Greegor Narekatsi and Sebastian Bach

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Greegor Narekatsi and Sebastian Bach

By

Grigor Danielian (Daiel Yerajhist) Docent, Yereavn Komitas State Conservatory

 

 

Saint Greegor Narekatsi lived in the tenth century and is living now through his everlasting poetry and music, elegies, invaluable creations of literature, the poem "The Book of Lamentations," etc. Vardabed Greegor's art is enough to call the period of his lifetime 'a Golden Age.' It is a period when Armenia got rid of the Arab yoke and fell into the claws of Mongols and Seljuks. It was a period of prosperity for arts, handicrafts, trade and construction works. Along with "The Book" many churches were built, such as Haghpat and Sanahin, Ani Cathedral, constructed by Trdat, and The Gaghkashen Church. Whereas the inner conflicts were shaking Armenia. The Paulician sect together with dissatisfactions towards different social ranks found their reflection in the Tondrakites movement raised against the Church and the existing system. But the insurrections were oppressed everywhere after which the Paulician sect moved to Europe.

 

On this social background, very much like the European Reformation in the sixteenth century, an Armenian Renaissance or Rebirth took place in cultural life of the country. In his research "Following in Narekatsi's Footsteps" Samvel Poghossian writes, "On the way leading to Christian nationalization Luther's greatest deed was the translation of the Holy Book into German. In Armenian reality a similar deed was the creation of "The Book of Lamentations" by Narekatsi." (Tbilissi, 1987, page 31) As it often happens with lives of the geniuses Vardabed Greegor was given no peace to work freely in the monastery because of the persecution. Greegor's father, the Bishop of Antsevatsik Khosrow Antsevatsi, took the initiative for reforms. He refused to accept their extremistic views, such as the rejection of the God and Church. He called for simplification of the Church and suggested that an end should be put to arbitrary actions. And, strange as it may, the bishop and his son Gregory were accused of being in Tondrakites sect and in Chalcedonism which distorted the harmony of Holy Trinity and other sacred beliefs. In the year of 987 Narekatsi was called to Ani. He presented to the court his work " Boundaries of Belief," a reflection of Nikio's (325) ecumenical council's theological doctrines and was justified.

 

According to reliable sources S. Poghossian assures that later Narekatsi implemented "Boundaries of Belief " in " The Book", in Songs 34, 75, 92, 93. Armenian people worshipped Narekatsi; by reading "The Book" they cured of illness and those who couldn't read just put it under their pillows and recovered by getting inspiration out of it. The legend goes that when a few people came to summon Narekatsi to court, he fried pigeons for the guests but when one of them told that it as Friday and a fast therefore, he enlivened the birds and flew them. Vardabed saved himself from the court and was liberated. We don't know for sure if this is true or not, but when you read "The Book" it seems to you that you have like those pigeons and

 

Here I am a hopeless failure again

 

Standing in the light of brightly outlined faith;

 

I am the wretched one who will win;

 

The wondering one who will be converted;

 

The most miserable one who desires for hope;

 

The one convicted to death but I will be back to life. /11,3/

 

 

According to Sergey Averintsev, as contrasted to romantic poetry where the author's inner "I" is unique and self-isolated, Narekatsi speaks on behalf of all people, he prays for us all. The reader's "I" becomes homogeneous and fuses with the author's "I." By the way, this homogeneity is the monopoly of musical art, where there are no partitions between the Author's, the Performer's and the Listener's "I's," they are all one unit. Narekatsi's sins are not only his own they belong to the whole humanity and are as old as Adam.

 

I sang lamentations disposed in this new book of mine;

 

It is a part of all my sorrows and knows of all my sufferings;

 

It ridicules all the passions of humanity in its own way;

 

Of all the mortals on Earth and the people of all ages

 

And of all the Christians spread all over the world.

 

So, every reader views those sins as his own ones and together with the author suffers and repents. "Catharsis"(Aristotle) takes place, which is the same as confession in for our Church. The confessor doesn't tell about his sins but after listening to the priest reading the whole list of sins, repeats after him from time to time, "I have sinned. Lord, have mercy upon me." Narekatsi's thinks that a man does not have the old harmonious and "naive" personality as he used to, without any reflection and self-analysis. Instead, this is a tragic man with his eyes looking into the abyss of spirit. He is sinful, forsaken from heaven, divided into two because of the struggle between body and spirit, celestial and terrestrial, immortal and transitive. And like the Prodigal son he desires to rid himself of his sins and reunite with the Creator. But if one wants to be worthy of God's Kingdom he should suffer together with Christ's Crucifixion. Narekatsi plagues his person so much that the polarization of the celestial and terrestrial becomes a so-called "critical mass" like in an atomic explosion and separates the poet's core. A chain reaction takes place, after which there bursts forth a bonfire of words and images. "The current of Narekatsi's words catches your breath," Averintsev admits. But 'the Niagara' of words and images that falls into the sea of silence, shocks you not only with the contrasting word chain but also with its mere expressiveness, i.e., and intonation. Intonation is known to be the field of music. Every word and image multiply with its synonyms through progression. It becomes bigger like a snowball; its influence grows stronger.

 

Gracious glory to thee and reproach to me;

 

Sweet memories to thee and wrath acetified to me;

 

Praise to thee and tears and moans to me;

 

Honorable benediction to thee and an open denial to me…/20.1/

 

Doesn't this remind us of Bach's sequentials (similar occurrences made of different sounds), which form chains, accumulate great energy and tension? Some of vivid examples are the re-minor "Toccata and Fugue" for organ, "Chackona' for violin, Recitative 30 of "Iowan passion", where the preacher laments because of Barabbas', the murderer's release and Jesus' whipping. The parallel with Bach is not by chance.

 

The geniuses are often compared with each other or with natural phenomena. For example, Beethoven is compared with Shakespear, Mozart with Raphael, Syoren Kyorgeri with Socrates, Khachatrian with Rubens, etc. Parour Sevak compared Narekatsi with the horizon. Narekatsi is compared with Dante, Shakespeare, Gyothe, and Dostoyevski and with other great people. Bach's works particularly for organ reminds us of the Gothic cathedrals. Averintsev compares "The Book" with Zvartnots Cathedral. "Unquiet like Bach's corals,"such an impression got the Lithuanian poet Mejelaytis from "Narek." Here is Balker poet, Kaysin Kouliev's, opinion, "The songs of Narekatsi's masterpiece sound so strong, powerful and serious even in translation that it makes you compare him with Bach's works." Thomas Eliot writes, " All the existing monuments of art make up one system… I do not view the literature, be it international, European or of any other country, as a collection of works of different authors', but rather as 'organic elements or systems' for which (and only for them) the works of those authors are of some value. The issues on mutual heritage bring all the artists together, but only the real artists of all times. (T.Eliot, "The Dead Country", pp. 115-116, Apollon, 1991)

 

What can be in common between an Armenian poet of tenth century and German organ-player of seventeenth-eighteenth centuries? The mission in art for both Narekatsi and Bach is the same. The only truthful music according to Bach is the spiritual music, which serves to the God's glory and for the man's spiritual salvation. And the way to this salvation goes through Calvary, through Jesus' sufferings till his resurrection. All this is embodied in the following lines of "The Lamentations":

 

Let thee meet the gloomy souls groping in the dark unradiant

 

With thy merciful light; And thou wilt cure, expiate and vivificate them,

 

With thy everlasting force, Glory thee forever and ever. Amen.

 

The East and West come together in V. Conen's following observation: "In its early Medieval stages (and in some way in the period of Renaissance) European professional music borrowed some phenomena that was imported from the East. The Gregorian Music, which is the cradle of Catholic Divine Service and at the same time, the foundation for the present European professional music has developed under the direct influence of Armenian Liturgy ("Sovetskaya Musica", issue 10, 1971). Professors G. Khubov and T. Livanova agree with Conen and are reflected in Academic N. Marr's famous Parisian lecture where it is particularly said, "There aren't any neighboring or even far away countries which did not make use of the virtues of Armenian culture coming from its novelists' and minstrels' songs. ("The Armenian Culture", page 2, 1989). Albert Shvaytsner welcomes the mentioned scientists by saying, "Like nations, spiritual melodies are not born all by themselves, they are brought from other countries ("Bach", page 15, Moscow 1964). Did the first Christian State of Armenia, whose preachers and refugees went all other the world spreading the light coming from Gospel and building churches, have any contribution in 'those other countries' cultural heritage? The Roman Church has classified about twenty Armenians as saints, such as, Fidentius and Chrisolius, second century (G. Karagyozian, "Armenian and Armenians in French Literature, 11-14th centuries," page 14, Yerevan 1988). We have his research in Latin, where the author calls himself 'the flower of Armenia,' 'the glory of France' and 'the ornament of Gandia.' This refers to Bishop Macar who was almost Narekatsi's contemporary (S. Abrahamian, "Brief Outline of Armenian Colonies/Settlements", page 403, Yerevan 6). Another saint Srvas, 5th century, was the founder of Christianity in Holland. Perhaps, these and many other scholars have had and influence on Roman Spiritual singing.

 

Bach's works are mostly based on Protestant corals but we also come across some samples of Gregorian ones, for example, "Ein feste Burg." It is a great responsibility to insist that in the depths of Bach's music it is possible to find some trace of "an Armenian gene". History has faced more unexpected facts. According to Shvaytser's evidence, Jan Kalvin has laughed only once in his lifetime when he heard a giddy French song in the Church, seasoned with Biblical words. A marvelous song, "Cilicia", is still sung in the Antelias Church, which according to Komitas is a Norse song. N. Rousinian, the translator of the song, has replaced the word "Norse" with the word "Cilicia". There are wonderful borrowings, which are of Latin and Hebraic origin. Maybe Kalvin would have laughed the second time if he heard the words "lab"/lip/, "naphas"/breath/ and some others in one of the remotest villages of Armenia.

 

Nevertheless, if we try to look for some Easter shadings in Bach's works, first, will have to study his monological melodies for organ and other concerts which vaguely remind the heavy canticles sung in churches. Coming back to the parallel between Narekatsi and Bach it is worth while to mention that they had 'drunk' from the same spring, prayed to the same God with the same eagerness, but in different languages. "The Book" is as much a musical piece as it is a piece of poetry that is sung in verses amd not only in the Church. Music and Poetry are 'life vessels ' of Narekatsi's heart. According to the Armenian Encyclopedia in the history of literature "Narekatsi was first one who widely used alliteration for the melody of the verse.( V.3, page 219, Yerevan 1977) Narekatsi himself considers the song-lamentations coming out of his heart to be songs. This is the 'music of his mind'(S. Avaerintsev).

 

…It is true that these are comedy melodies

 

Of that wandering harpist harlot, by her thrashing her breast ruefully

 

Reminds of heart-rending and pitiful laments… /39/

 

And now all my innumerable sins

 

I have changed into pitiful songs.

 

An unseen strong/acrid hearth

 

Is inflaming in me unquenchably.

 

According to Giothe the source for music is the fire of spirit and there is need to freeze the hearts in order to obtain spiritual peace which is necessary to shape the songs that have burst from the heart. Nietzsche wrote that maybe the musical spirit and Dionysius feasts were the cradle of he Greek tragedy. In this sense the story of King Croesus' deaf son is very characteristic. When he saw the sword shining over his father's head he suddenly found his tongue again and cried out, "Take away your sword, don't you see that he is the king." The reverse process is also very often met in "The Book." When the torrent of words becomes heated and gives birth to music. The composition , shape and structure of Narekatsi's mind and his writing style resembles the polyphonic music and its inexhaustible principle. Lev Ozerov notes that the flow of words typical for "The Book", the principles of repetition and variation are typical for the epos the Bible and Bach's art. In magnificent and complex works there are different structural forms, for example, in symphonies. The opposition and clash of two different ideologies or themes has reached its dialectical perfection in Beethoven's symphonies(in sonata allegro format). We see the best samples of the development of two opposite themes performed together in Bach's "The Art of Fugue", in Mozart's "Requiem", in double fugue "Kurie elesion." The contrast between the Creator and the Man, celestial and terrestrial is a 'symphonic' phenomenon in Narekatsi's "Book". Whereas the principle of 'polyphonic' variation the is giving new 'clothings' to the same process. Like in passakalias and chakkonas, the chapters in "The Book" are grouped together and then the whole structure is divided into three sections:

 

I II III

1-21 22-71 72-95

 

Like Bach's chakkona for the violin with its re-major section, illuminating variations 17-26, "The Book" also has its center. The capital of "The Book" is Song 34, which presents the interpretation of the Creed announced at Nikio's Universal Council.

 

At the beginning of the poem the two main themes are outlined. These are: the sinful and repentant man and the lenient God. At the beginning of the second elegy the Man is presented as an awful barbarian , treacherous, hopeless and leprous… The second song is contrasted to this devoted to the God's majesty who pities his own creation, cures and forgives him. At the beginning of the third song, after proving the God's theme, in Songs 2,3 and 4 Narekatsi puts in a word for all mortals and asks the God to bless "The Book" which will be a mediation and remedy for all the discouraged and depressed. From Song 4 and on the main 'variations' start that are the steps leading to Heaven. With the help of those people who are always renewed and enlightened by Holy Ghost can go up to the God.

 

Dissipate from my mind the gloomy fog of forgetfulness,

 

And break it away along with the darkness of sin

 

So that I can rid myself, my mind and thoughts of earthly life

 

And rise up to Heaven.

 

The fact that "The Book" is composed on the principle of variations is noted by Narekatsi himself:

 

I shall repeat the list of rebukes for my reproached self here

 

In the same way and for the same scenes

 

By making them more and more complex.

 

In Song 26 we read:

 

I have chosen another way of lamentations for me

 

And with this same words changed them into painful weep.

 

In Song 25:

 

Thus, I will have to change the mood of my words now

 

But not the bewail of my tragedies.

 

Thus the theme remains unchanged but the view-point is altered, the composition becomes complex, edges for new themes are revealed. What does create the illusion of the alliteration in "The Book?" The words 'counterpoint' which is a synonym to the word 'polyphony, means "a point against a point'. In a general sense it means voice against voice, melody against melody, in other words it is the ambivalence of independent image units and contrasting elements. This is the manner and the source of dynamics of composition of the whole poem.

 

Don't argue with me so strictly As thee are great and I am small,

 

As thee are the light and I am the shadow,

 

And thy nature is kind and mine is wicked.

 

In some elegies of the book that which belongs to God and to humans are separate and composed far from each other. In this and in other cases the space between the light and darkness, consecrated bread and clay, i.e., between the God and the Man shortens, the gravitation strengthens, like magnets coming closer. The flow of words becomes quicker and more frequent. In such cases of fraction and density of the composition when gravitation reaches its culmination, the sinner's pleas are heard from precipice spreading to the stars.

 

As for the second principle of the polyphony, the principle of overflow, makes the poem look like a river with innumerous springs. Let's take the following from its ardent currents:

 

So who did trespass and did not repent?

 

Who was spoiled and wasn't ashamed?

 

Who became disgusting and did not venerate? /29/

 

And until the line " who did not fade like a flower of love" Narekatsi aska forty-five question. In Song 8 the number of self-whippings become twenty-two.The culmination of the poem Song 71 contains eighty ambivalent circles chained together(like in sequential) only in the second song:

 

I am dozing but I am awake,

 

I am sleepy but I am sober,

 

I am seduced in my piety.

 

With this polyphonic means Narekatsi paints his self-portrait:

 

The face is laughing and the eyes are in tears,

 

Two different appearances on his face Sad and angry;

 

Two different languages in his mouth,

 

With two different feelings in his heart:

 

One for doubtful hope, the other for truthful ruin;

 

Two suns in two different sides:

 

One for darkness and the other for fire. /30/

 

We can come across the couter-images as a means of expressiveness in different cultures and centuries, for example, in David psalm. There is a very good expression in Ancient Roman poet Katillosse' works, "Oki et amo", that means "I both love and hate."A German poet of 17th century has written:

 

A man's heart has two windows:

 

One for God and the other for Demon.

 

It seems that the words taken from 18-19th cc poet Derjavin are from "Narek":

 

My body is earthen and week;

 

But I am hurling thunderbolts in my mind;

 

I am a King, a Slave, a Worm and the God.

 

The same principle is true for Alfred Shnitkey's magnificent concert for the choir, based on the words taken from Elegy 3 of "The Book." Ambivalence has reached its culmination in Bach's art, due not only to his talent, but also to the fact that it is the essence and monopoly of the polyphony. In fact, if in life or in the theatre it is a nonsense to listen to several people talking simultaneously, in Bach's fugues the junction of several voices is a great achievement of a creative mind.

 

So, why aren't these or other artists put together with Narekatsi? Why do they remember about Bach every time they mention the organ? The answers are simple; Bach as well as well Narekatsi are unsurpassed. The two great men are also close to each through their rhetoric power:

 

Let not there appear thorns of sin in my sacred heart,

 

Do not cut the strong union of love with you;

 

Do not refuse to praise me for my rhetoric;

 

Do not lessen the virtue of my right hand;

 

So that I could share the parts of your light;

 

Do not spring the flower of sin and do not let thee to yield fruit;

 

Do not set in front of me the list of my debts.

 

By the way 'the flower of sin' reminds of Bodler's "Flowers of Evil", but this is by the way. The line about the rhetoric is more important here. It shows Narekatsi's, the speaker of speakers, attitude towards the rhetoric art. This has had great influence on Bach's art, "In the first half of 18th century there was a development of rhetoric art in musical. This brought forth such samples of rhetoric as Bach's works. On the other hand music becomes more independent of the elements of rhetoric(O. Zakharova, "Rhetoric and East European Music in the First of Half of 17-18th cc.", page 19, Moscow, 1983). According to Dr. M. Drounski, Bach mastered the art of rhetoric exceptionally well and as a young boy accompanied priests' preaching with his organ ("Bach's Passions", page 21, Leningrad 1972).

 

This is not the complete list of similarities between Bach and Narekatsi. The conception of figures, the clairvoyance, the cryptography which leads us to the Bible, are also reflected in their art. For example, to the 10th musical rule of mystery Bach has addressed the following words"Search for and you will find." The clairvoyance and cryptography contribute to spiritual splendor and proves that the world that we see does is not over with only the Great Creation. Multi-meaningful and 'multi-tone' art keeps you awake, so that people do not look like the foolish virgins from Gospel: (White as sun/unison/there is a rainbow in light/multiton/). The first five sounds of Fridrich the Great's topic symbolize the Fifty-five wounds of Christ. Created out of this royal topic the Trio of "Richerkar" in " The Offering" points to the Holy Trinity. The topic of "The Art of Fugue" also looks like a royal topic with its first five sounds. Bach was so engrossed in cryptography that even the word 'richerkar'(meaning: to look for) had turned to acrostics. According to the German alphabet the digital value of Bach's name is 14. Based on this the musical critic Maykapar concludes that the invention of trio fa-minor belongs to Bach, repenting in front of the Lord's throne. The thing is that invention is based on three topics. There are 14 sounds in one, i.e., this "Bach", 11 in the second, which is opposite to the first. According to Saint Ogostinius this is the symbol of trespassing against the Ten Commandments. The sounds of the third topic outline a cross. There are a lot of examples of this in the book. In his book "Medieval analysis of Narek" P. Khachatrian puts forward a series of questions which he wants to decode/intereperet. (Yerevan 1990)

 

I am truly wicked that by renouncing my debts

 

I have to answer for them to the God Almighty;

 

For two endless and mystical decades.

 

Narekatsi regards himself ungreateful since instead of increasing the virtues of gift given by God he had wasted all he had . Here he alludes to the fable from Gospel about muliplying what you have ten times more to those you already have.

 

And the other made the uncultivated land, the place of his stomach

 

More prosperous with his seven sons:

 

An infinite number that is the symbol of Divine immortality.

 

Bach was very proud of his name, because its every sound corresponds to some musical symbol; B/si-flat/, A/la/ , C/do/, H/si/.

 

He has used this subject based on figures in his number 6 "English Suite", in Jiga, "Art of Fugue", in Fugue 15, etc. this resembles the acrostics widely spread in Medieval poetry. For instance, in Narekatsi's and verses we come across such linking expression as "Greegor's treasure "Greegor's song", and the like. If in poetry acrostics is more for the eye and mind than rather for the heart, in music it is a powerful means of expression. The 'sunset' of "The Art of Fugue", is stunning. The accepted subject is performed for the last time. All of a sudden the subject of Bach intrudes that after running into the principal peak, sparkles and sounds like a "a voice in a desert." In his draft Bach's son Philip Emmanuel wrote, " While working at the fugue, the moment when the composer was trying to introduce the counter-subject of "B.A.C.H.' he passed away." The fugue remains unfinished but it goes on in our hearts. The voice of the great precursor/master remains incomplete and unsound too. Beethoven called Bach's well tempered harpsichord "Bible for Music" and Bach he called a sea. Narekatsi's "Book" is called the Fifth Gospel and his poetry sounds like a sea. Bach's polyphonic art looks like M. Luther's crystallized corals, Hasler's, Isaak's, Vivaldi's and others melodies. All these gain an everlasting life interwoven together. In Narekatsi's polyphony we can hear Mattew's , John's, Danthe's, Solomon's, Daniel's and others prophetic voices. No matter how hopeless his tone is at the end of each elegy, Narekatsi is full of optimism and glorifies the God for his power, valor and love for humanity. This is close to the endings of Bach's corals, fugues and other works that illuminate with life, comfort, light and power. It is obvious that the major ending is more perfect from the point of view of harmony. The progression from minor to major is more essential like the display of the ideology from "darkness to light". After bearing all those sufferings Narekatsi doesn't lose hope and reassures the whole humanity:

 

We can be even the God with all its excellent virtues

 

And join with the Creator , and by tasting his Godily body;

 

Mingle with his Holy light.

 

Today the evil, falsehood and forgery are plaguing like in the past. The need of getting rid of all this is obvious in such cases. The words dedicated to Narekatsi's repenting "Book" concerns Bach at the same time:

 

Let's overcome the evil with your song

 

And with eliminating it strongly.

 

So take all our sins

 

By your sweet music.

 

http://www.aua.am/aua/extens/Lectures/NarekBach.htm

 

[This message has been edited by MJ (edited January 21, 2001).]