Mariam Matossian sings songs of perseverance

Her modern renditions of Armenian folk classics have been nominated for prestigious awards

by Karin Saghdejian

Published: Friday December 12, 2008

Mariam Matossian’s photo from her 2006 album..

Vancouver - I first heard Mariam Matossian on CBC Radio, when an old Armenian melody and the accompanying velvety voice suddenly filled the airwaves and pinned me in my car seat. The sweet folk song "Garod" carried me away, "to the place where my mother lies awake . . . to smell the blossoms . . . and feel the wind kiss my cheek again."

I waited for the song to end to learn the name of the new voice which had brought me to tears and which, surprisingly, had made it to the Canadian national broadcast.

Since the release of her first album, Far From Home (2004), followed by In the Light (2007), Vancouverite Matossian has been captivating audiences in Canada and the United States with her fresh renditions of Armenian folk songs.

Partnering with talented Canadian musicians from the world-music and jazz scenes, and with a multi-­instrumentalist producer, Adam Popowitz, Matossian reinterprets our traditional songs in her own modern style, breathing new life into them.

Matossian's voice has been described as "angelic," "pure," "unforced," and "innocent." Her unique sound has earned her rave reviews, from both Canadian and Armenian musical circles. This fall she was nominated for two Canadian Folk Music Awards (Best Traditional Album of the Year and Best Emerging Artist of the Year) as well as a Western Canadian Music Award for Outstanding World Music Recording of the Year - for In the Light.

Just recently, Matossian performed at the Canadian Folk Music Gala, in St. John's, Newfoundland.

A message of hope

It is a breakthrough for an Armenian singer to be nominated for a music award in Canada - even more so for an Armenian folk album.

Asked what the nominations mean to her, Matossian says, "In terms of my career, this is another level of support from my mentors - people that I look up to in the field of music." And in terms of Armenian folk songs, "this is one way for more people to know about our cultural history and to learn about who we are."

Matossian always dreamt about using her music as a vehicle to promote the story of her people: the Armenian culture and the resilience of her people. "There's great joy and pain inherent in so many of our folk songs," she says. "One song celebrates the beauty of Armenia or the tantalizing effect of falling in love, another song compares the intense pain of being separated from the homeland to the pain of being separated from one's beloved."

As a child, Matossian was consumed by the enormous suffering undergone by her grandparents, but at the same time inspired by the joy and hope they had in life. They were orphaned during the Genocide of 1915 and years later had met and got married in Aleppo, Syria. Her grandmother always sang and her grandfather played percussion in a band. Matossian never knew her grandmother, but was taught her songs by her mother, who used to be the choirmaster at the local Armenian Saturday school.

"I am the product of this story, a grandchild, and here I'm singing their songs to a new audience, to people who have never even heard about the Genocide," she says. "To me these songs represent hope. Their resilient, hopeful spirit is one that we need today."

Sharing the story

Matossian began performing professionally in 2004, after a visit to Armenia crystallized her deep feelings about the impact of music and its ability to nurture hope. While in the homeland, where she volunteered to work with orphans, she discovered the healing power of music that the children experienced.

Working with them reminded her of the plight of her own grandparents, who were deported during the Genocide and ended up in an orphanage. "It came full circle for me," she wrote in World Pulse magazine's January 2008 issue. "I knew I could use my music to share my grandmother's story and link it to these children's stories."

Back in Vancouver, her classical-music coach referred her to one of Canada's most promising producers, Adam Popowitz, whose work encompasses urban folk, jazz, and Latin music. With an eclectic band composed of Popowitz himself (guitars, mandolin), and other renowned Canadian musicians including Elliot Polsky (percussion), Gord Grdina (oud), Jesse Zubot (violin), and Laurence Mollerup (acoustic bass), Matossian released her first album, Far from Home, a collection of songs of longing for the homeland.

Before any Armenians knew about it, the album began having airplay on Canada's national radio station. Soon it was named one of the Top-25 Essential Albums of the Year by the Echoes radio program (based in the United States).

Matossian admits North Americans were the first to embrace her music. "I remember the first emails I received from people," she says. "It amazed me that they did not speak the language but felt a deep connection to the music, to the arrangements, and to my voice."

What is it in her voice that draws non-Armenians? On stage, Matossian is a storyteller and a singer. "They [audiences] tell me that they love the vulnerability of the music, the innocence of it, the unfamiliar rhythms, and the story," she says.

During the Canadian Folk Music Awards gala, while Matossian sang one of her own creations, "Narineh," the story of a girl who went missing in Iraq, the theater became completely quiet. "I could feel it," she recalls. "It was an intense moment. People came up to me afterwards and told me they were crying throughout my performance."

"I feel a deep connection to my audience and I hope they sense that," Matossian continues. "I don't want to be on stage separated from everyone, singing for them and then disappearing into a dressing room. I think it's all about connecting with listeners."