Sharakan ensemble - Karmir Fstan (Armenian folk song)

English translation of the text is by Ani Toroyan (Անի Թորոյան). Karmir Fstan (Կարմիր ֆըստան - Red dress) – dance song. Vocal by Armenouhi Seyranyan, Sofia Toumanyan, Kevork Ignatios Hadjian, Grigor Hambaryan. Art director and conductor: Daniel Yerazhisht. Armenian text (հայերեն): Of this Daniel Yerazhisht says: “I have taken this song from Verjine Svazlyan’s work but before performing, I and Hrachik Grigoryan from our ensemble went to the village of Mousa Ler and found an elderly woman who could be of help to us. Everyone knew that song but that elderly woman told things which at first surprised us, then we realized that any witness, even her speech in the local dialect, was something which reawakened historical memory and helped us to recreate the context of that song. She sang that song. Besides, she said, maybe something was already wrong with her memory, I am not quite sure, but she said that during the genocide some people had wanted to drown their children in the sea so that they would not killed by Turks. And decks had been built by the sea to throw children into the sea, in other places girls, arm in arm, had thrown themselves into the river Euphrates only not to be caught by Turks. And that elderly woman told us she had been 8 years old at that time. When parents were about to drown their children, fortunately French ships, Guichen and Jeanne d’Arc, appeared and saved the inhabitants of Mousa Ler, including that woman. We went to learn that song from people, as Komitas exhorts us, and were enriched with the singing of that elderly woman. The dialect of Mousa Ler is very difficult, I can not pronounce it clearly myself. The first quartet tells that a girl is asleep, she wears a red dress, it suits her much. Then another girl calls to a guy, “Boy, your name Khoren, your voice comes from the stable. The boy says, “Girl, your name Shoushan, come with me, I’ll give you a wedding ring”. Shoushan replies. “Let’s first look into each other’s hearts, then give the ring.” Our Kevork Hadjian’s ancestors are from Cilicia and he masters this dialect. His pronunciation is perfect. I consider it a song within a song.” The Armenian text in latin letters: A boy: Puntsr ambonq aeouz e, Hala, hala, hala ninay e, Ashken kharkhar bargoudz e, Hala, hala, hala ninay e, Gyarmer fstan hagoudz e, Hala, hala, hala ninay e, Chuts al aghvour viloudz e, Hala, hala, hala ninay e. A girl: Dgho, anonid Khoren, Tsenid goukou hakhren, Ourtounq tal liron srte, Ishinq mig mgou sayrde, Hala, hala, hala ninay e. Another boy: Ashken anonid Shoushan, Are ourtanq mir qoushan: Ashken, anonid Shoushan, Madnes oudoum qi nshan, Another girl: Dgho, anonid Toumas, Chva kirour zim doulmas? Are ourtanq tay mir gol, Ishinq cha ber ene mir khol?