Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 10 September 2023 music, coptic: congregational response patterns of the st. basil
liturgy
Michael Henein, Mina Salama, Osama Fathy, and David Allinson Keywords: Anaphora of St. Basil; Arabic Maqam; Byzantine Music; Coptic Chants; Coptic Church; Coptic Music; Coptic Orthodox Church; Coptic Orthodox Liturgy of St. Basil; Coptic Studies; Euchologion; Liturgical Music; St. Basil Liturgy.
1. Background 2. Introduction to Arabic Music 3. The Liturgy Pitch Study 3.1. Methods and Results 3.2. Validating the Results 3.3. Detailed Comparison between M. Salama and R. Moftah Notations 4. The St. Basil Liturgy Arabic Maqam Study 4.1. Methods and Results 5. The Study of Similarities between Individual Responses in Different Sections of the St. Basil Liturgy 5.1. Methods 5.2. Similarities in Section 1 5.3. Similarities in Section 2 5.4. Patterns of Modulations in Section 2 5.5. Similarities in Section 3 5.6. Similarities in Section 4 5.7. Similarities in Section 5 5.8. Similarities in Section 6 5.9. Similarities in Section 7 5.10. Similarities between Sections 5.10.1. Similar Endings between the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Believers 5.10.2. Suggestions of Recent Additions to the Original Structure of the Liturgy 5.10.3. Similar Responses but Different Melodies 5.10.4. Patterns of Identical Modulations between Sections 6. Summary and Conclusion © Claremont Graduate University 1 Henein et al. Coptic Music: Congregational Response Patterns – St. Basil Liturgy 10 September 2023 1. Background coptic music consists of traditional hymns in the Coptic and Greek languages that comprise liturgical prayers, pre-vespers and midnight praises (Tasbeha); celebration hymns as well as contemporary songs in the Arabic language; and music adopted from other denominations.
The origins of the latter two types of music can be traced, while most of the contents of the Tasbeha lyrics are taken from the Psalms and Old Testament songs, such as the song of the Israelites crossing the Red Sea (Exodus 15:1–18) and the song of the three youths in the fiery furnace (Daniel 3:3–22). The origin of the remainder of the Coptic hymns, however, which constitute the largest body of Coptic sacred music sung in the liturgies, holy week, and other occasions received via oral tradition, remains unknown.
Although Coptic music is preserved by oral tradition, recent attempts have been made to annotate it using Western notations. However, it is well accepted that coptic melodies tend to be much closer to some of the Arabic scales (maqams) than to the major and minor Western scales. Therefore, one of the objectives of this analysis is to better understand the music patterns in the ST. basil liturgy utilizing the already well-established maqam system.
It has been established by saint john cassian and others that liturgy during the early centuries of Christianity was mainly based on the consecration of bread and wine as established by Jesus Christ (Truscott 2011: 148). The development of different liturgies, such as those of St. Basil and ST. gregory, came centuries later. Although some liturgical responses contain quotations from the books of the Old and New Testaments, e.g., “Holy, holy, holy, Lord of Hosts” (Isaiah 6:3), the origin of the rest of the texts is unknown, apart from those believed to be quotations from saints’ writings. Likewise, the origins of the melodies used for singing and chanting those responses remain unknown. This lack of knowledge has resulted in many contradictory narratives being proposed. Some writers (Newlandsmith 1931) claim that Coptic music derives from ancient Egyptian music; other historians (Idelsohn 1967) assign it multicultural influences, particularly Jewish and Greek; but contemporary musicologists describe Coptic music as having a unique pattern of melodies with only some similarities to other cultures. A lack of original musical documentation, particularly for rhythms and scales, also gave Coptic cantors and singers liberty to improvise, as was demonstrably the case with Greek hymns imported into the Coptic church from Byzantine tradition by pope cyril iv in 1854 CE (Macarius 2000: 95).
Additionally, it cannot be ignored that Coptic music has been influenced by many surrounding cultures, particularly those in the Mediterranean region, including Syriac and Greek (Henein and Paliouras 2020). Furthermore, despite claimed differences, because Coptic music has existed at the heart of the Arabic world for nearly fifteen centuries, one might expect that Coptic music has some relationship with Arabic music, even if minor. For this reason, we have chosen to analyze the music of the St. Basil Liturgy using the well-established Arabic music structure, notation style, and related scales (maqams) as a reference.
2. Introduction to Arabic Music The musical notes in Arabic music have mostly Persian and Turkish names. Collectively, the commonest notes used in the St. Basil Liturgy responses are Jiharkah (F3), Dokah (D3), Sikah (E3 half flat), and Rast (C3). Arabic music uses quarter intervals as a basic feature, hence the use of the special flat and sharp symbols. Arabic music scales are called maqams. They include seven notes, starting from the tonic (first), and continuing in order to the eighth note, which is an octave Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 2 Henein et al. Coptic Music: Congregational Response Patterns – St. Basil Liturgy 10 September 2023 higher. Each maqam has two groups of four notes (tetrachord) or jins (gender), with the first tetrachord as the basic one from which the maqam takes its name. While the second tetrachord is secondary, it may be a basic chord in another maqam. An example is seen in the Rast maqam, which includes a basic Rast and a secondary Rast, compared with the Nahawand maqam, which includes a basic Nahawand but a secondary Hijaz. The Ajam maqam is identical with the major scale in Western music; the Nahawand maqam is equivalent to the minor Western scale. When a maqam is transposed to start from a different note, it may take a new name, as in the Rast maqam, which, when it starts from G2 instead of C3, is called the Yakah maqam (El-Helo 1974: 131; Arafah 1944: 66).
This paper addresses three aspects of the St. Basil Liturgy, namely the existing music pitch and its potential standardization throughout the liturgy; the existing Arabic maqams; and the patterns of similarities between different responses that might shed light on the liturgy’s overall structure. To our knowledge, this is the first study to document a detailed analysis of the music of the St. Basil Liturgy.
3. The Liturgy Pitch Study Current practice in the Coptic Church entails a priest choosing the most comfortable pitch on which to start the prayer (Borsai and Tóth 1969: 91–105). This pitch often changes throughout the liturgy. Such flexibility in pitch varies between churches and makes it difficult for congregations to standardize the way of chanting, in contrast to Western-style liturgies. It also creates some limitations when Copts from different regions worship together. A lack of musical instruments as a pitch reference, and limited musical education among priests and deacons, often results in an exponential rise in pitch until it becomes difficult to maintain; then, a sudden drop to a lower, more comfortable level, even if there is no musical basis for it, becomes inevitable. Also, the general understanding of the oral tradition of singing in Egypt justifies unlimited room for improvisation because of the lack of any set rules. The traditional rejection of the use of musical instruments in the Coptic Church is deeply rooted in the minds of many choir teachers and cantors since it goes back to the early centuries of Christianity in Egypt (Kuhn 2014). This practice has unfortunately persisted until the present.
3.1. Methods and Results As an attempt to address the ongoing issue of haphazard pitch, we divided the annual responses of the St. Basil Liturgy into seven sections, irrespective of the number of responses in each section, according to our experience with melody changes and similarities between consecutive responses. To standardize the chanting pitch throughout the liturgy, Michael Henein recorded all seven sections using Avid Pro Tools software, with the assistance of Mina Salama, a professional musician, using a keyboard equipped with Eastern scales to adhere as much as possible to the starting note of each response. This was further checked using Kontakt plugin software that allowed obtaining the most accurate pitch for individual microtones. After checking the accuracy of the recordings, Salama notated them using Sibelius music scoring software. A nay (Arabic flute) was also later played and superimposed over the voice recording.
Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 3 Henein et al. Coptic Music: Congregational Response Patterns – St. Basil Liturgy 10 September 2023 The seven sections of the liturgy and their respective number of responses are classified below.
Liturgy of the Word Liturgy of the Believers Section 1 Section 2 Section 3 Section 4 Section 5 Section 6 Section 7 6 2 5 19 6 4 5 The recorded liturgy responses started from the E (half flat) note in Section 1: the conventional tonic note of the Huzam maqam and the dominant maqam of this section. The progression of notes between sections depended on the dominant maqam of each section. It should be noted that each Arabic maqam has a conventional tonic note suitable for human (men, women, and children) vocal singing limitations. Efforts were made to avoid progressive pitch rise by starting sections from the closest note to the tonic note of the previous section, without disturbing the overall pitch throughout the liturgy, and critically considering the intervals.
Figure 1: The starting and ending notes of the St. Basil Liturgy The liturgy ends on an F note, which is the tonic note for the Jiharkah maqam and is three-quarters of a tone higher than its starting note of E (half flat) (Hafez 1971: 51–62). The fact that we started Section 1 on the E (half flat) and ended the liturgy on the F note, despite changes in maqams throughout the seven sections of the liturgy, even when transposed from their standard features, suggests a potential musical structure close to the original, where the liturgical melody ran smoothly without abrupt changes. This does not necessarily suggest the entire St. Basil Liturgy was composed at one time. It does, however, propose a logical way of starting to sing different sections, particularly where there is no external influence from a priest or solo deacon. Also, the close symmetry between sections suggests that despite any difference between the creation dates of the contents of individual sections, the liturgy’s composers must have acknowledged the pitch limit throughout the liturgy before they added new pieces (such as hymns or responses). After completing the pitch analysis, we checked our scores against the Coptic Church reference score book produced by the late Ragheb Moftah, which was transcribed by Margit Tóth and published in 1998 (Moftah et al. 1998). Interestingly, these reference scores also started the liturgy in E and ended it in F.
This compatible finding with our recording and analysis was surprising but reassuring. It should be mentioned that these reference scores did not use microtones and the recorded hymns, which were scribed, did not use any pitch reference.
3.2. Validating the Results These findings were tested using a random sample of singers from the St. Kyrel Choir (total 100 singers from different age groups between 16 and 50 years; 60 men and 40 women) from the United Kingdom, France, Amsterdam, and Switzerland. Although all choir members already knew the St. Basil Liturgy responses in different ways and at different pitches, for our validation they sang them together in a special liturgy convened on 15 July 2017 for this purpose. To further ascertain the suitability of the proposed pitch for different singers, St. Kyrel Choir members were asked to answer a questionnaire about the feasibility of the proposed pitch as a whole, as well as Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 4 Henein et al. Coptic Music: Congregational Response Patterns – St. Basil Liturgy 10 September 2023 any discomfort they experienced when the pitch changed slightly between sections. The choir members unanimously answered, irrespective of their ages or genders, that they felt the liturgy “just fits where it is comfortably pitched.”
3.3. Detailed Comparison between M. Salama and R. Moftah Notations Figure 2: The starting and ending notes of each of the seven sections notated by M. Salama (Top) and R. Moftah (Bottom) 1) The first hymn in section 1 (Kyrie eleison) was not notated by Moftah. Comparing the second hymn, Allylouia Vai Pepi, showed the two notation systems are similar, except that Moftah did not write E (half flat) as Salama did, but wrote the same accidentals that prove that the basic maqams, the Huzam on E half flat and the Bayati on G, are similar.
2) The same issue applies to the third response in section 1 (Dhoxa Patri) about the tonic microtone. Salama’s notation is identical to Moftah’s in the accidentals, supporting a similar maqam and pitch.
3) Salama’s written pitches are suitable for the voice limits of all vocal types, irrespective of age or gender, but in Moftah’s scores, some responses are in a very high pitch which would make them difficult for some to sing.
4) There is a significant ascent of starting notes from Section 1 to Section 3, with a further deviation in Section 7. There is less fluctuation in the ending notes of Moftah’s scores, compared to those of Salama.
5) Despite their differences, these two sets of notations (created more than 25 years apart) are fundamentally close.
Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 5 Henein et al. Coptic Music: Congregational Response Patterns – St. Basil Liturgy 10 September 2023 The findings of this analysis, which showed differences between notations produced decades apart from each other, confirmed our hypothesis about the impact of time on melodic variability that could affect Coptic hymns, even commonly used ones that are hardly expected to change. These variables are bound to have wide-scale implications for other hymns, and particularly those sung only on rare occasions. The results of our analysis encouraged us to conduct a more detailed study of the St. Basil Liturgy structure, particularly in the congregational responses, to uncover their musical patterns. Our first objective was to ascertain whether the St. Basil liturgical responses abide by conventional Arabic maqams, or whether they are different, as previously proposed by Ernest Newlandsmith. To answer this question, we designed the St. Basil Liturgy Arabic Maqam Study.
4. The St. Basil Liturgy Arabic Maqam Study Although Coptic music originated in Egypt, it is likely to have been influenced by music from nearby countries, particularly those in the Mediterranean region, Iraq, Turkey, Greece, and Persia. Even in the absence of any documented evidence, to an experienced ear, this influence can be heard in some Coptic melodies that are like the melodies used in those cultures. If such an overlap exists, it is then likely that the well-established Arabic maqams would be easily identified in Coptic music. The aim of our study was to identify the dominant Eastern/Arabic maqam for each of the seven sections of the St. Basil Liturgy. This would help to provide a clearer understanding of the liturgy’s structure and possibly its musical roots.
4.1. Methods and Results Three professional musicians (George Dergham, Mina Salama, and Osama Fathy), who are experts in Eastern music maqams, agreed to analyze the St. Basil Liturgy responses and provide their opinions on its main dominant maqams. Recordings of study A were emailed to each of the three musicians, together with a standardized analysis sheet with the order number of each response without name or lyrics. The musicians were asked to insert the name of the proposed maqam next to the response number, and in case of uncertainty between two maqams, to insert the dominant one followed by the less dominant, or the starting maqam followed by the ending one. Michael Henein then compiled the analyses into a single spreadsheet. While all the musicians commented on the maqams using listening skills, only one of them notated all responses. This notation helped in further analysis.
According to the musicians’ analysis, the most commonly used maqams in the St. Basil Liturgy responses were the Huzam, Saba, Bayati, Ajam, Nahawand, and Rast (Ali 2016: 114). To facilitate analysis of the collected nominal data of these six maqams, they were given consecutive numbers 1–6 on the analysis sheet. The intersectional maqams and the analysis among all the musicians were then compared.
Classification of the responses into the seven sections was accurate in demonstrating a dominant maqam shared between all individual responses in each section. This agreement was shared by all musicians, independent of their means of analysis. From Sections 1 to 5, and up to the consecration section, the two dominant maqams were the Huzam and the Saba, whereas the remaining maqams dominated the liturgy’s last two sections. All the musicians agreed that no response contained a full maqam, but only three or four notes from individual maqams. In addition, and quite frequently, a response started in one maqam, then moved to another: an example of this pattern is seen in the Vai Pepi hymn in Section 1, which started in the Huzam maqam and then Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 6 Henein et al. Coptic Music: Congregational Response Patterns – St. Basil Liturgy 10 September 2023 moved to the Bayati maqam. Some melodies also may return to the starting maqam, as is the case in the Hetein hymn in Section 2, which starts in the Bayati maqam, moves to the Husseini maqam, returns to the Bayati, and then ends in the Huzam maqam in B half flat.
Overall, the musicians’ analyses were similar in 70% of responses; in the remaining 30%, they gave different descriptions. In two responses to section 1 (Vai Pepi and Dhoxa Patri) the difference was between the Huzam and the Saba maqam. Further detailed analysis of the differences according to the components of the two maqams showed that two musicians agreed on 80% of the notes, with marginal differences in their analysis of the other 20%.
It seems that the difficulty the musicians found in choosing between the Huzam maqam and the Saba maqam occurred because the two maqams have an identical tetrachord, which is the Hijaz. This difficulty was clearly seen in the Vai Pepi hymn in Section 1, where some described it as the Saba, others the Huzam, and one thought it was the Hijaz Gharib; the general opinion settled in the end to agree that it was the Huzam on E Sikah. To explain this issue, we show the basis for the two maqams.
Figure 3: Comparison between the Huzam and the Saba Maqams This study shed light on the potential basic maqams of the St. Basil Liturgy responses, but just as importantly, it raised a number of questions with regard to the detailed analysis of the melodies of the responses, rather than simple identification of the dominant maqam, which is clearly not standardized, as is the case in Arabic music cultures. Also, our findings highlight potential significant differences between Coptic maqams which are yet to be defined and the well-established Arabic ones; this could explain the differences between the musicians’ conclusions. 5. The Study of Similarities between Individual Responses in Different Sections of the St. Basil Liturgy In view of the subjective differences between the musicians in study B, we planned a second detailed analysis to identify notes (or melodies) that showed similarities between individual responses in each of the seven sections as well as between sections. This study was designed based on a hypothesis that congregational responses in the St. Basil Liturgy are musically classified into seven sections, where each section has a dominant maqam or group of melodies reflecting the Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 7 Henein et al. Coptic Music: Congregational Response Patterns – St. Basil Liturgy 10 September 2023 section’s theme and spirit.
The objective of our analysis was therefore to demonstrate the presence of uniform similarities between responses in individual sections of the liturgy. If proven, it could assist teachers and singers in adhering to those patterns or potentially the maqams as well, when leading services and teaching choirs. Also, identifying the consistently repeated melodies within and between hymns might suggest an element of pattern originality that could relate to the melodic chanting of the priest. Finally, it could shed light on the era when these responses were first adopted into the liturgy.
5.1. Methods The same liturgical responses recorded by Michael Henein mentioned above and the notations made by Mina Salama were used to achieve the objective of this analysis. Similarities were identified using one or more of the following criteria:
Same maqam/scale Same tonic Same starting and ending chords Same sequence in some notes or intervals The presence of modulations, particularly similar chords at the start and end The strength of similarities between responses was classified into three categories: mild (one point), moderate (2–3 points) and strong (4–5 points).
5.2. Similarities in Section 1 Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 8 Henein et al. Coptic Music: Congregational Response Patterns – St. Basil Liturgy 10 September 2023 Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 9 Henein et al. Coptic Music: Congregational Response Patterns – St. Basil Liturgy 10 September 2023 The level of similarities between responses in section 1 was strong.
5.3. Similarities in Section 2 Shere ne Maria, “Hail to you, O Mary,” and Hetein ni, “Through the intercessions,” are identical in the Bayati maqam throughout (Al-Mahdi 1943: 16–45).
Hetein ni Shere ne Maria From To From To Bar Beat Bar Beat Bar Beat Bar Beat 1 1 12 4 1 1 18 1 30 3 46 4 36 4 51 3 In Section 2, all five conditions for similarities were present; therefore the level of similarity between hymns is considered strong.
5.4. Patterns of Modulations in Section 2 Hetein ni, “Through the intercessions,” starts with the Bayati maqam in G, then ends in the Huzam maqam transposed on E half flat–Iraq (Rahet El Arwah). The same notes and intervals for modulation changed the tonic.
Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 10 Henein et al. Coptic Music: Congregational Response Patterns – St. Basil Liturgy 10 September 2023 The first note in Shere ne Maria, B , is the second note in the first chord of the Bayati maqam (the chord of the tonic G), which is G, B , D. This proves that the dominant maqam is the Bayati. The modulation is then used as a “comma” to link the last word of the first verse, “Ethnesos,” and the first word of the second verse, “thee.”
This goes with the meaning of the second half of the verse, which is always, in this hymn, an explanation of the first half. Hence, the modulation here is used to highlight the meaning of the text. Also, there is a short modulation at “Ethnesos”:
The change is from the Bayati maqam in D to the Rast maqam in C without any transposition, as the same intervals are used, as well as the same notes. This short modulation is used as a hook equivalent to a comma.
The Bayati maqam ends on the n of Emon and tonic D, and then moves to the Huzam maqam in B (half flat)–Iraq (Rahet el Arwah) from “Nai nan.” This change in maqam follows the meaning of the words beautifully and the move from straightforward praise of the Holy Trinity to a plea for mercy.
Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 11 Henein et al. Coptic Music: Congregational Response Patterns – St. Basil Liturgy 10 September 2023 The modulations in Section 2 raise a number of questions:
1) Are these modulations meant to be in this order, since the two hymns consist of two parts—the main body and the ending—based on the meaning of the text and the maqam?
2) Were they created by the same composer? If so, it proves good musical skills in composition and modulation.
3) Were they composed by different people at different times?
More work needs to be done to answer these questions.
5.5. Similarities in Section 3 It is important to discuss the difference between the Huzam maqam and the Saba maqam in some detail, as this often results in some confusion between musicians. The two maqams have the same second tetrachord. This tetrachord is Hijaz, and the similarity between the first jins in both maqams is the main cause for the confusion when people attempt to identify the dominant maqam of a hymn. This confusion occurred in our study of this section, as some musicians identify Agios as being in the Saba maqam, whereas it is originally in the Huzam, and follows the meaning of the text nicely as described before. This also reflects the fact that the Saba maqam is viewed as expressing sad feelings, as it contains three second minor intervals plus a second augmented. The same confusion occurs in Section 1 in the following hymns: Vai Pepi, Kyrie eleison, Dhoxa Patri, Keto pnvemati So, and Sotees Amen. It seems, therefore, that this issue could result in a significantly wrong change in a hymn’s atmosphere if its maqam was considered to be the Saba instead of the Huzam.
The Agios hymn is based on the E half flat Sikah maqam (described as the essence of Arabic music) (Al-Mahdi 1943: 135–145), which is repeated many times. This matches the meaning of the hymn, which is “Holy God,” and its repetition of the word “Holy” nine times and the phrase “Holy God” three times. The interval, called “first perfect—the unison,” which equals zero tone and is frequently seen in this hymn, gives an impression of stability and fundamental truth that matches the repeated word “Holy.” It seems that the repeated single beat—here, the E (half flat)—is a feature of belief-related hymns, whereby the hymn is understood to convey repeated facts and not variables; this will be discussed later.
The dominant maqam of Agios must be the Huzam, for the following reasons:
1) The range of the maqam is five notes, and all their intervals are consistent with the Huzam; 2) The tonic E Sikah is very clear from the first to the last part of the hymn, occupying most of the melody; and 3) The frequent presence of a submediant (D half sharp) note before the tonic is a main feature. Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 12 Henein et al. Coptic Music: Congregational Response Patterns – St. Basil Liturgy 10 September 2023 Keto pnevmati So (“and with your spirit”): In this section is the beginning of a set of melodies that end with Alleluia. This set starts in the Huzam maqam and ends in the Huzam maqam in E (half flat) Sikah. This is confirmed by the frequent repetition of the submediant D (half sharp): Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 13 Henein et al. Coptic Music: Congregational Response Patterns – St. Basil Liturgy 10 September 2023 The responses of the Gospel litany are followed by the Gospel reading and its responses, which are all structurally and melodically equal, despite their slight variability in length. Dhoxaci Kyrie (“Glory be to God”) follows the same pattern of Keto pnevmati So and Kyrie Eleison, but ends with a unique addition to strengthen the Huzam maqam in E (half flat) Sikah. It introduces the chanting maqam of the Gospel, which is a standard Huzam maqam, and is never changed in any event, no matter what improvisations may be made.
The similarity strength in this section was moderate.
5.6. Similarities in Section 4 The Tengousht response is based on the E (half flat) Sikah tonic, which is repeated many times. This is another example of a belief-related hymn, which demonstrates a pattern of note repetition with minimum variability or fluctuation. Its melody reflects the meaning of the text “We wait for Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 14 Henein et al. Coptic Music: Congregational Response Patterns – St. Basil Liturgy 10 September 2023 the resurrection of the dead and life to come, Amen.” Again, the interval unison first perfect, which equals zero tone, gives the impression of stability and fundamental truth. The presence of the submediant D (half sharp) confirms the tonic of the Huzam maqam, which is E (half flat) Sikah, as shown by the starting and ending note.
Hiten niepresvia, translated “Through the intercessions,” follows a similar structure to that of Tengousht, with the first two-thirds being a copy of Tengousht and having the same melody. Its third part is a classical Huzam maqam at a slower speed. The words of this part: “Mercy, peace, and sacrifice of praise,” are attributes of what the priest says earlier, “Through Christ our Lord.” It seems that the first two-thirds of the response is a recent addition when compared to older Coptic euchologion books (see Holy Kholagi 1902: 312), since it has no specific melody and its words do not follow the pattern of the belief-related melody mentioned above.
Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 15 Henein et al. Coptic Music: Congregational Response Patterns – St. Basil Liturgy 10 September 2023 Ke meta tou has the same structure as Tengousht:
Ekhomen’s response is similar to Tengousht, but its beginning is higher in pitch, to reflect the meaning of the text “They are with the Lord” as the congregation replies to the priest’s call “Lift up your hearts.” However, this response does not necessarily follow the meaning of its words: Aksion Ke Dhikeon, “right and worthy,” is similar to Tengousht, but ends in a scale that has never been described before. We propose naming this scale “Kemi maqam” because it is unique to Coptic melodies, in contrast with the well-known Arabic maqams. For this reason we chose the name Kemi, Egypt’s ancient hieroglyphic name.
Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 16 Henein et al. Coptic Music: Congregational Response Patterns – St. Basil Liturgy 10 September 2023 Nisheroubim, “the cherubim”: The first two-thirds of this response is a copy of Tengousht, with the same melody. The third part is a classical Huzam maqam at a slower speed, again reflecting the meaning of the words “Holy, holy, holy, Lord of Sabaoth,” the angels’ praise according to the vision of Isaiah. This response is a continuation from where the priest says earlier “Praising you unceasingly saying…” Again, it seems that the first two-thirds of this hymn is a more recent addition according to older prayer books (Holy Kholagi 1902: 317). The unique pattern of this response is the last few notes that compose the Kemi maqam, a unique melody for the following section of the liturgy (the consecration).
Amen: This response displays the main tetrachord from F to C half sharp (Nem Zerkoulah). The notes have been used a few times in the same response.
Amen Tinahti, “Amen I believe”: This response uses the main tetrachord in addition to detailed features of the Kemi maqam that uses the second group of the tetrachord:
Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 17 Henein et al. Coptic Music: Congregational Response Patterns – St. Basil Liturgy 10 September 2023 Kata to Eleos, “Let it be according to your mercy,” starts as the Tengousht response and ends in the Kemi maqam:
The rest of the hymns of this section are identical to each other in structure but differ in the length of their words. The dominant maqam of this section is the Kemi maqam, and the section’s similarity strength is strong.
5.7. Similarities in Section 5 This section is in the Huzam maqam, and starts in E (half flat) Sikah. It is different from the previous section, which was C half sharp, and thus confirms the start of a new section. The Huzam maqam follows its previous description exactly.
The three words “Amen, amen, amen,” according to old prayer books, were not part of the original response. Their presence suggests an effort to strengthen the concept of stability in belief. One might feel that this response starts like Section 4, but it has its own personality and features, especially from bar 7 onward. Of note, the original text of this hymn in the old prayer book does not include the phrase “to heaven” (Holy Kholagi 1902: 337). Also, it differs from the previous section in having the Kemi maqam.
Tenhos Erok, “We worship you,” and the rest of the hymns in this section are musically derived from the Ameen Ameen Ameen hymn.
Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 18 Henein et al. Coptic Music: Congregational Response Patterns – St. Basil Liturgy 10 September 2023 The similarity strength of this section was strong.
5.8. Similarities in Section 6 Ere pouesmou, “May their holy blessings,” is the first response in this section. In its original text, the first verse does not exist (Holy Kholagi 1902: 380), and the response starts at Dhoxaci Kyrie, “Glory be to God,” which follows from where the priest stops at “Your Holy name that is bestowed upon us.” The melody also follows in the same maqam. This section uses the Nahawand maqam, Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 19 Henein et al. Coptic Music: Congregational Response Patterns – St. Basil Liturgy 10 September 2023 which is characterized by a smooth transition between notes, fitting nicely with this part of the liturgy and the meaning of its words. The change in the previous maqam due to moving the E (half flat) Sikah to its original position as E natural results in the minor scale with its features, e.g., warmth and softness. This is quite different from the three-quarter intervals that were between D and E (half flat) and between E (half flat) and F. In terms of similarities, Bar 2:1 to 2:4 is repeated in the same response three times and in the next hymn, Osper een. The ending pieces of this section are also identical. They both feature the minor scale (Nahawand) corresponding to the major scale (Ajam).
Osper een, “As it was, so shall it be,” follows the same pattern as Ere pouesmou.
Keto pnevmati so, followed by Kyrie eleison, are both similar to the first two responses, Ere pouesmou and Osper een.
Amen is still in the Nahawand maqam, with the same features mentioned before:
Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 20 Henein et al. Coptic Music: Congregational Response Patterns – St. Basil Liturgy 10 September 2023 The rest of the responses in this section are identical, including Keto pnevmati so and Kyrie eleison.
An additional observation concerning this section is that its ending pieces are very similar, irrespective of the meaning of the words. This suggests that they adhere to a unique concluding musical sentence.
The similarity strength of this section was strong.
5.9. Similarities in Section 7 Amen Kyrie eleison: The fourth perfect interval in the start of this response is from C (third note in F chord), which reflects readiness. The A half flat (Nim Hisar) that comes in the coda confirms the Rast maqam in F, which is Jiharkah.
In this section, while the first half of each response may differ according to its place in the section, with the later ones being higher in pitch compared to the earlier ones, the second half of all responses is identical, thus confirming their similarities. A unique finding is also seen in this section: the second half of all responses is similar to the Gospel responses in Section 3, thus confirming the respective timing of the two liturgies, conventionally described as the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Sacrament (or Believers), respectively, according to the Coptic rite. While the Gospel reading in Section 3 with its responses is the final part of the Liturgy of the Word, Section 7 is the final part of the Liturgy of the Believers.
Singers might unintentionally confuse the Jiharkah maqam with the Rast maqam in F. This confusion occurs because the two maqams are close and have some identical intervals, as both have Rast on the second tetrachord but are different in the first tetrachord, which is Jiharkah in the Jiharkah maqam and Rast in the Rast maqam in F. The difference between the two maqams is in one note: A, which is natural in Jiharkah and half flat (Nim Hisar) in Rast in F, but the rest of the notes are identical in both maqams.
Figure 4: Comparison between Maqam Jiharkah and Maqam Rast Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 21 Henein et al. Coptic Music: Congregational Response Patterns – St. Basil Liturgy 10 September 2023 Ic O Panagios Pateer, “One is the Holy Father,” hangs around one note, F, most of the time, which is consistent with the belief-related hymn pattern previously described in Tengousht in Section 4.
Ameen (a), (b), & (c): The same word is sung in three different, ascending melodies. These three pieces start on different notes in their first half and ascend high, then descend again to the tonic note to prepare for their second common part. Ameen (a) starts from Tonic F and ends in F; Ameen (b) starts in A half flat (first one in first chord) and ends in F; and Ameen Tinahti (c) starts in C and ends in F.
The similarity strength of this section was strong.
Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 22 Henein et al. Coptic Music: Congregational Response Patterns – St. Basil Liturgy 10 September 2023 Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 23 Henein et al. Coptic Music: Congregational Response Patterns – St. Basil Liturgy 10 September 2023 5.10. Similarities between Sections 5.10.1. Similar Endings between the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Believers 1) Dhoxaci Kyrie at the end of the Gospel response, despite its entire part in Huzam, is in the Jiharkah maqam, similar to Dhoxaci Kyrie at the end of the liturgy after the Rast maqam. Of note, the Jiharkah maqam is similar to the F major scale and is different in the submediant note (seventh), as it is E half flat (Sikah). But in the F major scale, the E is natural.
The above response is sung in Arabic, with the meaning of “Glory be to God forever.” 2) The Gospel responses are identical to the second half of Section 7, Ameen (a–c), as described above in detail.
Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 24 Henein et al. Coptic Music: Congregational Response Patterns – St. Basil Liturgy 10 September 2023 5.10.2. Suggestions of Recent Additions to the Original Structure of the Liturgy 1) The Liturgy of the Believers is well established from the very early centuries of Christianity. It seems that the Liturgy of the Word was added later using similar start and ending melodies and even language.
2) The Gospel response in Section 3 could better be Je Efesmarouwt only, without Oouniatou, for musical and contextual reasons. Je Efesmarouwt is in the Huzam maqam, like the Gospel responses, and its words follow beautifully “for He is blessed with His Father….” After the end of the Gospel response “Glory be to God forever,”
on the other hand, Oouniatou begins in the Bayati maqam (from its starting note through bar 16:3) and then continues modulations in the Sikah maqam in E Sikah.
Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 25 Henein et al. Coptic Music: Congregational Response Patterns – St. Basil Liturgy 10 September 2023 3) Hiten ni (“Through the intercessions”) until Eleos is an addition, since its melody is a copy of Tengousht, which is a belief-related response. The original text of this hymn begins from Eleos, the meaning of which continues on from where the priest stops at “through our Lord Jesus Christ,” thus suggesting an original continuity. The music also supports this suggestion, as explained previously.
4) Nisheroubeem follows the same pattern as Hiten ni. The original hymn starts at Agios Agios Agios, another example of continuation from what the priest says.
5) Ameen Ameen Ameen (“your death…”): The melody of these three words is a copy of the single note chant, but the hymn’s actual melody begins from “Your death, O Lord, we proclaim…” according to older prayer books.
6) The original hymn of Ere pouesmou starts with Dhoxaci, which is a continuation from where the priest stops at “Your name that is bestowed upon us.” The words strengthen the focus of this prayer on God, rather than shifting to another subject, such as the saints.
5.10.3. Similar Responses but Different Melodies The Liturgy of St. Basil contains many examples of similar words but different melodies according to their place in the liturgy:
1) Keto pnevmati so in the thanksgiving (Section 1), the Gospel litany (Section 3), and the reconciliation prayer (Section 4), and again in the fraction prayer (Section 7) 2) Kyrie eleison in the same four sections 3) Ameen in Sections 4, 5, and 7 5.10.4. Patterns of Identical Modulations between Sections Hetein ni (Section 2) starts with the Bayati maqam in D (Dokah), then ends in the Huzam maqam transposed to B (half flat) – Iraq (Rahet El Arwah). The same notes and intervals for modulation changed the tonic:
At the end of Oouniatou (Section 3), the melody is transposed and changed from the Bayati maqam in D (Dokah) to the Huzam maqam Sikah in E half flat Sikah.
Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 26 Henein et al. Coptic Music: Congregational Response Patterns – St. Basil Liturgy 10 September 2023 6. Summary and Conclusion In this study we recorded, notated, and analyzed most of the responses of the St. Basil Liturgy according to the Coptic rite. We also compared our scores with reference scores produced by the Higher Institute of Coptic Studies. Furthermore, we attempted to propose a consistent pitch throughout the liturgy that is achievable by both genders of singers that could be sung without difficulty. Finally, we identified patterns of similarity between the responses within each of the seven sections of the liturgy as well as between different sections.
Our notation seems close to what the late Ragheb Moftah produced, although his notations did not use microtones, which made maqam identification difficult. Also, the fact that the singer from whom Moftah’s scores were scripted was elderly, had limited singing precision, and did not use pitch reference, creating a struggle for the scribe, who was not a Copt and hence was unfamiliar with those responses. This made him unable to determine original pitch from technically irregular pitches. In addition, even in our contemporary study, there was clear evidence for Arabic maqam confusion between experienced musicians (Study B), suggesting that most of the St. Basil liturgy maqams are not typically Arabic.
Our analysis confirms that the Coptic music of the St. Basil Liturgy does not follow Arabic music rules literally, in that it does not adhere to one maqam throughout but is rich in its modulation, as well as containing unique endings that are not known in Arabic music. This gives Coptic music unique features that need to be further studied in greater detail.
Our hypothesis, stating that the responses of the St. Basil Liturgy can be divided musically into seven sections according to the patterns of its melodies, has been confirmed. Indeed, we identified patterns of similarity between responses within the seven sections. We also identified similarities between the sections, and finally, similar wordings in different sections but with different melodies.
Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 27 Henein et al. Coptic Music: Congregational Response Patterns – St. Basil Liturgy 10 September 2023 We believe that there are significant and important practical implications of this analysis: 1) The minor note change in Sections 3, 4, and 5 suggests they are all related to belief statements rather than supplicatory ones.
2) The presence of the same pattern in the first part of three non-belief-related responses suggests that they constitute a recent addition; this was confirmed by comparing contemporary text with older prayer books.
3) The responses to the Gospel reading in the Liturgy of the Word in Section 3 are very similar to those in Section 7, comprising the last part of the Liturgy of the Believers. This suggests a clever design of the Liturgy of the Word and its establishment with respect to the Liturgy of the Believers, knowing that the latter existed first, as mentioned in the introduction.
4) The patterns of similarity between the responses in each section guide the singer toward the overwhelmingly dominant maqam, which should limit freedom of improvisation.
5) There is a unique maqam, which we described for the first time and named “Kemi,”
that does not exist in well-established Arabic music. It begins at the Agios response in Section 4 and continues throughout the consecration prayers, suggesting a very early origin for that part. Also, the use of the Kemi maqam in Section 1 at the end of Dhoxa patri, as it is currently sung, seems to be a recent addition, since older recordings do not display it; however, it may suggest a consistent use of the Kemi maqam whenever a priest is handling the sacraments.
6) Throughout the liturgy, the congregation’s singing of the maqam and its pitch follow those of the priest, as previously published and discussed (Henein et al.
2020: 67–96). The differences between Coptic responses in the Liturgy and classical Arabic scales, as we identified them, suggest the potential presence of unique features for Coptic music that would make it distinguishable from Arabic music. This suggestion is supported by the Persian names for the maqams we studied in the St. Basil Liturgy. The fact that some musical pieces share a few notes of a known Arabic/Persian maqam does not necessarily mean that these pieces were composed to fit a specific maqam, as is the case in other music. This theory remains to be tested using replicas of Ancient Egyptian instruments.
Acknowledgment: This entry in the Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia is a revised version of an earlier article (Henein et al. 2021) and published with permission from Coptica. It is also a revised version of Chapter 2 in Henein 2022.