Armenian sacred music is one of the most ancient branches of Christian culture. Armenia’s church singing tradition took shape on the basis of its ancient music culture which has been in existence for more than three millenniums. So, the initial branches of the ancient Armenian music – peasant, goosan (music of national singers and poets) and cult (heathen), as well as its monodical (one-voice) rhyme were formed back in the 3rd century BC, during a period when a single-language state was in the making. With adoption of Christianity in the year 301, creation of the Armenian written language, and translation of the bible into the Armenian language (the 5th century), the foundation for development of the Armenian Christian church music became available.
The very first sharakans (sacred hymns) were composed by St. Mesrop Mashtots (the creator of the Armenian written language) and St. Sahak Partev (Mashtots’ associate, a supreme patriarch, scholar and translator. The term sharakan originates from an Armenian word shark which stands for a number or succession, and means a sacred song canonized by the church and include in a series of hymns collected in Sharaknotse (Gimnaria) in course of time. These numbers of sacred hymns traditionally included pieces of three genres – ktsurd (troparion), katsurd (kontakion), and canon. Katsurd (kontakion) began to develop in the Armenian sacred arts in late 6th century. The hymn ‘The Souls Who Dedicated Themselves’ by Catholicos Komitas Akhtsetsi is one of the outstanding and highly artistic katsurds of the 7th century. Beingfully based on the national tradition and distinguished with special melodiousness, this piece by Komitas raised the art of Armenian sacred songwriting to a new level and facilitated its further development.
Catholicos Nerses Shnorali (12th century) was one of the prominent and most esteemed writers of sacred hymns. His works enriched both the poetic and musical language of the Armenian sacred hymnody. Thanks to him, rhyme became finally firmly established in Armenian poetry. Composer, a laureate of the State Prize of Armenia (2009), Yervand Vaganovich Yerkanian was born on 5 November, 1951, in Leninakan. In 1975, he graduated from the Yerevan Conservatory. Yerkanian is one of the most known and distinctive representatives of contemporary Armenian music. He is an author of numerous works created in various genres – operas, ballets, symphony, chamber and vocal compositions. Historical themes have always been the basis of the composer’s work. In 1987, Yerkanian became an artistic director and conductor of the instrumental ensemble Tagaran. Since then, the ensemble’s repertoire was promptly filled with wonderful renditions of sacred hymns, and very soon after that the ensemble’s name got a world-wide recognition. All renditions and arrangements of the compositions on this album have been done by Yervand Yerkanian.
Tagaran, Ensemble of Ancient Music of Armenia. Artistic director – Yervand Yerkanian.
Soloists: Greta Antonian, Ruben Telunts, Grachia Niksalian, Vardeni Davian, Ovsanna Nalbandian
