Khaz the Old Armenian Notation
The nation of Armenia is riddled with mysteries. Khaz, an Armenian musical notation, is one of them. The Armenians have had their notational system since the beginning of time. Khaz is a type of neume that is used to transcribe Armenian religious music from the Middle Ages. Khazes and neumes are related in nature, but they differ in terms of form, meaning, and names. Each sign in khaz notation designates the ascending and descending directions of a melody as well as particular rhythmic and expressive aspects of the performance style.
Mono-vocal melodies and sharakans could be recorded thanks to the khaz system's indication of the voice's pitch, duration, strength, hue, ornamentation of the melodic line, and other elements.
Khaz notation was used from the eighth to the eighteenth centuries, initially only for religious songs but later also for folk music. Khaz notation, however, was difficult to use in practice for both writing down and reading melodies due to its abundance of unique symbols and conventional signs. As a result, in the 18th and 19th centuries, it was gradually forgotten before being completely forgotten. The first quarter of the 19th century saw the adoption of a brand-new, more approachable system in Armenian music.
At the beginning of the 20th century, scholars from Europe and Armenia began studying and transcribing khazes. Khazes were transcribed by musicologists who demonstrated that they originated from the original national musical culture. In this case, a great contribution was made by the Armenian composer and musicologist Komitas. He engaged in rigorous research, started studying Armenian folk and church melodies in great detail, and was very close to unlocking the mystery of khazes. Unfortunately, he could not complete his mission. The Arabic and Persian languages, as well as mathematics and other related sciences, are all necessary for an expert to fully unlock the secret of khaz notation, according to Komitas.
*Neume is a note or group of notes to be sung to a single syllable.
*Khaz is a music note used nowadays by the Armenian musicians.
*Sharakan is an Armenian chant, liturgical sacred songs used during Holy Mass of the Armenian Apostolic Church.
#khaz #komitas #Armenianmusic #music #Armenia #armenianapostolic
