"The Velvet Voice" of Armenia: Today is Norayr Mnatsakanyan's birthday (video)

Norayr Mnatsakanyan-eminent singer of Armenian folk music, Honored Artist of the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic.

He had a great influence on contemporary performing arts of Armenian folk music in the era of its development. With its unique operatic baritone, deep knowledge of Armenian folk, language and literary skills, talent Mnatsakanyan was widely recognized by the writers, musicologists and lovers of the Armenian folk music.

Norayr Mnatsakanyan was the first among the performers of Armenian folk music applying a new approach.

Professional performers of classical music and opera, also tried to play folk music.

However, the performance of folk songs by the  professionals just kept them away from the Armenian public, because the authenticity and genuineness of Armenian folk music was impossible to convey and communicate by means of such artificially elitist genre like opera.

Norayr came to the Armenian folk music with unusual lyricism and poetry. He was the first who gave the genre painting unprecedented originality and genuine artistry.

At the same time, Mnatsakanyan sought to eliminate the provincial motives in his musical works and filled them with higher forms of vision and musical expression. One of the main merits of creativity of Norayr Mnatsakanyan is that he had managed to combine the attitudes and experiences of the authors and bring it all in his work.

Norayr Mnatsakanyan also performed the works of famous Armenian composer, whose songs have been intertwined with the lyrics of the Armenian poets as Avetik Isahakyan and Vahan Teryan. Famous poet Avetik Isahakyan, proclaimed him as a "velvet voice" of Armenia.

Derenik Demirchyan admired Norayr's large poetry circles of old Yerevan, calling him unique vocal performer of popular consciousness. Being an art critic himself, Mnatsakanyan never betrayed the great significance conveyed to the association of lyrics and melody in his performances.