Isabel Bayrakdarian

Armenian Songs For Children Isabel Bayrakdarian

Lebanese-born, Canadian-Armenian-American soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian is as celebrated for her beauty, dynamic presence, and style as for her strikingly

multidimensional voice. With this deeply personal project, she gathers a selection of haunting and poignant lullabies that draw on the memories and experiences of the

Armenian people. 29 tracks trace an arc from the Ottoman Empire through the Genocide and beyond, with songs and transcriptions by the country's beloved folk composer Gomidas Vartabed, Parsegh Ganatchian who joined the diaspora in Lebanon, and Ganatchian's contemporary Mihran Toumajan. For Isabel, these evocative songs span two centuries and five generations. Sung by her greatgrandmother, grandmother and mother, and now to her own children, Isabel's Armenian Songs have an appeal to children of all ages.