Ohannès Tchékidjian director of the choir adheres emphatically to the charismatic school of choral conducting. Like his choir, he performed everything from memory. He did not beat time, but strode to and fro cajoling, imploring standing back to listen rushing forward to insist. With a flick of his wrist he could turn a thunderous fortissimo to a hushed pianissimo.

Ohannes Tchekidjian is one of the brightest names in the history of the choral art. It is hard to imagine him not to have become a conductor. And not only nowadays, when behind his shoulders there is already half a century of choirmaster’s work, hundreds of performances of the Choir leaded by him, the highest ranks, the most prestigious awards and devoted love of several generations of the audience.

He is so distinguished from other people that he does not fit any definition. You may compare him with Cagliostro. Actually, his appearance does not resemble that fussy Italian, wonderfully depicted by painter Kuznetsov. But maestro Tchekidjian, like Cagliostro, possesses a magic strength that enchants people.

The choir is remarkable… Everything on there generous program was sung from memory. Their pitch is near faultless, their ensemble excellent. The sheer amount of sound they can produce is awesome. Yet particularly in the traditional music of Armenia, they control it with mastery. Sudden Jab like bursts of sound will just as suddenly decay to hushed, perfectly sustained pianissimos.

A virtuoso display of interpretative sharpness.

Ohannès Tchékidjian, un homme vif comme éclair. Ses gestes saccadés sont empreints d’une autorité implacable qui magnifie les interprètes. On découvrait une esthétique et une technique de chant stupéfiants où le son ne se polit plus mais se tortille et se file avec des raffinements byzantins. Les voix dansent et bondissent, les syllabes sont retenues puis jetées avec une élasticité dont nous n’avons pas idée en Europe. Se sont en fait les trésors d’une tradition qui sont filtrés, magnifiés par un travail collectif d’une rigueur exemplaire.

Le Chœur académique d’Arménie est l’un des plus illustres phénomène musicaux de notre temps.

Le chœur national de l’Arménie se trouve indiscutablement au niveau prestigieux au point de vue technique. Cette phalange est une virtuose de la précision et de la finition.