Archeology of Madness: Komitas, Portrait of an Armenian Icon (Rita Soulahian Kuyumjian)

The figure and work of Gomidas (Komitas, in classical transliteration) remains very much alive in Armenian culture and popular imagination. His creative work was cut short by the Armenian genocide. After surviving exile, Gomidas developed a severe form of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and spent twenty years in virtual silence in mental asylums.

In this thoughtful biography, based on extensive archival research, Rita Kuyumjian examines three seldom-addressed aspects of the composer’s life: his relationship with Armenian singer Margarit Babayan; his mental illness, and his relationship with the Armenian Church.