Mangoutian Hichadagner are my DNA. They are what has nurtured my youth. They are my grandparents Misha and Knar Aznavourian. They are the angels who awakened me to the world. Though I am half French, with a father born in France but of Armenian descent. I owe every move in my life to those marvelous people who reminded me that the culture they came from was indeed talented and cultured. They gave me the love for their poets and they taught me Armenian folklore music. My grandfather’s Tar playing was unbeatable and his Deff playing was absolutely remarkable. My grandmother introduced me to Armenian dancing and singing. They were true artists, musicians, and comedians.

They would wake me up in the late hours of the night just to have a Keff (party) with their fellow artist friends who would come to visit, who could not sleep thinking about the next show they would be putting together.

I will keep in my soul the knowledge of their "Joie De Vivre" Gunke Shat Sirel. After my grandparents departed from my life I reconnecting with the French culture of my mother Micheline Rugel and I kind of strayed from my Armenian roots. Because I was simply living in France and that was also part of me. I made French records and was happy with the way things were going. And then I lost my mother as well. Torn apart, I decided to flee France and come to America.

After many years here married, and with Two children, I heard that my uncle Georges Garvarentz, and my aunt Aïda Aznavour Garvarentz were moving here for two years because of Gearges contracts with Movie Music Business. I was so excited. I started to remember how nice it was to speak Armenian again. Georges thought I should make a record in Armenian in honor of my Armenian heritage. I was a bit leery because between Misha and Aïda I felt inadequate. But the more I thought about it the more the idea appealed to me and especialy having my father Charles singing a Sayat Nova song with me which was Aïda’s idea. So there it was, we made a record with the talented pianist and arranger Armen Aharonian introduced to us by our friend Paul Yalnesian.

Everything was working to my liking, the album did well, and Armen and I went on tour. Then fate struck again when I lost my husband to a heart attack. So I stopped everything to raise my children. I mention this because many people have asked me through the years why I was not singing anymore. So that’s it, now you know.

I am very happy to be singing again, and recording a new song with my wonderful father gives me such pride. With Aïda, finding material she knew would please me was such a great help, and it was fun discovering the music I do like, mostly traditional songs. I thank my arrangers Aram Avagyan and Azat Hakobyan for having done such an excellent job, and I hope you enjoy my presentation as much as I enjoyed presenting it.