Hover (wind in Armenian) from the borders of Europe and Asia. An amazing musical culture, rich in traditions from the Orthodox church and centuries-old folksongs, plus a modern creativity. Breathtaking!

Hover Chamber Choir was started in 1992 by the choral director Sona Hovhannisyan. It is made up almost entirely of students from the Yerevan Komitas State Conservatory. The musical ambassador of Armenia, the choir has since performed all over Europe, collecting several prizes on the way, e.g. Tours in 1999.

In 2009 it became a national choir, and appeared for the first time in a theatrical work “The Parallel” (music by Anna Azizyan) commissioned especially for it by the Ministry of Culture.

Hover’s repertoire is broad and varied, including more than 200 classical, religious, traditional and contemporary Armenian, European and American works, as well as original compositions. The freshness of its unique style and the nuances of its voices have enabled it to win over the critics, who now consider it the prime example of excellence in Armenian music.

Sona Hovhannisyan, Artistic Director, comes from a musical family in Yerevan. She studied at the Yerevan Komitas State Conservatory, under Romanos Melikyan. Over the years she has founded and directed a large number of choirs and has made a significant contribution to her country’s musical scene. In 2008 the Armenian Ministry of Culture awarded her a Gold Medal for her remarkable career in choral music.

Programs :

• Friday October 29th - Eglise Ste Croix - Saint-Lô
Music by :
Sharakans & exc. of the Armenian Divine Liturgy
Komitas Vardapet (1869-1915)
Mkhitar Ayrivanetsi
Aleksan'yan Samvel Azizyan
Vache Sharafyan
Folk songs

• Saturday October 30th - Eglise Ste Croix - Saint-Lô
An Armenian music panorama : orthodox, folk and contemporary
Music by :
Sharakans & exc. of the Armenian Divine Liturgy
Komitas Vardapet (1869-1915)
Krzysztof Penderecki
Aleksan'yan Samvel Azizyan
Wolfram Buchenberg
Folk songs

• Sunday October 31st - Eglise de Barneville
Treasures of Armenian music, from an othodox monastery to the contemporary scene
Musici by :
Sharakans & exc. of the Armenian Divine Liturgy
Komitas Vardapet (1869-1915)
Sedrak Yerkanyan
Arzas Voskanyan
Eduard Mirzoyan
Patrick Burgan
Aleksan'yan Samvel Azizyan
Vache Sharafyan
Folk songs

• Monday November 1st - Chapelle de l'Institut - Agneaux
Treasures of Armenian music, from an othodox monastery to the contemporary scene
Music by :
Sharakans & exc. of the Armenian Divine Liturgy
Komitas Vardapet (1869-1915)
Sedrak Yerkanyan
Arzas Voskanyan
Eduard Mirzoyan
Patrick Burgan
Aleksan'yan Samvel Azizyan
Vache Sharafyan
Folk songs

http://www.hoverchoir.org