Sayat Nova and Armenian ashoogh musical

179 Pages·2008·8.27 MB·English

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SAYAT NOVA
AND
ARMENIAN ASHOOGH MUSICAL TRADITION
by
HASMIG INJEJIKIAN
McGill University, Montreal
Facul ty of Music
A thesis su1:mitted to the Faculty of Graduate SLudies and Research in
partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
t-laster of Arts.
Hasmig Injejikian
March, 1990
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SAYNf NOVA AND ARMENIAN ASHcmtt MUSICAL TRADITIQN
On ne peut boire ainsi mon eau, tout d'une autre source a coulé;
On ne peut lire ainsi mes mots, tout d'un autre coeur ont roulé;
Hon sol, à moi, n'est point de sable, il est tout de pierres moulé;
Freine ce torrent qui ne veut tarir, tôt ne l'branle pas.
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Trad. Leon Hardirossian
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. ABSTRACT ........................................................ lli
2, INTRODUC"""I'rON ..................................................... iv
3. TRANSLI TE RAT ION KEY ............................................v iii
4. CHAPTER 1. ARMENIAN SECULAR MUSIC TRADITIONS ...................... 1
A. Vlbassan-Koosan Traditlon Arrnenian Hlstory
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B. The Ashoogh
5. CHAPTER 2. SAYAT NOVA: SOUkCES AND BlOORAPHY ..................... 17
A. Sources
B. Blography
6. CHAPTER 3. ASHUOGH POETIC FORMS .................................. 35
7. CHAPTER 4. ~ IN ARMENIAN MUSIC........ ....... . ............ 62
A. General System
B. Cnaracteristlcs of Armenian Tzayns
8. CHAPTER fi. ANALY~;IS OF SAYAT NOVA'S MErDDIES ..................... 90
A. ~ Analysls
B. Cadences
C. Intervals
D. Decoratlve Notes
E. Contrast and Balance
F. Ranges
G. Melodlc Contours
H. Form
1. Rhythm and Meter
9. CONCLUSION ...................................................... 134
10 . BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................................... 138
11. APPENDICES ...................................................... 143
12. CHARTS.............................. . .......................... 16~j
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ABSTRACf
The maIn obJecth-e of this thesis is to show that the thLrty
melodies ascribed to the ~.É.I:!.9.Qgl! Sa~at Nova are melodically and
rhythmically homogeneous, and that they bear similari ly ta bath
Armenian foH. and sacred rneh)(he~. SlJ1Ce very l1ttle has Lee". hTItten
on this topic in ~cldenl31 languages, .it has been necessary to prodde
( 1) a deseripti ve accolU1t of the anCIent Annenian music; narnely,
vi bas san , liç>o§'?J1, folk and sacred tl'adi tians; (2) a presentation of
ashoogh }X>eLtc füPIns, rhYIn1l1g schemes, and accentuation patterns, whieh
are summarized for the fi rst time in a chart Hl th corresponding sources i
( 3) a ehapter on Armelllan tzayns as a background to the melodic analysis
and codifIcations of Sayat ~oYa' s melodies, h'hich i8 contrary to the
accepted practlce of codIf~-ing these melodjes Hith Greek modal nrunes.
Professor Nl.goghos Tahrnizian' s analysis of Sayat ~ova melodies "'as
used as a starting JX>int. Furtherrnore, through anal;n,ls based prlmaril~­
on a\'ailable secondary sùurces, certa1l1 cone lus ions hm e been ùbtalned:
such as, the uni ty of rhythm/meter Hl th language conventiolls, presence
of speci fic melodlc patterns, cadential endlllgs, mter\'allic patterns and
ranges in Sayat Nova rnf>lCKlies, as c/mracterised by lndividual tzayTl
codifications. Further research ie; suggested to clari fy codifIcatlOn of
poetic forms, tzayn designations, and specifieally, tü solidif;\
accentuation C'onventions of the Arrnenjan language and of its dialects.
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INTRODUCTION
In 1977, a grant from the Secratary of State (named as "Canada-
USSR Universities ExC'hanse Prr:gram") enabled me to conduct research in
At~t~ mu~tCI tn Y~ravsn, 41~enia. During my studies l diacovered
that research ln tha koosao-ashoogh traditlon was limited to the poetic
of these poet-musicians, yet relatively little work has been
ou~put
done in the area of kQQsao-ashoogh music. The musical tradition, unlike
the uritten word, was collectee! and recorded from oral practice only Ü1
the early decades of this century. The few melod1es entered into
medieval manuscript:.; ([2agœ.r.ans) neumatic notatlOn are inaccessible,
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since the system of neumatic writing is not decipherable. Under these
conditions the A:menian koosao-ashoogh musical tradltion is treated
with reservation as to its authenticity.
·rhe Armenian Koosan-ashoQgh tradition with roots in the pre-
Christian Armenian musical culture, could not have survived if it only
relied on borrowed material. Over 400 names have been enumerated in the
Armenian tradition from 1560's to 1900. A considerable
~n-ashQQgb
number of them performed for the non-Armenlan public, as a result of
which their poetic output was rarely in Armenian. In short, thL koosan-
ashoogh drew upon both Armenian and non-Armenian poetic and musical
traditions.
Of the numerous Armen1an kQosao-ashooghs, the name and works of
Sayat Nova (Harootioon Sayatian) stand out not only in the sheer amount
of poetry (72 Armenian, 32 Georgian and 117 Azerbaijani poems), and the
number of melodies that have reached us orally, but also (as put by the
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Russian poet; Valerie Prussoy), becal:se Sayat Nova "brought ashoogh
poetry ta an unattalnable height" and "with the strength of his genius
turned the fall{ singer's tracte ta a poet's calling."
In arder to P'3tRbll sh a bacl{ground to the sub,}ect prE'sented in
this theSl">, a hrlef dCCI.JUnt of Armerdan koosal.l-ashQo..,gh tradItIOns is
ghen in Chapter ], within the context of :1l1nenlan muslcal histary. In
Chapter 2, Sayat ~ova' s biugraphy and various sourees of lus ''',n'ks and
SOllgs are presented along hTl th controverslal lssues conC'erning hIS 11 fe
and \"orl\S. Certain pot::'t lC forms alld con'vent 1')ns USM by AnnenHU1
~~.l!90.KI}s are df!SCr j hed ln Chapter 3. l hm e presf'nted the poet le form
codi ficatlolls gl\-en by my sources a long hl t.h those armotated by Sa~-at
Nova ln tabula1"' forrn.
The primaIT source matf'rial for my thP.bis is the 19G:l puhl h.'atiorl
of the melodies ascri bed to Sayat Nova, collected durulg the first th'O
decades of (hr~ t\o/entieLh ('t'ntur~ and t'dl ted by Shal'a DalIan and ~Iooshegh
Aghayan. Other sources arE' described lmder the sectlon ent! tied Sources
in Chaptf"r 2. Roman numel'als are usee! for meloches in order of their
appearanre in thi s publIcatIOn, Hhile poems (khaghs) are gi vell Arabie
numemls as they appear i Il thp- 198·l publ icatl on of the poet' R Armelllan
lillaghs.
Tl'adi tionally, At'menian lTlusicologists have used Armenian chul'ch
!-zaYl} (mode or piteh cOllflguratwnl codifications for sacrt~ melodies.
For kOQ~a.r:!.-a~ho~ me l oches , as h-t>ll as folk melodies, Grt:'ek rr.odal
names, Hhich ha\t> no di r~"'l beanllg upon the true character of these
c lTlelodies 1 havf' been emplo~"€'d ~ver SÜ1('t.=' the SO'"lt.:'tl zat i on of Armenia. PriOI'
to this pt"'r iod , Ciomidas, the ('minent Armenian lTlusicologist, had usE'Cl
d\\lrch tz~~]} l'Ixlifi"ali\llls for buth "élC'r· ..d tHld ..,PC'IÜ(l1' mplocllp<:.
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In an effort to achieve a unification and simplification in Armenian
tz.a.m designations, and with a des ire to show the kinship of Sayat Nova
melodies with Armenian melodies in general, l have attempt.ed to use the
existing Armenian ~n codlfications in rny analysis. l am well aware
that sorne of these meladies may not fit within the exact parameters of
these ~s, but l hope that in due tirne there will be an exercise of
recodification of al]. Arrnenian folk, kOQsan-asho~h and sacred meladies
and will pave the way for a comparative study of Armenian tzams and
Mi dd le Eastern magg,ulS.
To facilitate reference and comparison, songs in the same ~
are transposed to t.heir traditional yerchayorogh (principal or final)
note and present~j ln Appendix A. Sangs with deviations within the same
tza.m family are kept in Appendix A. DevIatlOns to other tzaw,s are
gathered under IIU.xed tzayns, ln Appendix B. Vanants of songs, prmted
or unpublished, which are from sources other than the 1963 publication,
are presen ted in Append ix C.
Translitel'atlOn of Armenian names and words is given followmg the
rules of Western Armenian practice, simply because this is the language
l am accustom,~ ta. The only name transcribed in its Russianized form
is that of Dr. Kevork Akhvertlan (Hakhverdian), which has traditlonally
been written jn this forrn. Names of places are given in the form used
tcday offically (for example, Tbilisl; TiflIS was the old name)
Transliterations of Armenian names ln foreign publications, are retained
in footnotes and in the bibliography.
It is an undeniabl'3 fact that without the grant awarded ta me by
the Secretary of State of Canada, l would not have had the means to study
Armenian music ln location. Despite numerous obstacles ruld red tape, l
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was fartLmate enough to get acce'"s ta certain unattainable material,
tram~cri be Sayat Nova' s nel-Tly recorded melexiies, :'ead a number of archi val
dOC'ument~ and attend varioLls performances gl\'en by llV1Ilg ashooghs. For
a11 this l am indepted ta my arlvisor, Nrs. ~largo AramOVlla Prooclian. l am
also grateful tn her in gUlding me to choost' my thesis tople.
l am most grateful to the Department of The01'y of ~lcGill CnÏ\erslty
and to Professor Paul Helmer in HL'Ceptillg m~T p~'opo'3al against aU odds.
l'Iy s incerp gra t i tude should he f:'xt f'nded t 0 my tI1PS i S fu.h l sor, Profe ssor
Stevpn Huebner, l.Jho t ook upnn th i s re~ pons i bi 11 ty "'e Il at.Jare (1 f the
difficulty of the task. His C'onsté1llt t'ncouragementb, tireless st~-hstic
revisions and mptbodolugi('al guidarK'p !)pcame the dri, lltg force in the
completiofl of this thesis. l am aIso greatly indepted tü Pl'ofessnr Hagop
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Hacikyan, Kho gave gelierou~ly of lus time to lIelp '"lth the editil.g of
my thesls.
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TRANSLITERATION KEY
4-
a arm, far
p eaper, l2en
k dark, kid
t tent, top
yel el ye yelll he.irl toy
z zebra
e heir, pen
term
~
t tent
j leis.ure
ee fe..et, mee!:.
1 life
kh as ln Germc:.n "aC"h"
dz ki~
g fog, goose
h bc.t, bat
tz mezzo, blltz
gh Parisian "r"
dj JOY
~a.r,
m man, mat
hl yel (or sllent) butl boy! sllent at end of word
n noon, no
sh shoe, sleep
01 vo mQrel lrlltlal yo as ln yolley
~ tch .church
~ b born, bet
ch churQ])
rr sucround, r.oyal
s s.ister, seat
v yalue, yolJey
d dld., deep
r r.8OO, rest
ts bllt,z
v arey, QQ after l, except ln
firai posltlon or when followed by a vowel
P eet, Qen
k park, kid
0 mQre, Qpera
f .~oot, french
The compound letters
00 mQQn, "v" when followed by a vowel
u pure, as ln German ü
Extracted from Zareh Melkùnian' s Armerllan Made ;:;asv, Vol. l (Detroit,
MlCh., The AGBU Cultural Fund, 1975)
vlli
CHAPTER 1
ABHENIAN SECULAR MUSIC TRADITIONS
A. Vibassan-Koosan Tradition in History
Ar~enian
The first pre-Christlan millenium saw the graduaI formation of the
Armenian nation within the orbit of other great cultures. Oorardoo
(ninth ta seventh century B C. ), the first Armenian Kingdom, was in
constant contact wlth the Assyrian-Babylonlan culture. After the fall
of Oorardoo, between 025 and 585 B.e., Armenians were ruled by the
Achaemenid Persians (sixth to fourth centuries B.e.), who continued to
influence Armenian culture even after Armenia had become a self-
governing kingdom under Klnjg Orontes (401-344 B.e.). Under the
Orontides (fourth century B.e.) an exposure to Hellenistic clvilization
on the one hand enriched the local culture, while on the other a strong
political authorit.y guarant.eecl the continuity of Armenia as a nation.
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An upr15ing agalnst the Orontides was led by two members of the
house of Artaxiads, Artaxlas and Zarladrls of Sophene. During the
subsequent rule of that house, the territories of the country were
expanded in aIl directions and the cultural and llnguistic heritage of
For detailed account of the formative perlod of Armenian people
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and their home land see, Charles Burney and David M. Lang, The Peoples
of the Bills (New York: Praeger Publishers, 1972), pp. 127-182. See also
David M. Lang, Armenla: Cradle of eiyilizatlon (London. George Allen
and Unwin Ltd., 1870) Interestlng data has been accumulated in
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archaeogical flndings, one of WhlCh lS an eighth century B.e. cuneiform
inscription by King Sargon Il of Assyrla, where Oorardian songs of
lamentations, mournlngs and of galety are mentloned. See, Nigoghos
Tahmzlan, Y~.TIÙSW.QQty'Q,[LDJlliQQ_ti.o~_JimJiIDr~aI1QQITj (Yerevan ASSR
ACad(~rny of ';r·].'n"t"'- l'ilh 1 . 1'1"'" r' : 1