Մակար Եկմալեան
( 1856 - 1905 )

Twenty-eight years have passed since the publication of Volumes I and II of the Sacred Music of the Armenian Church by the Association of Armenian Church Choirs of America. The work had been fifteen years in the making; it included the original Ekmalian version of the Divine Liturgy and emcompassed the talent of the Great Vartabed Gomidas' student Vartan Sarxian in many of the arrangements of the variables and other hymns proper to feasts of the Armenian Church.
We owe a debt of gratitude to the former Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America, now Patriarch of Jerusalem, His Eminence Archbishop Torkom Manoogian, under whose supervision the 1966 edition had been published.
Mindful of the great wealth of liturgical music available to be sung during services of the Armenian Church, the Choir Association Central Council deemed it feasible to include in the revised edition, commissioned by its Annual Assembly, additional and alternative hymns, making for an expanded publication. Furthermore, occasional musical and textual errors have been corrected, using today's sophisticated computer technology. This enormous work will now remain in the permanent archives of the Choir Association for the benefit of future generations.
These long-awaited new volumes of the Sacred Music of the Armenian Church are the product of countless hours of hard work by an individual dedicated to a purpose for which we believe he was destined. Deacon Socrates Boyajian, Choir Director of St. Mary's Armenian Church of Washington, D.C., who holds a DMA degree (Doctor of Musical Arts) in music composition from the University of Maryland, 1986, devoted not only his valuable time but also his complete musical knowledge and computer expertise to this immense project. The Choir Association is deeply grateful to Dr. Boyajian for his total contribution. He has received the continuous support of the Central Council and my own encouragement every step of the way.
Sincere appreciation of the Central Council is extended also to the following persons who assisted Dr. Boyajian in his endeavors: Armenian proofreading by the Rev. Fr. Arten Ashjian; music proofreading by Deacon Michael Findikyan, Professor Khoren Meikhanedjian and organists of St. Mary's Armenian Church of Washington, D.C., Lucy Nalbandian and Boghos Zulikian; Armenian Ardashes font supplied by the Very Rev. Fr. Oshagan Gulgulian; English transliteration key as well as assistance in choosing computer hardware and software provided by Dr. Thomas Samuelian; cover design by Peter Mahakian.
We hereby express a special note of gratitude to our Primate, His Eminence Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, and to our Diocesan Chancellor, the Rev. Fr. Garabed Kochakian, for their continued encouragement, interest, input and support in bringing this project to fruition.

Mary Selvinazian, Chair AACCA CENTRAL COUNCIL New York, 1994

The revised edition of The Sacred Music of the Armenian Church is a work which I have eagerly anticipated. The reason is obvious: I simply love the music and poetry of the Armenian Divine Liturgy, and I enjoy being in its presence - whether that presence is an actual celebration, or a carefully and lovingly prepared manuscript. These two volumes ought to be welcome and durable companions to the many priests, deacons, choir members and parishioners who share my enthusiasm particularly for the sacred musical fruits of the Armenian Christian heritage.
These two volumes of The Sacred Music of the Armenian Church , produced during the remarkable rebirth of an independent Armenian homeland and Church will enable all the children of the Armenian Church both here in the United States as well as Armenia to sing out loudly and clearly of their devotion to God, and to demonstrate that faith in their daily lives through love, charity and sacrifice.
Naturally, the most powerful expression of our Christian faith resides in the ancient and sublime beauty of the Armenian Divine Liturgy. We frequently talk about the sacred music of the Armenian Church as part of our cultural and artistic heritage, but it is really so much more than that. The Liturgy conveys the very foundations of our faith: the story of Christ, our Orthodox theology, and our longing - as individual souls, as a people, and as a human beings - to be united with our Creator.
Unlike other religious traditions, the Armenian Church has never hidden her theology away in books which are accessible only to a specialized group of scholars. We sing our faith loudly and boldly during each Badarak, reaching out to young and old, rich and poor, male and female, educated and uneducated alike, drawing all of our people into the web of the community of the Church, and into communion with Christ. Ours is a living tradition, and it expresses its vitality through the voice of our choirs.
The Association of Armenian Church Choirs of America and its members have played a key role in preserving and transmitting this liturgical tradition; the present compilation of The Sacred Music of the Armenian Church is only the latest example of their many years of continued hard work and devoted service to the Armenian Church. It is very much a marriage of old and new: the poetry and music are, of course, ancient, and speak to the ages; but the scholarship and technology employed on this project make it an edition peculiarly suited to our time.
Producing this revised edition would have been impossible were it not for the devoted work of Dr. Socrates Boyajian, who as a true labor of love, took on this monumental project virtually alone. As with all works of this type, a great debt is owed to all those who came before: we stand on the shoulders of giants. Yet Dr. Boyajian's patient and meticulous work has lent additional stature to the final project. For this, our own and future generations shall be profoundly grateful.
Archbishop Khajag Barsamian
Primate
New York, 1994