TV presentation of Charles Aznavour’s “Mon père, ce géant” novel collection (photos, video in Armenian)

Charles Aznavour offers us 16 little gems of humor and imagination, which are full of secrets, surprises, dramas and the pleasures of existence. 16 short stories were written over the years by the great chansonnier and now presented in one collection. All of the novels are translated in Armenian for the first time. The translator is Samvel Gasparyan. “My father, that giant is the title of one of the novels. This is Aznavour’s 5th book that Newmag translated. This one differs from all the others. It is fiction. If Aznavour had started writing fiction earlier, he would have become a very good novelist.”

  

"My father, that giant" is Aznavour's first fiction. Until now, Newmag has translated the autobiographies of the great artist. Two of the books were translated by Samvel Gasparyan. “When Newmag started translating Aznavour’s books, it continued what was left unfinished. Aznavour’s books were not translated for a long time. Now they want to also translate the songs. What Newmag does is repaying the debt. Do you know how happy Aznavour was when he was translated into Armenian?”

Literary critics with subtle humor, emotions and life experience admit that the great Armenian is also talented in fiction. The novels are written in the first person; they are not autobiographical. “In these books you can see a new Aznavour. The one that is also a writer. His novels are really interesting. It was really in his essence to be Armenian. He referred to the Armenian topic both in his books and songs.” - mentions the editor of the book translation - Hamlet Gasparyan.  

The sponsor of Newmag’s Aznavour series is Amundi ACBA Asset Management. Aznavour’s books are the symbol of the great Armenian-French friendship. The executive director of Amundi ACBA mentions that those books are unique and symbolic for the French company as well. “Many people know Aznavour as a singer and an actor. This is a good opportunity to get to know Charles's life. Charles Aznavour was 100% Armenian and 100% French. He is the unique connection between Armenia and France. He is the symbol of this friendship. Amundi ACBA gives a special importance to this project, as we are a French company.”

 

Very few of the composer's more than a thousand songs have been translated into Armenian. With its touching French elegance and Armenian sound Reste - "Stay" is presented to the Armenian audience as a result of the cooperation between Newmag Publishing House and Armenia TV. The premiere took place during the TV presentation of the book. The executive director of the Newmag Artak Aleksanyan talks about the idea of the song. “We listen to his songs, but we don’t really understand the words, which are really important. We have translated the song, so that the audience could not only listen, but also understand Aznavour's words.”

Newmag publishing, the music team of Armenia TV and singer Erik Karapetyan did their best to make the song "Reste" sound in Armenian on Aznavour's 97th birthday. The singer confesses that it was unexpected, yet inspiring to perform Aznavour's song in Armenian. “It was an inspiring offer. It is a great honor to sing Charles Aznavour's songs. It was also interesting. I would like to thank Newmag publishing for choosing me.”

The music producer is Martin Mirzoyan, he claims that this is one of the lesser-known songs, a beautiful ballad, which is also beautiful in Armenian. “It was a difficult responsibility. The emphasis was that we should not modernize the song, but keep the classic version.” 

Newmag promises that by the 100th anniversary of the great artist, Aznavour’s songs will be heard in Armenian again. This was on the eve of his birthday, the next one will be in October, on the anniversary of his death. The next performer will be Sofi Mkheyan. The “Mon père, ce géant” novel collection was published in 2007. This is Aznavour’s 5th book translated by Newmag, but not the last one.