AMERICAN STUDENT COMPOSES SYMPHONY DEDICATED TO ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

13:15 20.03.2013

After learning about the Armenian Genocide for the very first time,
Francis Norton decided to vent his anger over the tragedy, the Armenian
Weekly reports.

The Wilmington High senior sat behind a computer and composed an
Armenian symphony he so aptly calls “Hellfire.” He debuted it inside
a genocide studies class called “Facing History and Ourselves,”
being taught by Lisa Joy Desberg and Maura Tucker.

The two-minute piece is full of ritualistic movement done with cello,
violin, piano, and brass with multiple key and tempo changes, much
like an early Alan Hovhaness work.

One might equate it to “eerie and unpleasant” at first, but that’s
just the medium for which it was intended by the young composer. The
entire work was compiled in just two days.

“It’s a dark theme that inspired the Armenian Genocide,” says Norton.

“I thought of the mood and subject matter. In some instances, I had
to stop writing when I thought about the torment and depression this
nation faced. I felt the pain of the victims.”

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress