Khaz old Armenian notation

Armenia is a country with many mysteries. One of them is Armenian music notation, khaz. Since ancient times, the Armenians had their system of notation. Khaz is a type of neume used to transcribe medieval religious Armenian music.

Although khazes are similar to neumes by their nature, they are independent by their form, meaning, and names. Each sign in khaz notation denotes ascending and descending directions of a melody, as well as rhythmic and expressive details in the performance style.

The khaz system made it possible to put down mono-vocal melodies and sharakans, as they indicated the voice pitch, its duration, the strength of the voice, hue, the ornamentation of the melodic line, and other elements.

Khaz notation was used from the 8th up to the 18th centuries – in the beginning, only for religious songs, but later on also for folk music. However, as it contained a great amount of different symbols and conventional signs, khaz notation was difficult to use on a practical basis, in respect of putting down the melody and reading it.

This is why it was gradually put out of use, and in the 18th-19th century, it was completely forgotten. Starting at the beginning of the first quarter of the 19th century, a new, simpler, and easier-to-use system was introduced in Armenian music.

At the beginning of the 20th century, European and Armenian scientists began the research and transcription of khazes. Musicologists who worked on the transcription of khazes proved that khazes arose based on the original national musical culture. In this case, a great contribution was made by the Armenian composer and musicologist Komitas.

He carried out serious research work, began to thoroughly study the Armenian folk and church melodies, and was very close to deciphering the secret of khazes. Unfortunately, he could not complete his mission. According to Komitas, to fully reveal the secret of khaz notation, an expert must know Arab, and Persian languages, as well as mathematics and other related sciences.

By Nouné Yeranosian

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