Sacred Music Festival, 6th Concert. Armenian Chamber Choir: Sacred Chants

Mesrop Mashtots (361–440), the inventor of the Armenian alphabet and codifier of the religious canon, was also the author of numerous liturgical hymns, especially sharakan (sacred hymns of repentance) composed in Classical Armenian (grabar). About 129 sharakanq are attributed to him. The Four Chants of Repentance (with texts such asMeġay k’ez Tēr, Voġormea inj Astuac, Ankanim aṙaǰi k’o, Voġormea) embody a penitential and meditative function, characterized by simple, often recitative melodic lines that reflect the deep spiritual vocation of Armenian liturgy. Movses Khorenatsi (410–490), the father of Armenian historiography, also contributed to the tradition of sacred song. According to historical sources, he played a crucial role in enriching and disseminating Armenian hymnography in the 5th century, enhancing the epic-lyrical expressivity of melody and text in his native chants. Grigor Narekatsi (951–1003), a mystical figure and sacred poet, expressed in his Two Spiritual Hymns an intense devotional tension of deeply lyrical quality. Although no specific online sources exist for his hymns, his lyrical and mystical poetics are widely known in medieval Armenian theological literature. Nerses Shnorhali (1102–1173), Catholicos of the Armenian Church, reformed the sacred texts and musical form of the sharakan, bringing them closer to the sensibility of popular song and making them more melodically accessible. His compositions, here presented in two odes elaborated by Komitas Vardapet, testify to the continuity and reworking of the liturgical heritage, mediated through a modern sensibility that preserves its spiritual value. Komitas Vardapet (1869–1935) played a fundamental role in collecting, transcribing, and harmonizing Armenian folk and liturgical songs, creating a fusion between melodic archaism and early 20th-century choral sensibility. In his Five Sacred Chants, the essential melody of tradition is integrated with delicate and transparent harmonizations, opening the way to modern musical reception without betraying the original contemplative character. Alexander Goedicke (1877–1957), a Russian composer, made his debut in the sacred repertoire with his Three Sacred Chants for Male Choir, Op. 3 (1902), drawing on the modal elegance of the Russian Orthodox tradition and blending it with late-Romantic harmonies that heighten the solemnity and emotional depth of the male chorus. John Tavener (1944–2013), an Anglo-Orthodox composer, gained renown with Song for Athene(1993), on a text by Mother Thekla, written for the funeral of a friend and later made famous at the funeral of Princess Diana (1997). The work fuses drone and Byzantine intonations with layered choral textures, creating an aura of ascetic transparency and mystical suspension. Finally, Ola Gjeilo (b. 1978), a Norwegian composer with an international education (Norwegian Academy of Music, Juilliard, Royal College of Music), now based in New York, is among the most frequently performed contemporary choral composers worldwide. His Ubi Caritas, composed in 1999 (or 2007 depending on the publication), is an original setting of the famous Latin text (“Ubi caritas et amor…”). Inspired by the Gregorian chant tradition but not based on a pre-existing melody, it is entirely shaped by the composer’s aesthetic vision. Gjeilo’s writing creates a sound world grounded in rich harmonies and “cinematic” choral colors, capable of evoking immediate and enveloping emotional depth.

Federico Foglizzo