Reviews

Yerevan Magazine
September 2008
Rodion Shchedrin

“This performing of the “Sealed Angel” liturgy by Hover Chamber Choir under leadership of Sona Hovhannisyan was wonderful, absolutely exceptional. They learned it by heart and soul. I observed the fully packed hall with no vacant seats, people were on their legs. There is a great tradition of sacred music in Armenian culture.”

Golos Armenii
10 April 2008
Elzbieta Penderecka

The spouse of a great maestro pointed out that she is particularly impressed by the performing skill of Hover Chamber Choir. “In many countries of the world I listened to how the works of Krzysztof Pendercki are performed, but the Armenian choir has its exceptional approach”.

Golos Armenii
18 September, 2008
Anna Arevshatyan, Doctor of Arts

It's necessary to point out absolutely amazing participation in performing of “Styx” by Giya Kancheli of Hover Chamber Choir led by Sona Hovhannisyan. Many years she bravely takes over most difficult choral scores and skillfully interprets them. Hover Choir is an undisputed leader among other Armenian choral groups.

Golos Armenii
19 June, 2008
Anna Arevshatyan, Doctor of Arts

The Sealed Angel by Rodin Shchedrin, a masterpiece filled with a genuine Russian spirit, was skillfully performed by Hover Chamber Choir, conductor Sona Hovhanisyan and impressed everybody completely.

Efir
19 June, 2008
Svetlana Sarkisyan, Doctor of Arts

Music by Rodion Shchedrin impressed all around also due to a brilliant performing quality provided by Hover Chamber Choir in collaboration with invited singers from other choirs, under artistic guidance of Sona Hovhannesyan. Discipline and a continuous improvement of vocal technique granted this choir a strong reputation and acknowledgement in many countries of the world. Versatile repertoire of Hover Chamber Choir often orientated towards contemporary music renewing its choral palette, allows inclusion of works of various styles.

After recent success with interpretation of works by Krzysztof Penderecki, this performance of the Sealed Angel by Shchedrin was another proof of a new level of skill, after all enriching Armenian performing art.

Eter
17 April 2008

Penderecki promised to write sacred music using Armenian texts and intended to be performed by Hover Chamber Choir.

Azg
18 September, 2008
Svetlana Sarkisyan, Doctor of Arts

Hover Chamber Choir easily showed contemporary vocal technique and amazingly performed “Cantus Planus”, types of psalm recitation and syllable accentuation. Owing to it Kancheli's cantata has been associated with the medieval mystery adapted to our times. And the choir became the main actor of that musical fable.

Azg
20 September, 2008

Of partial Armenian origin, Penderecki mentioned in his speech: “I came to Armenia for the first time, and frankly saying, I have had some concerns as I was not aware about the level of musicians. I was positively surprised during the first rehearsal, as you have fantastic musicians. As about choirs they just delighted and amazed me: I mean Armenia's State Academic Choir and Hover Choir. My wife and me are very glad to participate in this festival, and if you invite us again, we will come with pleasure.”

Article on Hover Choir CD - September 2006, France Arménie
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" 'Armenian Voices' is a wonderful introduction to an amazing choir. This is a beautifully produced CD that I will cherish"

Atom Egoyan, film director

Hover Chamber Choir of Armenia
CANONGATE KIRK, EDINBURGH

THE Hover Chamber Choir of Armenia could not have a more apt name. Hover - pronounced hoe-ver -means "song soaring in the wind", a powerful and evocative image more than matched by the beguiling sound-world conjured up by this consummate choir. One of its strengths is the versatility of the young singers from the Komitas National Conservatory in Yerevan, which is reflected in their wide-ranging repertoire. While Armenian folk, festive and sacred songs made up the bulk of the programme, the choir equally excelled in music from other countries. Britten's Carol and Hymn to the Virgin along with Kodaly's Esti Dai and Sirato Enek were especially moving, demonstrating the choir's ability to exercise phenomenal tone control. To a certain extent, this was achieved by the energetic exertions of conductor Sona Hovhannisyan, who used her whole body to mould and shape the music.
Delightful as these short pieces were, it was the more substantial and challenging music by contemporary Armenian composers that stood out, particularly Arzas Voskanyan's intriguingly titled The Secretary to God, with its razor sharp rhythms and flirtation with dissonance, and one of Stepan Babatorosyan's Six Fables, a sensitive blend of modern and traditional styles.

Susan Nickalls
The Scotsman, Edinburgh , Wed 17 Sep 2003

“A big musical collective assembled owing to the conductor Zaven Vartanyan’s outstanding enthusiasm. Hover Chamber Music Choir became the pivot of it, displaying, as always, a virtuosity of professionalism and choral interpretation”

“Hover has its own character, style, finally – a charm, which perhaps is one of its most striking factors. You can see rarely among us a choir with a beautiful tune, which does not yell for achieving a forte, possesses completely the technique of sound pronunciation, has an outline of homogeneous ensemble. Along with their harmonic unity, the singers of the choir also realize themselves as independent soloists and intertwine their voices in the wholeness with respective devotion”

Z. Ter-Ghazaryan
“Aravot”, 22.12.1999

“Let us confess – after Sona Hovhannisyan’s Hover Chamber Choir it is difficult to be the second one on the stage. This youth choir has performed such theatricalized items that made forget the classical borders of the pure choral art. For being equal to Hover, many of our choirs have a long way to go”

A. Demirjyan
“Hayastani hanrapetutyun”, 20.06.2001