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Episode details

Radio 3,02 Jun 2023,14 mins

SeriesCharles Aznavour in Five Songs

5: They Fell, by Nare Mkrtchyan

The Essay

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Charles Aznavour's astonishing career, essayed in five songs. 5: They Fell, by Nare Mkrtchyan. Aznavour was the quintessential French outsider, but in 1976 he crafted a song that spoke to his roots and the generational pain and loss of the Armenian genocide of 1915. A song that only further endeared him to the Armenian diaspora. And then in 1988 disaster struck with a massive earthquake in his parents' land of birth, and he wrote Pour Toi, Armenie. The documentarian Nare Mkrtchyan explores the singer's Armenian past and its influence on his work. 'They were so similar: Aznavour and Armenia. Both fragile and small in size but giants in spirit; filled with struggles and yet never willing to give up on their dream of beautiful existence, believing in the power of love even in the middle of human cruelty and darkness.' Producer: Mark Burman

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