Syriac Hymnal App

• Audio Recordings: Recordings of all chants, synchronized with Western musical notation and ancient Syriac manuscript symbols.
• Text Transliterations: Syriac text, with Latin and Arabic transliterations to assist non-Syriac readers.
• Multi-Language Translations:
  • English
  • Swedish
  • Arabic
  • German (to be added)
  • French (to be added)
  • Turkish (to be added)
  • Malayalam (to be added)
• Guide to Melodies and Chants: Users can explore how these sacred melodies connect to feasts and liturgical cycles of the Syriac Church.
• Typing in Syriac: Embedded Syriac fonts ensure easy reading, though users are recommended to use a Syriac keyboard for searches (iPhone: Black Keys, Android: SwiftKey).

The Syriac Hymnal App is more than a digital platform; it is a critical initiative aimed at preserving and promoting the ancient musical tradition of the Syriac Orthodox Church. The app brings together the surviving chants of the Syriac-speaking communities, making them accessible to individuals worldwide, whether in the Middle East or in diaspora communities.

Amid the rise of digital media during the global pandemic, the app aims to preserve this ancient tradition and transform it into a comprehensive resource for liturgical, theological, and musical education. It is designed for both academic institutions and individuals passionate about preserving their heritage, while also fostering intercultural understanding between East and West.

Key Objectives of the SHA

1. Cultural Preservation and Education:
   The Syriac community’s historical and musical culture stands its best chance of survival through education. The app offers a solid foundation in Syriac faith and culture for young generations, while providing valuable insights to a broader global audience. It is the only institution fully dedicated to preserving this ancient heritage.
2. Training for Deacons and Choir Leaders:
   The app serves as a vital tool in training deacons and choir leaders, empowering them with the expertise required to preserve and promote Syriac sacred music. This educational program helps strengthen the cultural and spiritual ties within the Syriac-speaking community, ensuring the continuation of this ancient tradition.
3. Comprehensive Features:
   The app provides access to Syriac chants for every ecclesiastical occasion, featuring translations into multiple languages (English, Arabic, Swedish, and more). The audio recordings are accompanied by performances on the Oud, a traditional string instrument. The app also includes detailed descriptions of liturgies, hymns, and the ecclesiastical modes, along with the full Daily Office translated into English.

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The Uniqueness of the SHA

The Syriac Hymnal App stands as the only digital resource offering a complete musical tradition of the Syriac-speaking churches. It incorporates the oldest existing recordings as well as new recordings made by the Syriac Music Institute, featuring elderly practitioners from various countries. The app will be available free of charge and will also provide weekly email updates with insights into the musical, theological, historical, and liturgical aspects of the chants.

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The Global Impact of the SHA

The Syriac Hymnal App has the potential to make a wide-ranging impact on multiple levels:

1. Local Impact

In conflict-affected regions, the app serves as a vital cultural anchor, helping to preserve and transmit the identity and heritage of Syriac Christians. Its extensive collection of traditional hymns and chants plays a key role in safeguarding this endangered cultural tradition.

2. Regional Impact

The app fosters intercultural understanding by authentically representing the Syriac sacred music tradition. Acting as a bridge between different religious and cultural groups, it promotes appreciation for the rich heritage of Syriac-speaking Christians, encouraging dialogue and cultural exchange.

3. Global Impact: Ensuring Worldwide Access to an Endangered Tradition

The app is a groundbreaking tool for preserving and expanding access to the sacred music of the Syriac Orthodox Church. Once confined to local communities, this musical heritage now faces threats from conflict and displacement. The app ensures these ancient chants are available worldwide.

• Preserving a Tradition at Risk
  In regions like Syria and Iraq, where Syriac sacred music is under threat, the app offers a digital lifeline, allowing these traditions to survive and thrive.
• Supporting the Global Diaspora
  For Syriac-speaking communities across the globe, the app ensures cultural continuity. Translations and transliterations help younger generations engage with their musical heritage and preserve the tradition for the future.
• Reaching a Diverse Global Audience
  The app opens up Syriac sacred music to a wider audience, with translations in multiple languages. It fosters intercultural exchange and bridges Eastern and Western traditions, making this ancient music accessible to all.
• Academic and Religious Resource
  As the first comprehensive digital repository of Syriac Orthodox music, the app is an invaluable tool for scholars, musicologists, and theologians. Its recordings, notations, and translations support research, education, and liturgical studies.
• A Model for Cultural Preservation
  The Syriac Hymnal App sets a new standard for preserving endangered cultural traditions in the digital age, serving as an inspiration for similar initiatives worldwide.

By preserving, sharing, and revitalizing this ancient musical heritage through modern technology, the Syriac Hymnal App not only protects the legacy of the Syriac Orthodox Church but also enriches global religious and cultural understanding, making a profound impact on the appreciation of one of Christianity’s oldest traditions.

To navigate the Syriac Hymnal App effectively, it is crucial to understand the structure of the annual liturgical cycles and feast days, as well as how the eight tones (qinotho) are distributed across these cycles according to the Syriac Church’s liturgical calendar.

Overview of the 8 Liturgical Cycles, Feast Days, and Eight Tones

According to the Syriac liturgical calendar, there are 8 cycles or seasons, each named and numbered from 1 to 8. These cycles guide the sequence of hymns and tones used throughout the year:

1. Cycle 1: Consecration of the Church
2. Cycle 2: Birth of Jesus (Christmas)
3. Cycle 3: Epiphany
4. Cycle 4: Great Lent
5. Cycle 5: Resurrection of Jesus (Easter)
6. Cycle 6: Middle Sundays
7. Cycle 7: Latter Sundays
8. Cycle 8: General Sundays

Typically, each cycle spans 8 Sundays, though some cycles, like Christmas, may consist of only 3 Sundays but are still treated as a complete cycle. Additionally, each cycle includes 3 to 10 feast days. For example, the Epiphany cycle contains 8 Sundays, forming a complete cycle, and includes 15 or more feast days, depending on local or regional observances of additional saints’ days.

Feast Days and Liturgical Observances

Feast days can fall on either weekdays or Sundays, but all feast days are celebrated with a Mass. Every Sunday includes the observance of at least one feast day, and in some weeks, multiple feast days may be celebrated. These additional feast days, especially when they fall on weekdays, are noted in the app and highlighted on the liturgical calendar.

Hymns for Each Feast Day

Each feast day features specific hymns, divided into three primary categories:

• Bothar Ewangeliyon (Post-Gospel Hymn)
• Qathuliqi (Middle Hymn)
• Hutomo (Concluding Hymn)

For each category, one or two hymns are assigned based on different chant traditions practiced across Syriac communities. These hymns are integral to the liturgical celebration and follow the tone system prescribed for the feast or Sunday within that cycle.

Fixed Hymns for the Holy Qurbono (Holy Eucharist)

In addition to the feast day-specific hymns, there are fixed hymns sung during the celebration of the Holy Qurbono (Holy Eucharist). This set of 15 to 29 hymns remains unchanged across all services, with both the melody and text remaining constant. These hymns, such as “Bnuhrokh Hozenan Nuhro” (“In Your Light We See Light”), are foundational to every Mass and are deeply embedded in the Syriac liturgical tradition.

The Syriac Hymnal App has been designed to make it easy for users to find and explore hymns based on the liturgical cycles, feast days, and Holy Qurbono (Holy Eucharist-Mass) observed in the Syriac Orthodox Church. If you’re not familiar with the structure of the church’s liturgical calendar, hymns, or tones, don’t worry—this guide will help you navigate the app smoothly.

Understanding the Two Main Categories of Hymns

The app displays two main types of hymns:

1. Feast Day Hymns: These hymns are tied to specific feast days that occur throughout the eight annual liturgical cycles.
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2. Mass Hymns: These are the fixed hymns that are sung every Sunday or feast day during the Holy Liturgy (Mass). These hymns remain the same across all services, regardless of the feast day.
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Finding Hymns in the App

The app offers three main ways to search for and find hymns:

1) Searching Hymns by Liturgical Cycles & Feast Days

To explore hymns for a specific feast day:

• On the home screen, click on the “Liturgical Cycles & Feast Days” option.
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• A new page will open, displaying the 8 liturgical cycles. Click on any cycle (1-8) to see a list of feast days that fall within that cycle.
  • For example, selecting Cycle 3: Epiphany will show all the feast days in that cycle.
• Once you select a feast day, you will be taken to a page showing three categories of hymns:
  • Post-Gospel Hymn (Qolo d-Bothar Ewangeliyon)
  • Middle Hymn (Qathuliqi or Litany)
  • Concluding Hymn (Hutomo)
• When you click on any of these categories, you will see one or two hymns. For each hymn, the app displays the following:
  • Musical notation
  • Audio track
  • Syriac hymn text
  • Translation and transliteration (English translation is the default, but more options are available)

Choosing a Different Language for Translation & Transliteration:

• To switch languages, click on the “translation language” option. This allows you to view the hymn in different languages available in the app (such as Arabic, Swedish, and others).

2) Searching Hymns Through the Calendar

Another way to find hymns is by using the monthly calendar displayed on the home screen:

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• The calendar shows the current month and year. Days highlighted in red represent feast days.
• Clicking on a highlighted day will display the feast day for that date, and the app will automatically direct you to the “Liturgical Cycles & Feast Days for the Month” section.
• From there, you can explore hymns for that feast day in the same way described above—navigating to the three categories of hymns and viewing their notations, audio, and translations.

Viewing All Feast Days for a Given Month:

• If you’d like to see all feast days for the current month, click on “Liturgical Cycles & Feast Days for the Month of (… current month), 2024.” This will show a list of all feast days in that month. Clicking on any feast day will take you through the same process of viewing the hymns.

3) Searching Hymns by Title Using the search Bar

The third option for finding hymns is using the search bar:

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• You can search for hymns either by their Latin transliteration (using Roman alphabet letters) or by their Syriac titles (for users with a Syriac keyboard).
• To search in Latin transliteration, click on the right box titled “Chant Title in Latin Transliteration”. To search in Syriac, use the left box titled “Chant Title in Syriac”.
  • Note: To type in Syriac, you will need a Syriac keyboard installed on your device.
• When typing the first few letters of a hymn title, the app will suggest matching hymns. Click on the hymn you’re looking for, and it will open the hymn page where you can see the musical notation, text, audio, and translation.

Key Tips Navigating the App

• Familiarize yourself with the 8 liturgical cycles: These cycles guide the structure of hymns for Sundays and feast days, so understanding them will help you know where to look for specific hymns.
• Use the calendar to quickly find feast days: The red-highlighted dates in the calendar make it easy to see which days are feast days, allowing you to explore the hymns assigned to those days.
• Explore the fixed Mass hymns: These are always the same for every Sunday or feast day, and you can find them under the Mass Hymns section.

By following these steps, you’ll be able to easily navigate the app and explore the rich musical heritage of the Syriac Orthodox Church. Whether you’re looking for specific feast day hymns or the fixed hymns for the Holy Qurbono, the app provides everything you need at your fingertips.

The Syriac Music Institute is dedicated to preserving and promoting the liturgical music traditions of the Syriac Orthodox Church. Through projects like the Syriac Hymnal Portal, we aim to make these sacred chants accessible to future generations, ensuring their survival in the digital age.

Credits:

• App Design & Architecture: Gabriel Aydin & Reon Technologies
• Audio Recording: Gabriel Aydin
• Musical Instrument (Oud): Abboud Zino
• Audio Mixing & Mastering: Gabriel Aydin
• IT Advisers: Adai J. Aydin, Dr. Thomas Joseph, Vibi Varughese

Support the Syriac Music Institute (SMI)

SMI (EIN: 27-0460405) operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to preserving and promoting the rich musical heritage of the Syriac churches. Your donation directly supports projects like the Syriac Hymnal App, which systematizes the Syriac chant tradition with musical notation, audio, text, translation, and transliteration across multiple languages. Current and upcoming initiatives include introducing Syriac chants to children through music books, CDs, and instructional videos.

A donation of $100, $250, or more this year, with a commitment of $100 annually, will help expand the app with additional translations and enhance features like synchronized text, audio, and notation. Every contribution ensures the Syriac musical tradition remains accessible for future generations.

How to Donate: Click here to visit our PayPal page. Please include “Syriac Hymnal App” or the relevant project in the memo line. Donations are tax-deductible in the USA (please check with your tax advisor for other jurisdictions).

• The Syriac Hymnal app is a project by the Syriac Music Institute, established in Rhode Island, USA.
• Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
• Version: 1.0.0 (10)
• © Syriac Music Institute, 2024

For More Information or to contribute to the preservation of Syriac liturgical music, please contact us. Visit syriacmusicinstitute.com or email syriacmusicins@gmail.com to explore or contribute additional recordings.