Very Good English Paperback. Front cover of first volume is missing. Folio. (33 x 24 cm). Title is bilingual in Turkish and Armenian. Musical scores in the Hamparsum notation system are entirely in Armenian. 5 volumes set: (776 p.). Sharak dzainagreal.= Kilisede okunacak ayini ruhani kitabi. 5 volumes set. First Edition. Only two copies located in OCLC: 43751078. "In the nineteenth century, Eghia (Yeghia) Tntesian (1834-1881) carried out extensive studies of Armenian khaz(es), comparing various oral musical traditions in different regions and deciphering text from various libraries throughout Armenia (Tntesian 1864, 1867, and 1874). His studies focused almost exclusively on the Armenian khaz system, questioning its origin and theoretical principles, meanings in terms of duration and intonation, sequences, and its relationship with the various genres of Armenian folk music in general. In summary, Tntesian argued that the prominent method by which these chants were passed was through the oral tradition. Additionally, he theorized that although the khaz(es) did not indicate steps of a scale, they created places for accentuation-the notation was only an aid to the oral tradition. Tntesian's comparative analysis on the origins of the khaz is illuminating, although there remains the critical question as to what extent the khaz(es) functioned musically. He theorizes that each sign denoted a specific duration, accentuation, and intonation. Links between the meter and text (khaz and prose) reveal themselves in his thorough discussion of musical phrases, Armenian grammars, and cadential motifs." (Source: Theory and Method in Historical Ethnomusicology, McCollum). It is the corpus of "spiritual ritual" music to be performed in the churches that Thtesian collected and compiled.
