Sayat-Nova ( Armenian: Սայեաթ-Նովայ ( сlassical), Սայաթ-Նովա ( reformed); ka, საიათნოვა; ; ; born Harutyun Sayatyan; 14 June 1712 – 22 September 1795) was an Armenian

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or w ...

musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wr ...

and ''

ashugh An ashik ( az, aşıq, ; tr, âşık; fa, عاشیق) or ashugh ( hy, աշուղ; ka, აშუღი) is traditionally a singer-poet and bard who accompanies his song—be it a dastan (traditional epic story, also known as '' hikay ...

'', who had compositions in a number of languages.

Name

The name Sayat-Nova has been given several interpretations. One version reads the name as "Lord of Song" (from Arabic ''sayyid'' and Persian ''nava'') or "King of Songs". Others read the name as grandson (Persian ''neve'') of Sayad or hunter (''sayyad'') of song. Charles Dowsett considers all these derivations to be unlikely and proposes the reading New Time (from Arabic ''sa'at'' and Russian ''nova'') instead.

Biography

Sayat-Nova's mother, Sara, was born in

Tiflis Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million pe ...

, and his father, Karapet, either in

Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...

Adana Adana (; ; ) is a major city in southern Turkey. It is situated on the Seyhan River, inland from the Mediterranean Sea. The administrative seat of Adana province, it has a population of 2.26 million. Adana lies in the heart of Cilicia, wh ...

. He was born in Tiflis. Sayat Nova was skilled in writing poetry, singing, and playing the

kamancheh The kamancheh (also kamānche or kamāncha) ( fa, کمانچه, az, kamança, hy, Քամանչա, ku, کەمانچە ,kemançe) is an Iranian bowed string instrument used in Persian, Azerbaijani, Armenian, Kurdish, Georgian, Turkmen, a ...

, Chonguri, Tambur. He lost his position at the royal court when he fell in love with the king's sister Ana; he spent the rest of his life as an itinerant bard. In 1759 he was ordained as a priest in the

Armenian Apostolic Church , native_name_lang = hy , icon = Armenian Apostolic Church logo.svg , icon_width = 100px , icon_alt = , image = Էջմիածնի_Մայր_Տաճար.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , a ...

. His wife, Marmar, died in 1768, leaving behind four children. He served in locations including Tiflis and Haghpat Monastery. In 1795 he was killed in Haghpat Monastery by the invading army of

Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar ( fa, آقا محمد خان قاجار, translit=Âqâ Mohammad Xân-e Qâjâr; 14 March 1742 – 17 June 1797), also known by his regnal name of Agha Mohammad Shah (, ), was the founder of the Qajar dynasty of Iran, ru ...

, the Shah of Iran. Agha Mohammad Khan demanded that Sayat Nova convert from

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...

, which he refused to do, considering it tantamount to 'turning Turk' and declaring his religion is undeniably

Armenian Christian , native_name_lang = hy , icon = Armenian Apostolic Church logo.svg , icon_width = 100px , icon_alt = , image = Էջմիածնի_Մայր_Տաճար.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , a ...

. Hence he was promptly executed and beheaded. He is buried at the Armenian Cathedral of Saint George in

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million pe ...

Legacy

In Armenia, Sayat Nova is considered a great poet who made a considerable contribution to the Armenian poetry and music of his century. Although he lived his entire life in a deeply religious society, his works are mostly secular and full of romantic expressionism. About 220 songs have been attributed to Sayat-Nova, although he may have written thousands more. Sayat Nova had also written some poems moving between all three.

In popular culture

Sayat Nova Dance Company of Boston
is named after him. *The 1969 Armenian film '' Sayat Nova'' directed by

Sergei Parajanov Sergei Parajanov, ka, სერგო ფარაჯანოვი, uk, Сергій Параджанов (January 9, 1924 – July 20, 1990) was an Armenian filmmaker. Parajanov is regarded by film critics, film historians and filmmakers t ...

follows the poet's path from his childhood

wool Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool. ...

-dyeing days to his role as a courtier and finally his life as a

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedic ...

. It was released in the United States under the title ''

The Color of Pomegranates ''The Color of Pomegranates'' is a 1969 Soviet Armenian art film written and directed by Sergei Parajanov. The film is a poetic treatment of the life of 18th-century Armenian poet and troubadour Sayat-Nova. It has appeared in many polls as one of ...

''. It is not a biography of Sayat Nova, but a series of tableaux vivants of Armenian costume, embroidery and religious rituals depicting scenes and verses from the poet's life. *A book on his life and work by

Charles Dowsett Charles James Frank Dowsett (2 January 1924 – 8 January 1998) was the first Calouste Gulbenkian Professor of Armenian at the University of Oxford from 1965 to 1991. A teacher and raconteur, he had a large range of interests and culminated in hi ...

was published in 1997 titled ''Sayat'-nova: An 18th-century Troubadour: a Biographical and Literary Study''. *The first translations of the Armenian odes of Sayat Nova in European languages were in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

Valery Bryusov Valery Yakovlevich Bryusov ( rus, Вале́рий Я́ковлевич Брю́сов, p=vɐˈlʲerʲɪj ˈjakəvlʲɪvʲɪdʑ ˈbrʲusəf, a=Valyeriy Yakovlyevich Bryusov.ru.vorb.oga; – 9 October 1924) was a Russian poet, prose writer, drama ...

in 1916, in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

Ioseb Grishashvili Ioseb Grishashvili ( ka, იოსებ გრიშაშვილი) was a pen name of Ioseb Mamulishvili (Georgian: ; born 12 April/24 April 1889 – died 3 August 1965) was a noted poet and historian from Georgia. A history museum in Tbilisi ...

in 1918, in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

by Leopold Lewin in 1961 and in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

by Elisabeth Mouradian and the French poet

Serge Venturini Serge Venturini (October 12, 1955, Paris) is a French poet. Poet of ''devenir'' ("destiny"), several metamorphoses run through his poetry. From his poetics of human destiny, through post-human and transhuman poetics, he came to the transvisible ...

in 2006; the book was dedicated to

. *There is a street and a music school named after him in

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and i ...

, Armenia; an

Armenian-American Armenian Americans ( hy, ամերիկահայեր, ''amerikahayer'') are citizens or residents of the United States who have total or partial Armenians, Armenian ancestry. They form the second largest community of the Armenian diaspora after A ...

dance ensemble in the United States; and a pond in Mont Orford, Quebec, Canada. * A brand of Armenian Cognac is named after him. *An Armenian restaurant opened in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

's Streeterville neighborhood in 1970 is named after him. *In 2020, a perfume created by Dmitry Bortnikoff and Rajesh Balkrishnan was named after him.

Gallery

File:Sayat-Nova manuscript 01.JPG, An Armenian-Georgian poem written by Sayat-Nova using mix of Armenian and Georgian alphabets. File:Sayat-Nova manuscript 02.JPG, A poem written in Azeri Turkish using Georgian letters.

References

Sources

, (1997), ''Sayatʻ-Nova: an 18th-century troubadour: a biographical and literary study'', *

Nikoghos Tahmizian Nikoghos Tahmizian (1926–2011, hy, Նիկողոս Թահմիզյան; also spelled: Nikogos Tahmizyan) was an Armenian musicologist, theorist and historian. His professional accomplishments were to decipher neumes ('' khaz'') of Armenian chu ...

, ''Sayat Nova and the Music of Armenian Troubadours and Minstrels'', (in Armenian), 1995, Drazark Press, Pasadena, Ca.

External links

Site dedicated to Sayat-Nova

translated into English by Alice Stone Blackwell
Classical Composers Database

Encyclopædia Britannica

Sayat-Nova's Armenian, Georgian, Tatarian songs and their Russian translations in digital works collection with famous performances of poems and songs
{{Azerbaijani Turkic literature 1712 births 1795 deaths Armenian Christians Armenian musicians Armenian male poets Ashiks 18th-century Armenian poets 18th-century Armenian writers Musicians from Tbilisi Persian Armenians Christians executed for refusing to convert to Islam 18th-century writers of Safavid Iran