About the project

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Komitas recorded thousands of songs (including spiritual ones) and conducted major scientific research. Thousands of handwritten books and fragments are stored in the Mashtots Matenadaran, More than 290 liturgical books, about 300 chronicles, 350 scrolls, dozens of books and treasuries, handwritten books and other ritual books preserve centuries-old Armenian church music. The same manuscripts are also kept in Jerusalem, Venice, Vienna and other manuscript repositories and by different people:

A brief historical overview

In 301, Christianity was declared the state religion in Armenia. Armenian pagan art is gradually penetrating into Christianity. The first Christian churches are built on the foundations of destroyed pagan temples:
A significant part of the clergy have converted to Christianity and continue to serve as ministers of the church. In the 5th century Mesrop Mashtots created the Armenian script. Through the efforts of Mashtots and Armenian Catholicos Sahak Partev, the Holy Book and the church rite are being translated. Mashtots and Sahak Partev based their singing on ancient, traditional Armenian melodies.
129 hymns have been preserved in honor of Mashtots, and about 60 hymns in honor of Sahak Partev, each in its own way:

From the 5th to the 10th century, famous monasteries were founded in Armenia, where music was taught along with other sciences. Hundreds of songs have been created by outstanding musicians and philosophers, and an integrated system of music theory and aesthetics has been developed. A hazareka was used as a means to record songs and music. the hazara gradually became more complicated and abundant. all this, as well as the arbitrariness of some clergy (in terms of singing), led to the distortion of a significant part of the spiritual songs. In order to save the existing from loss, a new notation system was created. With its help, Armenian traditionalist musicians recorded and preserved it from loss and preserved it in the future. poems, chronicles, liturgy and individual songs-poems, melodies - were saved from distortion:

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Komitas recorded thousands of songs (including spiritual ones) and conducted major scientific research. Thousands of handwritten books and fragments are stored in the Mashtots Matenadaran, More than 290 liturgical books, about 300 chronicles, 350 scrolls, dozens of books and treasuries, handwritten books and other ritual books preserve centuries-old Armenian church music. The same manuscripts are also kept in Jerusalem, Venice, Vienna and other manuscript repositories and by different people:

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Hazography

More than 290 liturgical books, about 300 chronicles, 350 scrolls with notches, dozens of folios and treasuries, handwritten books and other ritual records were carved using notches.The chronicles contain many musical works transmitted since the 5th century. XVI-XVIII centuries. the reading of the notches was gradually forgotten (although the songs continued to be transcribed, and since the 20th century they were printed), and in the 19th century. at first they gave way to a new Armenian notation:

Various specialists were engaged in deciphering the notches, but relatively brief works on notches were written by Robert Atayan ("Armenian notation of notches", Yerevan, 1959)..), Nikogos Tamizyan (articles in the issues of the journal "Bulletin of the Matenadaran"), Deciphering the notches is important from the point of view of studying not only Armenian, but also all Middle Eastern medieval music and early periods of pan-Christian church music.:

Goal

The purpose of the Chapel project is to promote, present, express, make accessible and recognizable comprehensive materials and works about Armenian medieval music. The roots of Armenian medieval sacred music go back to the pre-Christian period, and its ups and downs have reached us from the depths of millennia. Like the Armenian language, ancient Armenian music has penetrated into the church. And one of the goals of the Chapel is to establish the worthy place of Armenian sacred music in the large family of world culture.

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Ritual magazines, authors of the collection

The main ritual books of Armenian church music are the liturgical collection, prayer book, Chronicle. Later, more complex and ornate, luxurious melodies appeared, from which separate collections were compiled with the names "Tagaran", "treasury", "songbook". The most practical and extensive selection is the series. The series is divided according to holidays, rituals, and rules. The book lists the names of the authors of the hymns. The list of which hymns belong to which author is given. The authors of sharaknots: Sahak Partev-5th century, Mesrop Mashtots-5th century, Movses Khorenatsi-5th century, Stepanos Syunetsi-the first – 5th century, Ovan Mandakuni – 5th century, Komitas Agetsi - 7th century, Sahak Dzoraporetsi – 7th century, Ovan Odnetsi – 8th century, Stepanos Syunetsi II – 8th century, Petros Getadzor – 11th century, Grigor Magistros – 11th century, Hakob Sanakhnetsi – 11th century, Grigor Tsertendasser – 11th century, Deacon Hovhannes – 12th century, Nerses Shnorali-12th century, Nerses Lambronatsi – 12th century, Grigor Skevratsi-13th century, Vardan the Great – 13th century, Hakob Klaetsi-13th century, Hovhannes Pluz – 13th century, Kirakos Yerznkatsi-14th century.