This year’s commemoration of the Armenian Genocide has drawn attention to the rich cultural heritage of this “hidden” country, with its unique language, script and folklore.

This new recording presents three Armenian composers of three generations.

The song cycle “Emerald Songs” by Romanos Melikyan is written on words by 8 contemporary Armenian poets, in a spicy Ravelian language inspired by Armenian folk music. Mansuryan is of the same generation and blood group of Schnittke, Gubaidulina, Pärt and Kancheli. Young Avanesov’s piano cycle “Feux follets” is in postmodern style, free and associative.

Sung with great intensity and feeling for the idiom by Armenian mezzo soprano Mariam Sarkissian, who recently received an “Orphée d’or” for her CD of vocal works by Tchaikovsky and Cui.