Komitas, The Future Thinker: The Unknown Story of an Armenian Icon

 "Hov areq sarer" ("Make breeze, dear mountains") Original live recording by Komitas

During this period he also undertook major research on the Armenian khazes (a special Armenian “neume” or notational system in music for which the key was yet to be discovered) and extensively traveled across Europe. He published articles in European academic magazines, lectured about Armenian music, and largely promoted it.

Celebrated Armenian writer Hovhannes Tumanyan was one of them. Once in a letter to Tumanyan, Komitas joked about why he wasn’t coming to see him:

“Dear Hovhannes. You didn’t come to Etchmiadzin. Perhaps the mosquitoes frightened you. Who the mosquito is to frighten a man? I could have offered you such a place to stay that no mosquito, not even the mosquito’s brother and its offspring could enter.”

Mosquitos were his “greatest” enemies, as noted Armenian linguist Hrachia Ajarian recalled, so much so that he decided to dedicate a poem to the insect that would not let him work, sending it to his beloved friend Margarit Babayan. Komitas’s close friendship with Babyan, a renowned mezzo-soprano and vocal teacher, is largely unexplored.

Margarit Babayan, photo with her signature. 

Komitas was a celibate priest and the fact that he might have been in love with Margarit Babayan was controversial. As such, their story was ignored in many of his biographies. 

Komitas and Margarit first met in 1895. In 1902, he gave a small concert in Tbilisi, Georgia. His extraordinary performance touched Margarit and led to their long-lasting friendship. 

In the beginning, Komitas and Margarit’s relationship was quite professional. They would work together on the promotion of Armenian music and publication of books about Armenian folk songs.

In 1904 Margarit moved to Paris, though she remained in touch with him. As time passed and their friendship grew, their letters became more personal and informal. Komitas started to draw sketches in his letters to Margarit and call her “darling.” He told Margarit about his worries; he complained about the Church, shared with her his dreams and plans. Komitas and Margarit’s letters reveal how close they were and how important their relationship was for both of them. 

"And this is me" - a sketch by Komitas in a letter to Margarit Babayan 

In 1906, Komitas traveled to Europe and settled in Paris for several months. It was a great opportunity for them to see each other more frequently, attend concerts together, and promote Armenian music. During this time, Margarit and Komitas founded a choir together and gave a big concert of Armenian music. 

After Komitas left Paris, he did not see Margarit for several years. However, the distance was not a barrier for them; they would send each other numerous letters, photographs and postcards. During this time Komitas was busy traveling and lecturing, and Margarit dedicated herself to teaching. 

In 1911, Komitas surprised Margarit and visited her again. Together, they traveled to the Isle of Wight, an island off the coast of England, and spent several weeks there by the sea. Later in her memoir, Margarit recalled their vacation with great excitement, confessing that after their trip she was “fascinated by him even more.” According to her, during their holiday in the Isle of Wight, Komitas would work on new Armenian songs and they would have beautiful discussions about culture and music all the time. 

Isle of Wight, early 1900s

After the vacation in the Isle of Wight, Margarit and Komitas met again three years later, in 1914. It was probably the last time they saw each other. The last preserved letter from Komitas also dates back to 1914.

In the letters to his friends, he sometimes confessed that people do not understand the importance of his work hence they are not willing to support him financially. 

Though their true feelings for each other remain a mystery, Margarit was a presence in Komitas’s life until the end.  While he remained in a psychiatric hospital in Paris in his later years, Margarit greatly contributed to the Komitas Caretaker Committee of Paris, and later to the collection of Komitas’s archive. However, Margarit did not write about the last years of his life. As she had once mentioned, “Komitas was already in a different world.”

"The Future Thinker" a sketch by Komitas in a letter to Margarit Babayan  

The tragic events of the Armenian Genocide that led to Komitas ending up in a psychiatric hospital are well known, but the details of his life before it was irreparably damaged remain less explored.

Even though he did tremendous work on Armenian music, Komitas did not have steady financial support. In the letters to his friends, he sometimes confessed that people do not understand the importance of his work hence they are not willing to support him financially. However, he was never held back because of financial difficulties and always helped those in need. 

One day in 1901, singer Shara Talyan was waiting for Komitas so that they could have breakfast together. Hours passed and he did not show up. Finally, arriving late, Komitas told Talyan that he found a wallet on the street and decided to look for the owner. After waiting for 4 hours, a desperate girl came to that area and he realized that the wallet belonged to her. As Talyan explained, Komitas thought that the wallet belonged to a worker and the money inside would be much needed by the owner so he decided to wait as long as he could.

 In 1910, Komitas left Etchmiadzin for Constantinople hoping that he would find better conditions to continue his work. Here he established a choir named “Gusan” which gave concerts in different countries.

Komitas's "Gusan" Choir, Constantinople, 1910

By this time, Komitas was a well respected and notable musician; he was working on the opera “Anush” based on the poem of Armenian famous writer Hovhannes Tumanyan, exploring Armenian and Kurdish folk music, and had almost cracked the code of Armenian "neume" notation system. However, one tragic night, Komitas’s life turned upside down, putting an end to the prolific career of the father of Armenian music. 

It was April of 1915. The Ottoman authorities, who had already started the massacres of Armenians, arrested and exiled hundreds of Armenian intellectuals including Komitas. He spent several months in exile and witnessed the dreadful treatment of the Ottoman authorities. However,  thanks to the interventions of the U.S. Ambassador in the Ottoman Empire  Henry Morgenthau, and Komitas’s influential Turkish friends, the Ottoman authorities soon freed him and sent him to Constantinople. 

Unfortunately, upon his return, Komitas was already suffering a mental breakdown.

When he saw that the state authorities had taken his documents, which included more than 1,000 song transcriptions and research papers revealing the Armenian notation system, his emotional state became even worse. His friends soon placed him in a hospital in Constantinople and several months later he was transferred to a psychiatric hospital in Paris. There was no hope that he would recover. 

For many years, it was assumed that he suffered schizophrenia.

During his stay in the psychiatric clinic, many of his friends visited him and tried to communicate. Most of the time, Komitas refused to see them. As some of them recalled, he was always gloomy and sad, as if he was mourning the victims of the Armenian Genocide.

In 1935, after spending 19 years in a psychiatric clinic, Komitas died. In the 1980s, after revealing the documents about Komitas’s condition in the psychiatric clinic in Villejuif (a suburb in Paris), researchers discovered that his death was caused by an infection in his foot. For many years, it was assumed that he suffered schizophrenia. However, some of the researchers suggest that Komitas never had an incurable mental disease: instead, he was disappointed by humanity and preferred to not talk.

 In 1936, his remains were transferred to Yerevan and buried in the Pantheon named after him. He remains one of the most celebrated and influential figures for Armenians worldwide. In 2015, on the centennial of the Armenian Genocide, the Komitas Museum-Institute, a biographical museum devoted to him and his work was opened. In 2019, his 150th birth anniversary and contributions to Armenian music was recognized by UNESCO.

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