On melismaticity in the repertoire of Armenian sacred chants

This paper examines Armenian sacred melismatic chant from a variety of angles. Sources from different liturgical genres are first considered – neumated, and transcribed from the oral tradition into Western staff, or (aneumatic) Limōnčean, notation. (Sound recordings also constitute an important source, and will be considered in a separate paper in the next volume of SMCEO). Examples of melismatic chant of especial artistic merit and musicological interest are presented, and the influence of particular liturgical considerations on degree of melismaticity is discussed. There is evidence to suggest that, over time, particular chants may have increased but subsequently also decreased in their degree of melismaticity. Mechanisms are tentatively conjectured whereby melismatic elaboration may have taken place, and the role of the mediaeval neumes is considered. Neumations may be assessed in terms of the extent to which they may or may not be commensurate with the degree of melismaticity of the melodies, in terms of the metrical durations associated with particular syllables, and for the clues that they may give on the internal structure of long melismas and of overall structure taken over several stanzas. We superimpose melodies from different monastic and geographical centres and of various degrees of melismaticity, on neumations from several sources, in a bid to address some of the above questions.