The chief difficulty encountered today in the research of music of this period is the lack of written sources; a lack of which, in turn, is explained by the lack of adequate notational systems. The music of this period was essentially dependent upon oral tradition. First hand information on ancient Armenian music and musicians has been received from those fragments of folk music, which still preserve in them traces of the folk music of the distant past. The makers of that music were the Kousans (professional folk-singers and performers), Vibasans (writers of epic poetry), Tsaynargou (women mourners and singers), and Vartsags (womensingers and dancers). Their songs were usually pastoral, mournful, liturgical, hymnal, and epic in character. The instruments used were harps, lutes, oboes, and percussions, all of which indicated a greater refinement of the art of music. The music of the Kousans was monophonic, characterized by a strong sense of melody and rhythm.

The Spiritual Maturity of Armenian Music (1^st Century-8^th Century)

The music at this time was of two types--- spiritual and secular. Wisdom, literature, religious literature, tales, love lyrics, and epic poetry were but a few more of the genres used by musicians. The harp or lyre was a favorite accompaniment to the singing. Secular music was preferred in the palaces and by the aristocratic classes.

Because of the advances made by Christianity in Armenia, spiritual music blossomed quickly. The text and music of various hymns and chants were composed by St. Sahag and St. Mesrob, the two ecclesiastical giants of the fifth century. To some extent the hymns were based on the old tradition of music. The spiritual melodies were also monophonic. The Armenian Church first adopted the Jewish psalms as the basis of her texts, and then liturgical poetry was modeled after the psalms, i.e., hymns.

The eight century marked the beginning of a new era of Armenian literature, with Stephen of Sunik as the leading figure. The compilation of hymns and ecclesiastical chants was made possible by him. This work came to be known as the Sharagnots (Book of Hymns). To Stephen of Sunik is also attributed the development of a notation system (neumes), which, at the present, still remains undecipherable.

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