Visible Music

The Visible Music project is not the first project by Armen-Levon Manaseryan to combine illustrations and piano music. The idea to illustrate piano music came to the pianist long ago. Having inherited artistic talents from his grandmother, a famous Armenian artist and a member of the Union of Artists of Armenia, Aida Boyadjian, the pianist developed a professional hobby – painting. The first unique project with illustrations of piano music was the Color of Sound project: Armen-Levon Manaseryan, inspired by Mussorgsky’s Pictures At an Exhibition, created 10 of his illustrations in parallel with music. We can say that Visible Music has its history. This time the pianist decided to illustrate The Seasons by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.Armen-Levon Manaseryan, inspired by the music of Tchaikovsky, created his own 12 illustrations. While in the Color of Sound project, the pianist used unique handmade papers and mixed techniques, in the case of the Visible Music project he drew all the illustrations in digital format, on iPad, using Procreate for professional artists. Every brushstroke, every stroke, every line is drawn by hand, not on paper with a brush, but on the iPad screen, using the Apple Pencil. Unlike drawing on paper, digital illustration has its challenges, as the digital “canvas” is very large and has a lot of details and layers.

All illustrations by Armen-Levon Manaseryan are set in motion, reminiscent of still frames from films. In some illustrations, you can see already familiar places in the background. It seems that all these events, all these months, take place in the same area, in the same universe. For example, in March we see a tree on which a lark sits and a lantern in the background, and then in October we see the same tree, in the background the same lantern, but there is no lark, he left a nest in his place. Or another example: in September we see in the background the harvest, the mill, and the Russian Church, which were the main “heroes” in April and August. The Visible Music project is scheduled to appear in Armenia, Belgium, Germany, France, Spain, and many other countries. After the Color of Sound concerts-exhibitions, the public will warmly welcome the Visible Music.

January: At the Fireside

A little corner of peaceful bliss,
the night dressed in twilight;
The little fire is dying in the fireplace,
and the candle has burned out.

Alexander Pushkin

February: Carnival

At the lively Mardi Gras
soon a large feast will overflow.

Pyotr Vyazemsky

March: Song of the Lark

The field shimmering with flowers,
the stars swirling in the heavens,
the song of the lark
fills the blue abyss.

Apollon Maykov

April: Snowdrop

The blue, pure snowdrop — flower,
and near it the last snowdrops.
The last tears over past griefs,
and first dreams of another happiness.

Apollon Maykov

May: Starlit Nights

What a night! What bliss is all about!
I thank my native north country!
From the kingdom of ice, from the kingdom of snowstorms and snow,
How fresh and clean Mayflies in!

Afanasy Fet

June: Barcarolle

Let us go to the shore;
There the waves will kiss our feet.
With mysterious sadness
the stars will shine down on us.

Aleksey Pleshcheyev

July: Song of the Reaper

Move the shoulders,
Shake the arms!
And the noon wind
breathes in the face!

Aleksey Koltsov

August: Harvest

The harvest has grown,
People in families cutting the tall rye down to the root!
Put together the haystacks,
music screeching all night from the hauling carts.

Aleksey Koltsov

September: Hunting

It is time! The horns are sounding!
The hunters in their hunting dress
are mounted on their horses;
In the early dawn, the borzois are jumping.

Alexander Pushkin, Graf Nulin

October: Autumn Song

Autumn, our poor garden is all falling down,
The yellowed leaves are flying in the wind.

Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy

November: Troika

In your loneliness do not look at the road,
and do not rush out after the troika.
Suppress at once and forever
the fear of longing in your heart.

Nikolay Nekrasov

December: Christmas

Once upon a Christmas night
The girls were telling fortunes:
taking their slippers off their feet
and throwing them out of the gate.

Vasily Zhukovsky