Letters from Villejuif

(Collection of Komitas Gevorgyan)

The exhibition presents documents and letters relating to the final years of Komitas Vardapet's life. These materials offer the possibility of illuminating lesser‑studied chapters of his biography from a new perspective, while also revealing details concerning his health, his personality, and his activities as reflected in official records.

The collection donated by Komitas Gevorgyan, the Armenian famous conductor, includes publications, postcards, photographs, Komitas's visiting card, and official correspondence. Of particular importance is the set of original documents dated 1913–1943, comprising eleven archival items – letters and telegrams. Among them are the 1938–1939 correspondence between Astvatsatur Harentz and the publishing house Éditions musicales Sénart, the report of the director of the Villejuif psychiatric hospital on the death of Komitas Vardapet, a telegram sent by Catholicos Khoren I Muradbekian, and others.

The collection also contains four documents related to the funeral company Maison Trouvain, which was responsible for all the procedures of Komitas Vardapet's burial, as well as for the transfer of his remains in May 1936 from the basement of the Armenian Apostolic Church of St. John the Baptist in Paris to Soviet Armenia. Of special note are thirteen unpublished letters written between 1922 and 1935 concerning Komitas's health condition and the arrangements for his treatment. These significantly supplement the medical records preserved in the archives of the Ville‑Évrard and Villejuif institutions.

Alongside these archival units, the exhibition also presents publications issued over the years by the Komitas Caretaker Committee, as well as manuscript letters and valuable materials that have enriched the collections of the Komitas Museum‑Institute during the past decade of its activity.