New album seeks to provide peace in the pandemic

“I fear the lockdown may have discouraged many from pursuing music,” says Hovig Nassanian. “Being a musician or performer was already an undervalued profession in Cyprus; now many have had no option but to try to find another job.”

Hovig himself is a musician and composer known islandwide for his musicals and original productions. He’s also a teacher: one of the lucky few who have had an alternate profession to turn to during Covid-19. But rather than being self-congratulatory about his good fortune, he’s turned his talents outward, helping and healing with an album designed to give us all what we most need at this time: peace.

“It’s called Peaceful,” he explains, “because I sent one of the first tracks I recorded to a good friend, asking him what he thought of it. His first word was ‘peaceful’. And that helped guide the rest of the project: choosing the songs and pieces that would help bring some calm, peace and – hopefully – beauty, during these scary and uncertain times.”

From the reflective hope in On A Lonely Hill to the gentle melodies of Baby Hovan’s Lullaby, each of the 12 piano compositions is a panacea: a glorious cross between Karl Jenkins’ gentle Adiemus and Joe Hisaishi’s transcendent Studio Ghibli scores.

“The music on Peaceful is actually a reflection of my life’s journey so far,” the composer reveals. Born in Beirut into an Armenian family – “my grandparents were fortunate enough to survive the genocide in 1915, as their parents were forced to leave their homes and eventually settle in Lebanon” – Hovig first visited Cyprus aged six, by which time he was already heavily immersed in the world of music.

“I grew up in a very musical family, and always loved music,” he reveals. “Especially minor key and moving pieces. Apparently, when I was a baby, every time somebody sang one of our sad-sounding Armenian songs, I would start crying!”

A committed Christian, Hovig’s first love was church music: “Lots of hymns, choirs and even band music; I owe much of the development of music harmonies, playing by ear, choral music arrangement and piano accompaniment to those days and upbringing.”

By the time he was 18, Hovig’s family had moved permanently to Cyprus, relocating due to the fighting in Beirut. University in the States followed, before Hovig settled once more on the island, and put his degree in radio/TV production and journalism to work.

“But I continued to study and remain heavily involved in music – both performance and productions,” he continues. “And for the last eight years I’ve been working as a teacher in the Music Department of the Heritage Private School in Limassol; I love teaching: the spark in the eyes of the students, the enthusiasm, sharing my passion with the next generation!”

Today, aged 49, Hovig has drawn on his “life’s journey” to produce Peaceful. “The pieces I chose come from different stages of my life and song-writing. The oldest piece, Tonight, I wrote back in Lebanon when I was a teenager; the actual title for it is in Armenian Ays Kisher. Other pieces stem from original musicals with the Premiere Group, co-written and produced with Daniel Chorbadjian. The lullaby pieces were for our son, while he was still in Anna’s belly. And then there are a couple of tracks from the more recent original musical with my colleague Alexandra Kouris, with whom I produce music for the Necessary Kuriosity label. And the most recent composition,” he adds, “is Track 11, Peaceful in the Pandemic, which I wrote towards the end of the album recording last month.”

A beautiful piece which switches between defiant discord and mellow melody, Peaceful in the Pandemic is Hovig’s response to the global measures. “I felt like I wanted one new composition on the album that addressed the current situation we are all in. The challenge, I feel, is to keep our peace and hope during these uncertain and scary times. I didn’t want it to be a blissful piece of denial of the dangers of corona, but rather bring peaceful INTO the pandemic. So the music, hopefully, shows the struggle between those two factors: back and forth. But towards the end of the piece, the ‘pandemic’ part (or the non-peaceful part) gradually submits to the ‘peaceful’ part – almost like taming a wild animal – and the piece finishes on a hopeful note.

Along with the other tracks, Peaceful in the Pandemic makes for rich listening; just one beautiful piece in an album that has already garnered great success. “I’ve heard back from many listeners who say that the album is exactly what they needed,” says Hovig. “Some have it playing in the background while they work or study. Others while they drive their car, to keep them from getting frustrated with traffic. The first track (Worth Waiting For) is also now featured on a number of Spotify curator playlists, and that’s expanding my listener base.”

Such immediate success for the album has come as a surprise to Hovig. “I was not expecting this; mainly because I didn’t start planning to release a proper album. But life often takes a course without us realising it, and then you suddenly find yourself doing something which you probably wouldn’t have done if you had time to think about it or plan it properly!

“I am very fortunate,” he concludes, “to be in a position where I have the time and the wherewithal to release an album. And, in my own small way, to help others through music. For me, faith, love, and hope are very closely linked with music, and I hope these are the predominant emotions evoked in the listener. And if Peaceful helps people to unwind after a stressful day and sleep peacefully, then I would be a very happy man!”

For more information on Peaceful, and to listen to sample tracks, visit www.necessarykuriosity.com

Peaceful is available on all major online music platforms to download, stream, or purchase. Visit https://ditto.fm/peaceful-hovig-nassanian for more information