Liturgical Hymns
Sharakans (literally “series of gems”) are the poetic hymns that are chanted in the Armenian Church. The musical canon dates from the earliest period of the Armenian Church and was most probably in place by the sixth century. It was not until the tenth century, however, that an Armenian system of musical notations called “khaz” seems to have developed. Composed by many of the renowned names in the Church’s history, such as the saints Grigor Narekats‘i (Gregory of Narek), Nersēs Lambronats‘i (Nerses of Lambron), and especially Nersēs Shnorahali (Nerses the Graceful), the composition of sharakans appears to have ceased after the thirteenth century. The Library’s Near East Section has recently acquired through donation this fourteenth- or fifteenth-century illuminated manuscript sharaknots‘, which is based on a fourteenth-century edition from the Cilician Kingdom of Armenia.
<em>Sharakans</em> (literally “series of gems”) are the poetic hymns that are chanted in the Armenian Church. The musical canon dates from the earliest period of the Armenian Church and was most probably in place by the sixth century. It was not until the tenth century, however, that an Armenian system of musical notations called “<em>khaz</em>” seems to have developed. Composed by many of the renowned names in the Church’s history, such as the saints Grigor Narekats‘i (Gregory of Narek), Nersēs Lambronats‘i (Nerses of Lambron), and especially Nersēs Shnorahali (Nerses the Graceful), the composition of <em>sharakans</em> appears to have ceased after the thirteenth century. The Library’s Near East Section has recently acquired through donation this fourteenth- or fifteenth-century illuminated manuscript <em>sharaknots<span>‘</span></em>, which is based on a fourteenth-century edition from the Cilician Kingdom of Armenia.