Armenian Hymns
Grigor Gapasak’alean (fl. 18th century).
Grk’oyk’ or koč̣’i Nowagaran.
Istanbul: Mayr Tparan, 1794. (BRB0930)
This rare hymnal in Armenian was compiled by Grigor Gapasak’alean, a priest and musicologist at Constantinople who also wrote a treatise on traditional Armenian musical notation. Printed on paper with a light blue tint, this hymnal is decorated with thirteen full-page woodcut illustrations and numerous smaller headpieces and ornamental initials. The exhibited opening features a woodcut of King David, the traditional author of the Psalms, playing his harp.
