"Artsakh" () is an instrumental folk composition by Armenian contemporary composer Ara Gevorgyan, released in 1999 as part of his album Ani. The composition was written in 1997. In 1998, Gevorgyan registered the rights to all works from the album, including "Artsakh", with the United States Library of Congress.
The recording featured Ara Gevorgyan, the Armenian National Philharmonic Orchestra (ANPO), Djivan Gasparyan (duduk), and Norayr Sharoyan (dhol).
The piece became widely popular in Armenia and among the Armenian diaspora. Over the years, it has been performed at cultural and political eventsExamples of political events (rallies, demonstrations) where "Artsakh" can be heard: during the 2013 Armenian presidential election protests. of a large joint rally by Prosperous Armenia, Armenian National Congress, and Heritage parties in October 2014. and has been used by figure skaters, gymnasts, and other athletes in international competitions.
Gevorgyan later released a documentary film titled Story about Artsakh Music, in which he discusses the history and creation of the piece.
Name Artsakh was one of the 15 provinces of the ancient Kingdom of Armenia. Today, the name "Artsakh" is still used for the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan which corresponds to this historical province by Armenians. The region where the Armenians were the majority achieved de facto independence which would last until 2023 alongside the Armenian forces during the bloody war with Azerbaijan in 1988-94. The war is seen by Armenians as liberation of their historic lands and the song is a tribute to the Armenian victory.
Usage in sports
Parts of "Artsakh" have been used in sports, including: Year Athlete Country Sport Event(s) 2001–02 Alexander Abt Figure skating All season long, including at the 2002 Winter Olympics 2005–06 Elene Gedevanishvili Figure skating All season long, including at the 2006 Winter Olympics 2007 Dinara Gimatova Gymnastics 2007-08Vazgen AzrojanAnastasia Grebenkina Figure skating Original dance 2008 Aliya Yussupova Gymnastics 2009 Holon Israel Figure skating 2009 Vic Darchinyan Boxing Entrance song 2010 Dou Baobao Gymnastics 2010 Corbeil-Essonnes International Rhythmic Gymnastics Tournament 2010 Marta Koczkowska Gymnastics 2009 Corbeil-Essonnes International Rhythmic Gymnastics Tournament 2010 Giorgio Petrosyan Kickboxing Entrance song 2013 Victoria Moors Gymnastics 2013 AT&T American Cup 2013 Gegard Mousasi Kickboxing Entrance song 2014 Susianna Kentikian Boxing Entrance song 2016 Seda Tutkhalyan Gymnastics All season long, including at the 2016 Summer Olympics 2020-21 Adeliia Petrosian Figure skating All season long, including at the 2021 Russian Junior Championships 2026Karina Akopova and Nikita Rakhmanin Figure skating All season long, including at the 2026 Winter Olympics
Other Pan-Armenian Games In a Russian TV show called "Ice Age" broadcast by the Channel One in 2007 Russian singer Aleksandra Savaleva and a Russian-born Israeli ice dancer Sergei Sakhnovski performed figure skating with this song.
Controversy In 2007 Azerbaijani ambassador in Russia and former singer Polad Bülbüloğlu alleged that "Artsakh" contains an Azerbaijani song. Ara Georgyan responded that Bülbüloğlu's statements were a result of confusion from an incident that occurred during one of the episodes of the Russian TV show "Ice Age" broadcast by Channel One. During the performance of Russian singer Aleksandra Savaleva (ru) and Israeli ice dancer Sergei Sakhnovski, it was initially announced that the song they were going to use was called "Armenian dance" by Ara Gevorgyan, but instead a song called "Sene de galmaz" by Azerbaijani composer Tofig Guliyev was played and only after that a small portion of "Artsakh" was played. Ara Gevorgyan suggested that Azerbaijanis tried to justify Dinara Gimatova's use of the song without his permission in a 2005 grand-prix.
References