In the 15th century, the Armenian priest and poet Mkrtich Naghash wrote about his experiences of exile. The poems that emerged in this way, with their powerful language, never let go of John Hodian, an American of Armenian descent, and he decided to set these songs from exile to music and bring them to the stage with a band he had formed especially for this purpose. From the piano, Hodian leads the Armenian Naghash Ensemble, which includes three excellent female singers, a duduk player, an oud player and a percussionist. Inspired by old Armenian church and folk music, minimal music and jazz, Hodian's music and its message go straight to the heart, even if you don't speak Armenian.

Notenschlüssel: Concert introduction at 18:30 in the Festivalzentrum (made possible by the Heidelberger Frühling Freundeskreis e.V.)