Armenia: Soorp Badarak (Divine Liturgy)
The chief musical expression of the Armenian Apostolic Church is her Divine Liturgy. The Armenian Apostolic Church's Divine Liturgy is one of the oldest rites in all of Christendom. After the invention of the Armenian alphabet by Mesrop Mashtots[4]Koriun, a disciple of the latter, in his The Life of Mashtots, relates the history of the invention of the Armenian alphabet and the life of its author, S. Mesrop Mashtots. and the subsequent translation of the Bible, Armenian scholars began work at standardizing the Armenian Liturgy.[5]See A. S. Arevsatyan,"Mastocnery erazstakan kazmi aranjnhatkutyunnere." Lraber 1 (1985): 76-81; "JrorhnekI ev otnjvayi kanonnere Mastoc cisaranum." Ejmiacin 1 (1986): 40; "L'évolution littéraire et musicale du ritual arménien." Revue des Études Arméniennes 20 (1986/87): 153-66. Besides the word of God, there was the experience of it as lived by the whole and one body of Christ's Church through the various ways of Christian worship. The third and fourth centuries marked the spiritual growth of the Church through the emergence and expansion of Liturgies, feasts and other ceremonies. The Liturgies of St. James, St. Ignatius of Antioch, St. Athanasius, St. Gregory of Nazianzus, St. Basil the Great, St. John Chrysostom, and St. Cyril of Alexandria were translated into the Armenian language. The result was a harmonious combination of elements taken particularly from the Liturgies of St. Athanasius, St. Basil the Great and St. John Chrysostom.
The Armenian liturgy and its music comprise the Badarak (Mass), the sharagan (hymns) sung at the services of the hours, and sharagan sung for the sacraments such as baptism, matrimony and funerals (see McCollum 2004). The general function of music in the liturgy is to lend spiritual meaning to the text and continuity to the various parts of the services. In the Armenian Church, the word to designate the Divine Liturgy is Soorp Badarak, which means "Holy Sacrifice," in reference to the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ on the Calvary for the atonement of sins. Since 1177 A.D., the Armenian liturgy has not substantially changed.[6]See A. S. Arevsatyan,"Nerses of Lampron (Nerses Lamporonatzi) wrote his commentary on the liturgy in 1177.
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"Choir of Holy Etchmiadzin - Parekhosootyamp (Hymn of Censing)"
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Listening Note for "Parekhosootyamp (Hymn of Censing)" for more information about the Soorp Badarak
Kyrgyz kuus were passed along orally, but composers (as far back as the 19th century) are known by name.
