1905

Music: Baba Zula - İstanbul Çocukları