Syriac chant

This suggests that the setting was always a church building or a room that reflected the sound of the walls and ceilings.

[3] Many of the conflicts have resulted in persecution of Syrian Christians which may account for the oral tradition of Syriac chant.

[1] Due to geographical locations, modern day Syria was one of the first areas to be exposed to Christendom brought by the early disciples of Christianity from Jerusalem.

[5] The Christian chants of Syria have remained thus far as oral traditions and have been passed down through the generations, who have kept loyally to their faith and culture.

[1][3] Syria has been a place of conflict due to its rich resources and geographical placement bridging Europe to North Africa as well as the many different religious beliefs present within the Middle East.

There may have been a musical notation system invented for Syrian chant but is no longer known of as it lost through the many conquests Syria has faced.

[6][1] Ethnomusicologist Tala Jarjour explains that there are only a few sources on early Syrian chant and one must analyze its current form and reflect upon it in historical contexts.

"Hasho is best thought of as a construct that exists at the intersection of emotionality, spirituality, musicality and knowledge".

[1] Villoteau was one of Napoleon's scholar's, who accompanied the conquest into Egypt and made notes of the Syriac chant he encountered.

[1] Villoteau wrote down details about the chant in which he mentions that the Syrian nation chose to sing songs that expressed the identity of its people.

Jarjour explained earlier that Hasho, Syrian chant, is a coming together of emotionality, spirituality, musicality and knowledge.

The texture of the songs are usually thin but due to the acoustics in the buildings they are sung in, the sound becomes more dense with the echoes and sound-waves bouncing off the walls and ceilings.

[1] Although the Syriac beliefs are in union with the Catholic Church, Syrian chant is designed for a specific style of celebration that other forms of Catholicism do not use.

[1] This proved difficult to interpret as the Syrian Christians only used oral language to pass on the chants which meant the music was not scripted or theorized.

Both hymns and antiphonal psalmody were brought by St. Ambrose to Milan and are apparently the basis for Ambrosian chant.