Sayat-Nova

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Sayat Nova

Sayat-Nova (Armenian: Սայաթ-Նովա; Azeri: Sayat-Nova; Persian: سایات‌نووا; Georgian: საიათ-ნოვა) (1712–1795), or 'King of Songs' is the name given to Harutyun Sayatyan. He was probably born in Sanahin, where his mother was also born, he grew up in a village near Tbilisi, Georgia. He was skilled in writing poetry, singing and playing the kamancheh. He performed in the court of Heraclius II of Georgia, where he also worked as a diplomat, and apparently helped forge an alliance between Georgia, Armenia and Shirvan against the Persian Empire. He lost his place at court when he fell in love with the king's daughter, and spent the rest of his life as an itinerant bard. In 1795 he was killed in Haghpat by the army of Agha Mohammed Khan.

About 220 songs can be attributed to Sayat-Nova, although he may have written thousands altogether. These songs are still sung today. His songs are written mainly in Armenian, but also in Persian, Georgian and Azeri. He also knew Arabic.

Sayat-Nova was officially recognized as the greatest gusan (folk singer-songwriter) that ever lived in the Caucasus (the area between the Black and the Caspian sea, shared among current Armenia, Russia, Georgia and Azerbaijan). The world-famous Armenian composer Alexander Arutiunian wrote an opera called "Sayat Nova". There is a street and music school named after him in Yerevan, Armenia, as well as an Armenian-American dance ensemble in the United States, and a pond located in Mont Orford, Quebec, Canada.

The 1968 art film "Sayat Nova" directed by Sergei Parajanov - which was banned in the Soviet Union - follows the poet's path from his childhood wool-dying days to his role as a courtier and finally his life as a monk. It was released in the United States under the title The Color of Pomegranates. It is not so much a biography of Sayat Nova but a series of tableaux of Armenian costume, embroidery and religious ritual interspersed with scenes and verses from the poet's life.

In Armenia Sayat Nova is also considered a poet with a considerable contribution to the Armenian poetry of his century. Despite the fact that he lived his entire life in a deeply religious society, his poems are mostly secular and full of Romantic expressionism. A book on his life and work was published by Charles Dowsett, Armenian scholar in 1997 entitled Sayat'-nova: An 18th-century Troubadour: a Biographical and Literary Study.