The Bird of a Thousand Voices

Pianist and composer Hamasyan certainly has his admirers and his album Luys i Luso with the Yerevan State Chamber Choir was a highlight of 2015. But The Bird of a Thousand Voices, which takes its title from an Armenian legend is, frankly, an ordeal. After a heavy-handed synthesizer and piano introduction titled ‘The Kingdom’, there’s a gentle piano, whistling and percussion track, ‘The Curse – Blood of an Innocent is Killed’, which sounds very Armenian until there’s a Bernard Herrmann Psycho moment when clearly something bad happens and it goes downhill from there. Much of the music is overblown and heavy handed. Yes, Tigran’s a virtuoso pianist, but on a track like ‘The Quest Begins’, the piano loops and winds at great speed endlessly. With a video game forming part of this release, this album has the feeling of music for a game rather than music to listen to. Lasting over 90 minutes, it’s an endurance test.