Syriac Chant at the Negotiation of Source and Method in the Two Music–“Ologies”

Abstract

As a monophonic song type originating in early Aramaic Christianity, chant in the Syriac-speaking church has long fascinated music scholars. This continuously practised Levantine tradition is little understood, despite the increasingly global presence of Suryanis who strive to maintain their liturgical tradition at home and in the diaspora. Owing to multiple waves of migration, Aramaic Christians are increasingly present in Europe and the Americas. The historical home of this autochthonous population remains, however, Mesopotamia and the Eastern Mediterranean, although in steady and rapid decline. The current severity of the decline of these local communities is unprecedented in modem history due to the violent expansion of military–religious extremism under the guise of the Islamic State (IS), which has expelled Christians from large swaths of Iraq and Syria since June 2014. The long-term effects of such adverse circumstances remain unclear, but developments since 2003 have spurred attention to the cultures and musics of East Christian communities, necessitating a reassessment of the relationship between scholarship and these musical traditions.