When we think about the music of Armenian church we think about the history of our church, we think about the very foundation of Armenia and being the first Christian nation.
However, it may surprise you that the liturgy that you and I have come to know, is not that old! Sure, the core hymns of our church stem from the melodic lines engraved in our historical and liturgical records, but, the liturgy as we have come to hear it played on the organ, or sung by our local church choir was arranged in the 19th century.
It may surprise you but at the very foremost pioneering journey of sacred music in the Armenian Apostolic Church was a woman named Amy Apgar. Amy was at the helm of not only engraving, but ensuring the preservation of our melodies in the far corners of Calcutta. While we often conceptualize our church as a patriarchal foundation, it is with utmost importance that we embrace and remember the role of Amy Apgar within our sacred music history.
From modern-day India to what we consider present day Venice, The St. Lazarus Mekhitarist monks hired in Italian composer of the name Pietro Bianchini. Bianchini was commissioned to arrange a version of our divine liturgy. While both Apgar’s and Bianchini’s works are noted in our history, they are not actively sung or celebrated due to its harmonic and lyric structure. It was not until 1893 when Magar Yegmalian arranged a version of the liturgy that we now hold as the defining arrangement across the world.
Later, Gomitas Vartaped, started his own arrangements for male-chorus of the divine liturgy. It is important to note that as one of the foremost musicians in our cultural and sacred history, he not only studied the works of those before him, but, also continued to better our melodies in an accurate modal structure whether sacred or secular.
Magar Yegmalian
Born: February 2, 1856 (Vagharshapat, Armenia)
Died: March 6, 1905 (Tiflis, Georgia)
• Schooled in theology and religious studies at Etchmiadzin.
• Furthered his musical education in Russia.
• Divine Liturgy composition completed in 1893, sung for two years at the Tiflis Cathedral (Georgia).
• June 7, 1895 Catholicos Mgurdich I announces encyclical approval.
• Liturgical Publication: 3 Part Male Chorus; Mixed SATB
Gomidas Vartaped
Born: October 8, 1869 (Kütahya, Ottoman Empire)
Died: October 22, 1935 (Paris, France)
• Schooled in theology and religious studies at Etchmiadzin.
• Furthered his education in Germany, Armenia, and across Europe.
• Began his work on the Divine Liturgy in 1892.
• Multiple iterations exist of his works but were never truly completed due to his deportation and imprisonment, and later illness.
• Musical Father to Armenian music as we know it. Thriving collection of cultivated music and notation.
The Armenian Apostolic Church is home to a commonwealth of rich history consisting of sacred music, a unique alphabet, and a myriad of music notation, compositions, and resources.
The Armenian khaz notation consists of two systems: Prosodic and Musical.
The prosodic analysis of khaz in the context of musical intonation relates to speech intonation as stated by Gomitas Vartabed. Gomitas was quoted as saying, “Songs undergo a number of transformations: long and short; metric-rhythmic changes; changes in diapason, range and pitch; melodic variation; ornamentation, and change in the location of half-step, or augmented interval that alters the basic modality”.
The artistic expressions of speech intonation, its meaning, and inherent emotion comprise one of the characteristic features of a melody. The relationship between musical intonations and speech also affects the placement of khaz above the text. This interdependence of musical intonation and speech is twofold in its manifestations:
(1) the intonation influenced musical notation; and
(2) through centuries of development, social attitudes toward music also affected speech organization, in turn affecting the musical notation system. If rhythm and intonation directly relate to speech, then should we not also consider the varying dialects in different regions? Komitas observed that not only the language but music too evolved into what he called “local dialects”, stating “The Armenians knew their own musical dialect as well as the language dialect they spoke”.
He offered several reasons for the emergence of musical dialects:
On the theory that music was motion/movement, the externalization – whether the initial impulse was psychological or physiological – of tradition and the work being done, helped shape the nature of the melodic-rhythmic motifs. Tunes from the mountains developed rugged, vigorous, passionate, and martial musical motives, because man had to fight natural disasters constantly.
In contrast tunes originating from the planes were placid, mild, and gentle.
There are eight types of sharagans within our Armenian Church. These sharagans strictly deal with the text and NOT the musical content.
- Orhnootiun – Praise the Lord for HE has triumphed.
- Hartz – Blessed are thou, oh Lord, GOD of Fathers.
- Medzatzoutse – My soul shall magnify the Lord, and my spirit.
- Voghormia – Lord Have Mercy on me, and, forgive thy transgressions.
- Der Hergnetz – Praise the Lord from the Heaven.
- Mangoonk – Praise oh servants of the Lord.
- Jashoo – I love the Lord because he has heard my voice.
- Hampartzee – I lifted my eyes to the mountain.
In addition to these sharagans, other forms of hymns developed called the dagh, kandz, avedis, and the megheti.
Dagh (verses) are hymns that tell stories of the teachings of Jesus Christ.
Kandz(treasure) are florid style hymns sung on feast days and in the 14th and 15th centuries were sung over the dead as their confession of sins.
Avedis (tidings) are sung at Christmas.
Megheti (melody) are forms of sacred music used as background melodies.
Like the eight types of sharagan, the Armenian modal system is structured to a system of modes known as octoechos. These modes are divided into two halves with four modes designated as TSAYN (voice) and four designated as GOGHM (side). The conventional arrangement follows the order of the Armenian alphabet.
Mode 1 – ATP TZA (First Voice)
Mode 2- AYP GEN (First Side)
Mode 3 – PEN TZA (Second Voice)
Mode 4 – PEN GEN (Second Side)
Mode 5- Keem Tza (Third Voice)
Mode 6 – Keem Gen (Third Side)
Mode 7 – Ta Tza (Fourth Voice)
Mode 8 – Ta Gen (Fourth Side)
Reference Works:
Theory and Method in Historical Ethnomusicology
by Jonathan McCollum (Editor, Contributor), David G. Hebert (Editor, Contributor), Keith Howard (Foreword, Contributor), Judah M. Cohen (Contributor), Ann E. Lucas (Contributor), Chris Goertzen (Contributor), Diane Thram (Contributor), Daniel Neuman (Contributor)
Personal Research & Teachings of Sevag Derderian
Doctrines of the Armenian Apostolic Church