Nishan Sedefjian, Sabahi Taxim/Doukoumadji Kiz feat. Nick Doneff/Kanuni Garbis
Name/Title
Nishan Sedefjian, Sabahi Taxim/Doukoumadji Kiz feat. Nick Doneff/Kanuni GarbisDescription
Nishan Sedefjian, born in 1885 in Trabzon, arrived in the United States in 1926 and went on to make recordings for Columbia, Victor, Pharos, and Kaliphone. A prominent oriental violinist based in New York, he performed on numerous recordings of Armenian, Turkish, and Greek songs from the 1920s through the 1950s. Among Armenian folk music violinists in America, he was surpassed only by Harry (Artin) Hasekian of Boston. On the flipside is Kanuni Garbis, born Garbis Barkirjian in 1884 (or 1885) in Turkey—sources vary between Bursa and other cities—was a renowned musician and master of the kanun, earning him the title “Kanuni.” He gained prominence in Istanbul for both his exceptional voice and his deep knowledge of Eastern music theory (makams), often regarded as even more remarkable than his kanun playing. Garbis performed at the court of Sultan Abdul Hamid and, due to his vocal abilities, was ordained a deacon in the Armenian Church to serve as soloist for the legendary Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople, Maghakia Ormanian. He also toured the Middle East with his band and recorded extensively, producing approximately 60 78 rpm records before emigrating. He was music director of the Girls’ Music School in Smyrna. In 1921–1922, shortly after the rise of Atatürk, Garbis immigrated to the United States. He performed in New York City until health concerns led him to relocate to Fresno, California, in 1949. There, in 1950, he began teaching Richard Hagopian—on the advice of Udi Hrant—who would adopt Garbis’ distinctive singing style. Garbis passed away in 1969 and is buried alongside his wife Takouhie in Glendale, California.Audio Format
78 RPM RecordRecording Type
MusicCategory
Vinyl Record
Album Detail
Contributors
Nishan Sedefjian
Kanuni Garbis