We present a critical evaluation of the monumental hymnal transcribed by Fr. Léonce Dayan (Łewond Tayean), placing it in appropriate contexts of time and milieu in the light of our own most recent research.

First, we investigate the possible sources of the melodies and possible chains of transmission. A small number of particularly melismatic variants have been ascribed to Hambarjum Limōnčean and are not otherwise attested. We com­­­pare Dayan’s transcription of the stełi hymn Ekayk‘ hawatac‘ealk‘ with his own copy of Pietro Bianchini’s MS, and with a skeletal melody in an early Con­stantinopolitan version in Limōnčean’s system.

We also compare Dayan’s me­lodies with their counterparts found at the end of Bianchini’s 1877 Missal pub­li­ca­tion. We further compare versions of the Cantemus incipits, notated by Bian­chini at different times and later by Dayan (whose versions were considered lost until now). There are fundamental simi­la­ri­ties; any differences can be attributed (a) to the evolution in time of a vital tra­di­­tions, as also to Bianchini’s and Da­yan’s rather distinct styles of transcription and underlying musicological un­der­pinnings, and (b) to a process of filtration through a process of selection from a plurality of co-existing pa­ral­lel melodies.

We further compare Dayan’s trans­crip­tions with a recording sung by Fr. Vrt‘anēs Uluhočean and with current oral practice, and also contrast them with counterparts from other Armenian tra­di­tions. We assess Dayan’s versions vis-à-vis the Constantinopolitan “main­stream”; though not as radically different as the New Julfa tradition, they exhibit idiosyncrasies peculiar to San Lazzaro, though there are close links with the tradition of the Mekhitarist Congregation’s Vienna monastery. The value of the Dayan hymnal is enhanced when juxtaposed against Fr. Vrt‘anēs’ sound re­cord­ings, which serve as an invaluable “key”, in­di­cating how Dayan’s transcriptions ought to be performed; the guidance they together afford thus serves as the greatest assurance for the preservation and further enjoyment of Dayan’s pri­celess legacy.