Biography of Charles Aznavour

The editors of May 22, 22, in Paris, was born Charles Aznavour - Armenian, who did a lot not only for the world of art, but also for his own people. And although he had spent a chansonnier all his life outside his historical homeland - in France and Switzerland - he never forgot about it. After the Spitak earthquake, the artist provided invaluable assistance to the people of Armenia and throughout the whole creative path performed songs on the Armenian theme.

The Aznavour did not bypass the theme of the Armenian genocide, whose victims were his ancestors. On the birthday of a chansonnier, we publish excerpts from the book of his sister Aida about who were and where their grandparents lived to the genocide, how their parents met and emigrated to France. Charles Aznavour with parents - Misha and Knar, photo: Alamy.

For fifteen days, as mom is not at home, but she is about to return. I do not sit still - in different ways, I repeat only one word - “Aparik”, “Aparik” - brother. Grandma looks at me with a smile. The door opens, mother enters. I rush to meet her, then, suddenly fastening, I stop. In snow-white diapers, I see a creature with black-preserving hair and a bright red face. This is Aparik - my younger brother.

Mom leans up so that I can hug him, and I will capture a kiss on his red nose. He does not like this at all, he wakes up and begins to yell with all his might. He yells, without stopping, about fifteen minutes, giving our neighbors on Monsie-Le-Prince Street his first “solo concert”. From this moment, he and his whole future life, he is “Frenchman Charles-Vaginak Aznavuryan, born on May 22 in the 5th quarter of Paris, the son of born on May 26 in Akhalsykh Russia and who did not have the homeland of Mamikon Aznavuryan and born on November 10, in the Wizard of Turkey and Knar Baghdasaryan, who does not have the Motherland.” Charles and Aida Aznavuryans.

In his memoirs about the Aida family, Aznavuryan-Garvarenz gives an interesting episode: a ten-year-old little boy, holding a penny in a fist, runs along a snowy street and sings. At the same moment, in the park of the luxurious palace a few kilometers from here, a man in an imperial uniform, preoccupied, with a drooping gaze, walks alone along the alley. From the wide windows of the palace, illuminated by the sunset sun, they follow it, but they do not dare to approach.

This sad man is the autocrat of all Rus' Tsar Nicholas the Second, and the Balchugan running along the snowy street is Mamikon Misha Aznavuryan, my father. And my grandfather Misak at this moment among those who follow the powerful king of the narrow shock that fell into a numb. He is one of the cooks accompanying him by the Imperial Majesty and Empress Alexander Fedorovna on a trip to Russia.

Sometimes Charles and I sat down quietly in the corner, listened and saw what sad eyes were at the same time. Perhaps the song carried him to Tiflis, where he was so carried away by his fat woman Lisa that he threw his wife and children. Now, recalling that of his gaze and those songs, I think that my grandfather never forgot them [Misak Aznavuryan left his wife and in the year with his new lover went west.

Grandmother Charles and Aida subsequently lived in Soviet Armenia. In the years that preceded Mu, peace and love still reigned in the Tiflis House of the Aznavurians. Grandfather, who knocked out a small condition, was always dressed elegantly and fashionably and retained this habit until the end of his days. Yes, everything was good, and no one felt that the end of the world was approaching, that soon everything would take off into the air and disappear ...

In the center - Father Chancier Misha Aznavuryan, on the right - his wife Knar, e. Photo: Armradio. The Baghdasaryans in the city had a house with twenty rooms where the whole family lived. Aida Aznavuryan-Garvarenz shared a beautiful love story for her grandparents: one evening, Baghdasaryan saw a young girl opening the window. Struck by her beauty, he stopped the horse, and the next day he went to ask her hands.

It turned out that the girl at that time was only thirteen years old, and then her future husband said that he was ready to wait for the age of majority, but for now he proposed to engage. A year later, the young girl became a member of the large family of Baghdasaryanov, and after a while Knar was born. But in the spring of the year, everything has changed: the fourteen -year -old shy Knar, showing exceptional abilities to study, parents send with their grandmother to the capital - Constantinople.

Two younger brothers and sister remained at home, in the Wizard. The war has already begun, in November, Türkiye entered it, joining Germany on the Russian border. In early April, the Franco-British forces anchored in Dardanella, at a distance of less than two hundred kilometers from the capital. Knar passed the exams and was preoccupied only with this. The poor thing did not know that in just a few days her youth would suddenly break off.

How did the Armenians know that, taking advantage of the military situation, the Talaat and the Government of the Mladourkov have already developed a program for the destruction of the Armenian people. For Knar and her grandmother, the night from the twenty -fourth to the twenty -fifth of April was ordinary. In the morning, at half past eight, Knar, as always, taking the book under his arm, left the house and headed to the school.Classes usually began with prayer.

Charles Aznavour with his mother. Photo: ebay but at two in the morning six hundred and fifty representatives of the Armenian intelligentsia and outstanding representatives of the nation were arrested. They were courteously invited to appear in Turkish present places to discuss the political situation in the country. No one ever saw them again. Mom, too, was no longer destined to see her relatives.

All her life she tried to find out what happened in the extension, where her family members disappeared, and she spent the rest of her life in mourning. Only the photos remained to her from those whom she loved. I met my ancestors on these yellowed pictures of the beginning of the year, where Father Knar was forty, and his mother was twenty -eight, seven and five brothers, and the younger sister - six ...

Here it is worth making a small retreat: the whole family of Charles Aznavour was one way or another connected with music. From childhood, his father represented himself as an artist and subsequently became him, after he first got into the circus. Mother passionately loved music and theater, thanks to which in general she met her husband. And her name-KNAR-in Armenian means "lyre." Aida herself was engaged in music: from a young age they performed with Charles.

Married sister Chanciennier also went out for a man of art - composer Georges Garvarenz. Charles Aznavour with his father, photo: Charles Aznavour - UNOFICIAL FAN CLUB So, even before the father left with a new lover, Mamikon Aznavuryan himself planned to go on a tour in Constantinople. He did not want to leave his mother, grandmother Charles, alone, but she insisted - she wanted her son to follow the dream.

So the Aznavuryan and the troupe sailed into a four -month tour in Constantinople, where he met the future mother Charles and Aida: in Europe, where guns rumbled for four consecutive years, those who were not killed again learned to live. And never before the need for entertainment was so great and the concert halls have not been so crowded. And this means that the troupe of the Tiflis Armenians in Constantinople had no difficulties with performances.

The success was so great that it was decided to stay for a few more months ... Knar came for the curtains for business purposes. In parallel with her studies, she worked in the newspaper, despite her young age, led the department of culture there and from time to time represented the news of the theatrical and musical life of Constantinople. Here Knar takes an interview from the artist of the troupe - my future father, and he, casually resting his hand on the decoration, smiling, makes her compliments ...

He is excited, as always, when a new skirt appears on the horizon. But this time everything is not entirely usually: firstly, the prospect of seeing your portrait in the newspaper is pleasant, but the main thing is that the smart and restrained girl has such eyes that it is impossible to break away. Therefore, probably, he sometimes answers out of place, the girl laughs.

However, Misha already feels that it will not be easy to achieve the goal: the journalist is clearly not one of those girls who can just set a date. Suddenly he will overshadow him, and he makes an inspired speech about the benefits of the lessons of the game on Mandolin for such a music girl as her. I was not able to find out whether the lessons of the game on Mandolin were carried away by Knar or the heart -eater Misha Aznavuryan.

In any case, my mother’s grandmother liked the music teacher from the very first meeting. Misha mixed her to tears, won her sympathy and received permission to visit them ... which he did constantly. Aida and Charles in childhood. Photo: Aznavour Foundation soon Aznavuryan made a proposal to the girl. Meanwhile, the tour was drawing to the end - the troupe was going to Bulgaria, and then to Greece.

The situation was saved by the leader, taking Knar to the team and for two years increasing her age in the documents. Now, having a paper about adulthood, the girl could marry without the consent of her relatives, which she did. The couple married the day before departure: after a small respite caused by the defeat of the Ottoman army in the First World War and the presence of foreign troops in Turkey, mass killings of Armenians began again.

This was the reason that the troupe preferred to leave Istanbul. Many Armenians sought to leave Turkey, so any departure was strictly controlled by the authorities. In principle, the members of the troupe of the troupe with the departure from Constantinople should not have. They arrived from Russia, traveled with Russian passports and, seeing a man in a Turkish uniform, began to speak only Russian.

Therefore, climbing the ladder to the steamer, they deliberately chirped loudly in Tolstoy's tongue. However, at the last moment, one soloist could not stand it and whispered in Armenian:-Glory Lord, everything is behind! The Turkish secret police have sharp hearing. Father had already stepped on the ladder with his right foot, but his left was still standing on Turkish ground. The captain, a dummy sea wolf, grabbing Misha by the collar, dragged him onto the deck.

Photo: Aznavour Foundation is an Italian ship, ”he said,“ all passengers are currently in our territory. Try to delay someone-I will resort to weapons. The captain’s decisive tone forced the police to retreat. Since that time, my mother was full of a feeling of special gratitude to Italy. When they arrived in Thessaloniki, my mother was already pregnant with me. Unfortunately, those days, so joyful for any woman, she recalled with horror: the massacre in Turkey resumed.

A new life arose under her heart, and death raged around.