  
Komitas began Divine Liturgy as early as 1892 and worked on it extensively in
Constantinople between 1911-1915. After 1915, he was unable to complete and
publish the work. What was discovered in the Armenian Patriarchate of
Constantinople after the Genocide were some completed excerpts, notes and
detailed corrections in European and Armenian musical notation.
The score of Divine Liturgy was published in Paris in 1933. In the foreword,
Vardan Sargsian, himself a student of Komitas in Constantinople, indicates that
17 pages of the manuscript were completed by Komitas. In reconstructing the
rest, Sargsian indicates that he relied on the extensive notes and corrections
which Komitas left behind and on memorized parts from rehearsals of the choir.
While Divine Liturgy, which is sung in Etchmiadzin and elsewhere in Armenia,
is faithful to the contents of the Sargsian score, alterations have been made in
the sequence of the 83 excerpts. The present recording adheres to the
sequence adopted by the Armenian Apostolic Church. For this concert
recordings the sections of the celebrant have been omitted.
This first digital recording of Divine Liturgy was made in Yerevan, Armenia, in
1988.
Performed by The Choir of St. Gayane.
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