TOURINFO-December 20, 2021– An online concert by pianist, Honored Artist of Armenia Hayk Melikyan will mark the 80th anniversary of Armenia’s main clock in Yerevan’s Republic Square.
The concert has been initiated by the National Chamber Music Center with the support of the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of Education and Science, and the “Mountains” cultural NGO. The online concert will be broadcast from the clock hall on December 24, at 21:00, on the official Facebook pages of the pianist, the Armenian Government, and the Ministry of Education and Science.
The concert program includes works by outstanding Armenian and European composers, which are thematically connected with the clock and Yerevan. Works by Haydn, Daquin, Cooper, Handel, Saryan, Babajanyan, Ayvazyan/Kostanyan.
Within the concert, Hayk Melikyan will present his “Yerevan Campanella” – perhaps the first composition in the world for piano and city clock bells. This piece is written especially for this project.
“The main clock of our country is a witness of many generations and changes, the symbol of our statehood,” says Alexander Plato Hakobyan, producer of the project.
According to him, there is so much love in the project, “all parties involved have worked in a unique environment of gratitude and pride.”
History of Armenia’s Main Clock
Morning in Yerevan starts from the chiming of the bell on the main clock located on the tower of the Armenian government building at Republic Square. That clock can be considered the “first” clock of the city.
In reality, the clock at Republic Square was discovered by chance. During the construction of the Armenian government building in 1940, all construction materials were brought to the building through a special passageway that was not initially foreseen according to the plan and didn’t close. To solve the issue, the country’s administration addressed the Kremlin, which gave the advice to place the clock there. It was decided to have the clock close the passageway of the government building, and that clock went on to become the symbol of Yerevan.
It was initially foreseen that it would be brought to Yerevan in June 1941. However, due to the Patriotic War, only in the fall did the clock reach Yerevan. The clock, which has a 3m 6 cm diameter, a large, 170 cm arrow weighing 4 kg 850g, and a small, 110 cm arrow weighing 3 kg 500 g, was placed on the tower by the first creator of the city’s main clock, Artsrun Yavroyan. There were only five people who made the main clock in Yerevan, including Artsrun Yavroyan, Zorik Hakobyan, Gegham Mkrtchyan, Ashot Maliksetyan, and currently, Lyova Alexanyan. The first of them, Yavronyan, served for the clock for 40 years.
It is unclear as to in which month and on what day the clock began to function, but it is clear that it has stopped only for 2-3 hours in 80 years. Throughout its entire history, the clock at Republic Square has only undergone changes once after it made the transition from the mechanical block to the electric one on July 5, 2001.
We can say with confidence that throughout its history, the clock has seen many turning points, has seen the “rebirth” of the city when the old buildings were replaced with the new, and when the ensemble of buildings at Republic Square began to be decorated with singing fountains. As the current creator of the city’s main clock Lyova Alexanyan mentioned, the clock has already “gotten used to” the city and should stay the way it has always been.
And truly, the clock at Republic Square is an inseparable part of the city. After all, the chime of that bell is what wakes citizens of Yerevan up.
Source: https://anmmedia.am/en/news/concert-dedicated-to-the-armenian-clock-to-be-held-online/663
