Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 10 December 2020
bohem and parallax
Ramez Mikhail Keywords: Coptic Church-Liturgy; Coptic music; Greek language; Hagiography; Hymns; Liturgies; Manuscripts.
One of several genres of Bohairic hymnography, with examples for many ecclesiastical feasts. The bōhem (ⲃⲱϩⲉⲙ) consists of one or two stanzas, which can be in the adam or Batos style, and which serve as a prelude or introduction for the subject of the hymn. The bōhem is usually followed by several stanzas (ca. 2–10 in the manuscripts) labeled the parallax or paralex (ⲡⲁⲣⲁⲗⲉⲝ), which expand upon the theme of the hymn and typically conclude with an intercessory stanza. This combination of bōhem/parallax is one of the integral types of hymns in the Bohairic tradition and is particularly used on feasts of Christ (See feasts, major and feasts, minor) and commemorations of saints (see saints, coptic) throughout the liturgical year, along with other hymn types such as the doxology, difnar, and the ṭarḥ.
The Bohairic term bōhem is sometimes rendered by the Arabic laḥn (ﻟﺤﻦ), or the Arabized form wāhim ( ﻢ), واھ both of which can be rendered simply as hymn (Graf 1964: 117). The Bohairic form bōhem (ⲃⲱϩⲉⲙ) is equivalent to Sahidic ouōhm (ⲟⲩⲱϩⲙ) meaning an answer, objection, or interpretation, but also used in a technical sense to mean a hymn, especially a responsory connected to a previous liturgical unit, such as a prayer or scriptural reading. A bōhem is intended to be sung in an alternating fashion between a soloist and the choir or congregation (Crum 1939: 509-10; Youssef/Zanetti 2014: 43; Junker 1977: 25). In this latter sense, it evokes the Latin responsorium, though unlike the latter, it does not usually include a refrain (Leclercq 1948: 2389-93). Rather, the Bohairic bōhem usually consists of one – or rarely more – stanzas of four strophes each in the manner of most other genres of Bohairic hymnography, though exceptions exist for all the above. For example, some bōhem examples consist of stanzas of more than four strophes, while others – particularly in the Resurrection period – contain refrains. Musically, bōhem chants, at least for those extant in current practice, can have a variety of musical styles including recitative, melismatic, and vocalise (Kuhn 2014: 74).
While hymns for the feasts of Christ find their liturgical place within the Liturgy of the Word and specifically after the reading from Acts and later during Communion, other hymns for saints and martyrs also feature in glorification services in honor of the relevant saint, and notably in medieval sources in the rite of the reading of the biography (Ar. ة ﻟﺴﯿﺮ ا اءة ﻗﺮ ﻘﺲ ط ).
The bōhem stanza(s) are usually followed by a larger set of stanzas (ca. 2-10) termed in Bohairic paralex (ⲡⲁⲣⲁⲗⲉⲝ), and consistently Arabized phonetically as is, baralaks (ﺑﺮﻟﻜﺲ) with the plural baralaksāt (ﺑﺮﻟﻜﺴﺎ ت ). Burmester defined this term practically as the name given to the hymn following a response or laḥn, thus avoiding the etymology of the term altogether (Burmester 1967: 265). Similarly brief treatments of the term focused on its liturgical usage rather than etymology, namely that a paralexis concludes a bōhem in view of paraphrasing, generally in a different tone (Youssef/Zanetti 2014: 41; Villecourt 1923: 268).
It is possible to see behind this technical term a Greek form, such as paralexis (παράλεξις) based on paralegō (παραλέγω), though the latter is used mainly with the negative connotation of speaking besides the purpose or wandering off from one’s topic, and only rarely in the sense of adding to what one has said (Liddell/Scott 1996: 1315). As such, the Bohairic ⲡⲁⲣⲁⲗⲉⲝ would have © Claremont Graduate University 1 Ramez Mikhail, Bohem and Parallax 10 December 2020 been intended as an addendum, expanding on, rephrasing, or explaining the contents of the bōhem. Crum’s suggestion, made in 1905 in his catalogue of Coptic manuscripts in the British Museum – that the term stems from the Greek paralēxis (παράληξις) – would be difficult to reconcile with the word’s definition as penultimate (Crum 1906: 374n1). Yet, Crum himself acknowledged another possibility in 1909, namely that the original Greek is parallax (παραλλάξ), an adverb meaning alternating or changing in turn (Crum 1909: 207), thus agreeing with an earlier correction by Peeters (Peeters 1907: 302). The sense here is likely in reference to the antiphonal manner of performing parallax stanzas alternating between two choirs, or less likely to the change in melody from the main bōhem. The latter etymology based on παραλλάξ is the most natural and consistent with the style of these chants in Bohairic tradition.
To date, the standard edition of this genre of hymns is the Book of Glorifications (Kitāb al-tamajīd) published first in 1922 by Fr. Dūmādiyūs al-Baramūsī and designed for use in the special rite of glorification that is currently appended to the vespers incense service (Al-Baramūsī 1922). This book was reprinted in 1972 by Hegumen ‘Aṭallah Arsaniyūs al-Muḥarraqī (Al-Muḥarraqī 1972). Neither edition contains all known examples of the genre, a task that would require a more comprehensive look at the manuscript tradition. A scholarly edition of thirteen of these hymns was published with a French translation by Hebbelynck, based on the 14th Century manuscript bav Vatican Copt. 23 (Hebbelynck 1931). Since this publication was restricted to a particular manuscript, it was by necessity limited in scope, where the hymns given constitute a fraction of the total number available. Furthermore, given the nature of this particular manuscript, Hebbelynck’s publication often lacks the accompanying parallax. More recently, an edition of another manuscript with several bōhem/parallax texts, British Library Or. 5898 (AD 1705) serves as another contribution to this understudied genre of Coptic hymns (Fayez 2016). Analysis of the content of these hymns has been likewise limited. Youhanna N. Youssef pointed out several allusions to works of Coptic literature in this corpus in a short article in 1993 (Youssef 1993), followed by an update in 1995 (Youssef 1995).
References to the chanting of the appropriate bōhem and parallax appear in several liturgical junctures in medieval sources, hinting at the versatility of this genre as a corpus of all-purpose chants for celebrations of martyrs and saints throughout the year. One such celebration takes place at the conclusion of the evening incense service and centers around the chanting of an appointed tarh in honor of the saint celebrated on the following day. A description of this evening glorification is given in the context of the patriarchal vespers in manuscript Coptic Patriarchate Liturgy 74 (AD 1444), which is the oldest extant specimen of the genre of hymnals known as Tartīb al-bīʿa (Bishop Samuel 2000: 12). There, on the feast of the Virgin Mary or any saint after the conclusion of vespers, the ṭarḥ is chanted, followed by a glorification service before the saint’s icon, including the hymn of the saint and his parallax. The other major liturgical context for this genre encountered in the manuscripts is the Rite of The Reading of The Biography. This is an elaborate ritual for the reading of a saint’s biography on their feast that takes place between the matins service and the liturgy of the eucharist. Finally, hymns of the bōhem/parallax type also found a home within the Liturgy of the Word preceding the eucharistic liturgy, as mentioned for example in misbaẖ al-ẕulmah wa-idaẖ al-khidmah by ibn kabar according to the manuscript Uppsala O.
Vet. 12 (AD 1546), where chanters are said to sing a hymn (wāhiman) appropriate for the feast after the reading from Acts.
© Claremont Graduate University 2 Ramez Mikhail, Bohem and Parallax 10 December 2020