Notes to Selected Choral Settings from the Divine Liturgy

Liturgical chants are listed alphabetically.  Time codes indicate the starting point on the given track.

Der voghormia (Chant of Supplication)

Disc Two / Track 8 / 00:57

Der voghormia ["Lord Have Mercy"] is not, strictly speaking, a part of the Divine Liturgy proper.  The text by the eighteenth-century Catholicos Simeon of Yerevan was published in 1772 in his Kirk aghotits vor gochi zposaran hokevor ["Prayer Book, also entitled Spiritual Refreshment"].  Catholicos Simeon was known for his educational reforms, as founder of the Etchmiadzin press and reviver of the Etchmiadzin school.  Der voghormia is sung during the ministration of Communion to the clergy, which takes place behind the closed altar drape and before the faithful receive Holy Communion.  In the Armenian Church, Communion is administered by intinction: steeping the bread in wine, in order to minister the consecrated elements of the Eucharist together.

Havadamk (The Nicene Creed)

Disc One / Track 6 / 00:00

Havadamk ["We Believe"], or the Creed, is a formal statement of the basic tenets of Christian faith.  The doctrine was formulated in a.d. 325 in Nicaea (now Iznik, known for its exquisite tiles made mostly by Armenian artisans) and finalized in 381 in Constantinople during the Ecumenical Councils convened there to address certain heretical issues.  The Armenian representative to the Nicene Council was St. Arisdages Bartev, the son of Catholicos St. Krikor Lousavorich [Gregory the Illuminator], the patron saint of Armenia.  In the Armenian Church, the faithful recite the Creed with their hands joined in front of their chests.  The chant is without melodic interest, so as to focus the reciter's attention on the text.

Hayr mer (The Lord's Prayer)

Disc Two / Track 6 / 04:46

Hayr mer ["Our Father"], also known as Derounagan aghotk ["The Lord's Prayer"], has a central role in Christian devotion.  In the Armenian tradition, all liturgical services begin and end with Hayr mer, introduced with the phrase "Blessed is our Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen."  The text of the Lord's Prayer--from St. Matthew's gospel (Mt 6:9‑13)--is divided into the address and seven petitions, the first three asking for the glorification of God, the latter four being requests for the essential physical and spiritual needs of human beings.

Khorhourt khorin (The Hymn of Vesting)

Disc One / Track 1 / 01:09

Khorhourt khorin ["O Mystery Deep"] is a hymn chanted during the vesting of the celebrant, whose entrance into the sanctuary culminates in the words "Takavor yergnavor" ["Heavanly king"] The acrostic text spells the name of the poet-musician Khachadour Daronetsi, who administered the Haghardzin monastery (near Dilijan) at the turn of the thirteenth century.  According to certain sources, Father Khachadour created it on the occasion of an open‑air liturgy organized at the request of Prince Zakaria, who commanded the army that freed Northeastern Armenia from the Seljuks in 1206.  After referring to the Creation, Original Sin, and Christ's salvation of mankind, Khorhourt khorin alludes to various parts of the clerical vestment--the belt, cuffs, stole, and cope--in a metaphorical context.  On special occasions, it is introduced through a highly florid solo melody.

Kohanamk (Song of Thanksgiving)

Disc Two / Track 9 / 06:14

Kohanamk ["We Give Thanks"], a song of thanksgiving, concludes the Holy Eucharist portion of the liturgy, as the celebrant consumes the remainder of the Sacrament.  It acknowledges the faithful's personal relationship with God, established through the Eucharistic celebration.

Krisdos badarakyal (Hymn of Communion)

Disc Two / Track 9 / 00:00

Krisdos badarakyal ["Christ Sacrificed Himself For Us"] is the anthem chanted before the ministration of Holy Communion, a sacrament given to those who have been absolved of sin by confessing.  The ancient practice of the church required Christians to confess their sins either openly before the congregation or, later, privately with a priest.  Private confession is still practiced by the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches, but the Armenian Church joins other traditions in practicing group confession.  Some members of the church undertake confession at regular intervals as a discipline, and others as a means of easing a conscience burdened with guilt for some specific offence, whether committed in thought, word or deed; willingly or unwillingly.

Krisdos i mech mer haydnetsav (Hymn of the Kiss of Peace)

Disc Two / Track 1 / 08:44

Krisdos i mech mer haydnetsav ["Christ Has Made Himself Known to Us"], also known as the Hymn of the Kiss of Peace, is chanted while a ceremonial embrace is exchanged by the members of the congregation.  The Kiss of Peace is a ritual gesture emphasizing Christian love and unity.  Originally an actual kiss, it is now a bow, to the left and to the right of the person being greeted, practiced now only in the Armenian Church.  Received from the priest, it is carried by the deacon to each member of the faithful, who salutes his or her immediate neighbor with the following exchange: "Krisdos i mech mer haydnetsav"; "Orhnyal eh haydnoutyounen Krisdosi" ["Christ is revealed among us"; "Blessed be the revelation of Christ"].

Marmin derounagan (Hymn of the Great Entrance)

Disc Two / Track 1 / 00:35

Marmin derounagan ["The Body of the Lord"], or the Hymn of the Great Entrance, marks the beginning of the Holy Eucharist portion of the Divine Liturgy.  The Great Entrance also alludes to Christ's entry into Jerusalem, where the cross became the altar of His sacrifice.  It is sung during a solemn procession in which the eucharistic bread and wine are carried to the altar.  According to Armenian custom, the bread (nshkhar in Armenian), which symbolizes Christ's body, is unleavened and prepared with unbleached wheat flour.  Round and flat, it is embossed with a cruciform design.  The red wine (kini), signifying Christ's blood, is pure and undiluted with water.

Sourp Asdvadz (The Trisagion)

Disc One / Track 4 / 00:17

Sourp Asdvadz ["Holy God"], or the Trisagion ("thrice holy" in Greek), is a glorification of God the Son who became incarnate as Jesus Christ.  When it is sung, the celebrant elevates the Holy Gospel with both arms to symbolize this adoration.  Sourp Asdvadz is chanted during the Synaxis, the portion of the service preceding the Holy Sacrifice, when people not fully initiated into Christian faith (i.e., not baptized) were, in earlier times, still allowed to be present in the sanctuary.  The first reference to Sourp Asdvadz is traced to the Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon in 451.  (The modern name for Chalcedon, a suburb of Istanbul, is Kadikoy.)  The version used in the Armenian Church, with the added text, "who was crucified for us," was devised by Peter the Fuller, the Patriarch of Antioch, in the late fifth century.  Sourp Asdvadz is sung with an alternate text on different feast days; the version given here is the one for Eastertide.

Sourp, sourp (The Anamnesis)

Disc Two / Track 3 / 00:00

Sourp, sourp ["Holy, Holy"] analogous to the Latin Sanctus, is sung during the Eucharistic Prayer, providing a climactic counterpoint to the celebrant's silent supplication.  At the conclusion of Sourp, sourp, while facing the altar, the celebrant raises high the offered bread and chalice full of wine and intones aloud "the words of institution" as recorded in St. Matthew's gospel: "Take, eat; this is my body, which is distributed for you and for many, for the expiation and remission of sins." "Drink ye all of this; this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for you and for many for the expiation and remission of sins" (Mt 26:26-28).

Yeghitsi (Psalm of Blessing)

Disc Two / Track 10 / 02:46

Yeghitsi ["Let it be"] is the Psalm of Blessing from the last portion of the Liturgy, as recorded in Psalm 113:2.  The celebrant takes the Gospel in his hands, bows down three times, kisses the altar, and together with the deacons comes down from the bema into the middle of the church to bless the congregation.  The liturgy ends with the Dismissal, as the celebrant sends forth the worshippers, now spiritually renewed and fulfilled.  It is customary for the faithful to receive mas (a soft, thin, baked dough) as they leave church.  This blessed unleavened bread may be consumed by those who did not receive Holy Communion, or may be taken home to loved ones.