Element Band "Sari Sirun Yar" My Mountain BeautyThis song was remixed by Element Band. This folk song was originally written by Komitas.
Komitas (1869-1935) was an Armenian priest, a musicologist, composer, choirmaster, arranger, singer and is attributed to founding the Armenian National School of Music. He traveled extensively throughout the Armenian villages to collect the songs of the people. He was an ethnographer, often hiding behind trees or in corners to not disturb the villager who was singing while at work, so he could record in his notebook the notes of the song as authentically as possible. Komitas also performed his music in various locations in Europe, including Paris and Berlin.
Unfortunately, his creative endeavors came to an abrupt halt during the Armenian Genocide, in 1915, when Komitas was collected by the Ottoman Turkish authorities, like many of his fellow artists, thinkers, and writers and sent to their deaths. Komitas was able to escape and later passed away in a French hospital where many say he was being treated for depression and a mental breakdown. Many attribute his declining health to what he saw and experienced as his people suffered in the Armenian Genocide.