Armenian Dances

Armenian Dances, Parts 1 and II, constitute a four-movement work for concert band by Alfred Reed based on the authentic Armenian folk songs from the collected works of Gomidas Vartabed (1869-1935), the founder of Armenian classical music. Armenian Dances, Part I, containing the first movement of the suite, is an extended symphonic rhapsody built upon five different songs, freely treated and developed in terms of the modern integrated concert band. The music will be found to remain true in spirit to the work of this brilliant composer-musicologist, who almost single-handedly preserved and gave the world a treasure trove of beautiful folk music. (Source: published score)