"A Sound World of its Own"
Soundboard Magazine
Kolanian is a guitarist of Greek and Armenian heritage. His CD "Shoror" is an obvious labor of love. This is evident in the beautiful arrangements and the deeply felt performances. The Armenian melodies are beautiful but, perhaps in keeping with the tragic history of the people, are almost uniformly doleful. Only fleeting moments flirt with major modes. Because of that, one might not want to listen to the entire disc at one sitting. But all of the works are of great musical interest and will repay the time in exploring them. Kolanian's arrangements are tasteful, often virtuosic, and as varied as possible given the nature of the material: song-like works are beautifully lyrical, while dances have a nice swing. This music will often remind you of other things, but, in the end, is a sound world of its own.
Kolanian's second CD for the Cambridge (Massachusetts)-based Pomegranate label finds us in more familiar territory--the music of Barrios. Here the recorded competition is formidable, with excellent one-disc surveys by Russell and Williams, among others. But Kolanian acquits himself well in this selection of Barrios's "greatest hits." His tone is beautiful, his playing sensitive, and there is no lack of "firepower" in the works which need it. Only the two most famous waltzes seem a bit too leisurely. A very solid effort, well recorded, and with very informative liner notes. - Albert Kunze
"4 Stars"
All Music Guide (AMG)
The front cover of this album, which bears a stylized picture of a young Armenian woman carrying water and the slightly misleading subtitle "Armenian Folk Music for Guitar," does not give you an accurate idea of what kind of music to expect. Look inside the booklet at the photo of a tuxedoed Iakovos Kolanian with his classical guitar, and you'll get a better picture: this isn't folk guitar music, but rather a collection of Armenian folk tunes arranged for classical guitar and performed in an elegant, almost decorous style that owes as much to the lute music of Bach and Weiss as it does to the Armenian folk tradition. Of course, that's just a longwinded way of saying that what Kolanian has created here is an admirably lyrical, complex, and insightful fusion of folk and classical music, the kind of thing that rarely works well at all. In this case it works beautifully, mainly because of the combination of Kolanian's deep feeling for this music and his equally deep mastery of both his instrument and the principles of classical guitar style. Note in particular the delicately woven counterpoint he creates in his arrangement of "Yaman Yar," and the gently dancing grace he brings to "Zankezouri." Very highly recommended. - Rick Anderson
"Second To None"
Global Rhythm Magazine
Since the first century BC, music was integral to the Armenian court. The ashough (troubadour) style blossomed from the 15th to the 20th centuries, featuring songs and dances of village life. Armenian-Greek classical guitarist Iakovos Kolanian trained at the National Conservatory of Athens and fell in love with Armenian folk music, dedicating the past 16 years to bringing its classics to the world. Shoror (basically, "dance") commenced in 1988 when Kolanian painstakingly transcribed what few authentic nuggets he could dig up. The collection underwent two releases before Pomegranate requested he re-record it. Songs of famed Armenian composer/pianist Komitas (Gomidas Vartabed) are prominent on the album, and Kolanian's interpretations are deemed second to none. With just his guitar, Kolanian conveys melody and polyphony typically reserved for the Armenian/Turkish tar (plectrum) and zurna (wind) instruments, and he admittedly fixes "mistakes" in harmonies from previous versions of the repertoire. Komitas favored "pulse" in his compositions and Kolanian's bouncy performances remain true to that essential component. Kolanian returns to Komitas for the final five tracks by tackling his famous dance suite, composed in his musical maturity, plus rounds it all off nicely with the addition of "Shoror." - Stacy Meyn
