Assyrian/Syriac folk music

Assyrian/Syriac folk music (Syriac: ܡܘܣܝܩܝ ܣܦܝܢܘܬܐ ܐܬܘܪܝܬܐ/ܣܘܪܝܝܬܐ) is the traditional music of the Assyrian people (also called by the theological terms Syriac Christians and Chaldean Catholics). It claims descendancy from the music of their ancient Mesopotamian ancestors that has survived in the liturgical music of the Syriac Churches. It can also be found in traditional middle eastern Makams.

History

Tribal and Folkloric Period

Music, is omnipresent in the village scene. A “Musician” is not necessarily a professional, and whoever can sing in any manner is considered a “singer”. Most of the time, music is learned by ear. The villagers lead a hard life, but whenever there is an opportunity, they love to make music or listen to it. Village music may be categorized, basically, into four groups: Local secular music not related to specific occasions; functional music; religious music; music adopted from other areas. Here are few types of tribal Assyrian Music that has survived to this day, especially in the Assyrian villages and towns of Northern Iraq, southeast Turkey, northwest Iran and northeast Syria:

It was in the area north of Mosul that people started to write the modern Syriac vernacular more than two hundred years before the earliest British missionaries. The earliest dated text is a poem written in 1591. This makes early Neo-Syriac literature a contemporary of Jewish Neo-Aramaic literature from roughly the same region, dating back to the late 16th century. The Neo-Syriac literature which existed before the arrival of British and American missionaries consisted mainly of poetry. This poetry can be divided into three categories: stanzaic Hymns, dispute poems, and drinking songs. Of these three categories, only the hymns, which in Neo-Syriac are termed duriky; (sg: durak or durikta) and which can be seen as the equivalent of the Classical Syriac madrase, can usually be traced back to individual authors.

Most duriky; are dated, ranging from the late sixteenth to the late nineteenth century. Most manuscripts come from the late nineteenth century, the first specimen of this poetry was transcribed on the basis of oral recitation, a poem by T'oma Singari. This edition was soon followed by Lidzbarski's edition of a poem of Yosep Jemdani from Telkepe (Telkaif) and one of HnaniSo' from Rustaqa. Three other poems by Yosep from Telkepe were published by Bernard Vandenhoff. The most complete list of duriky; is the one by Poizat, Another group of poems can be grouped together as "dispute poems", in which two "persons" in turn are speaking. They often also carry the epitheth durik, probably due to the fact that they display the same poetical pattern of monorhyme strophes. Out of seven dispute poems, three are not explicitly religious, whereas the others are.

These uncertainties with respect to time of origin also account for the third group of Neo-Syriac poems, the zmiryate d-rawe. "drinking songs". Here we are in the realm of popular songs, to be sung or recited at weddings and the like. These songs often have parallels in other region languages and probably were transmitted orally for a long period before they were put into writing. Two manuscripts of a Neo-Syriac translation of a Gospel lectionary from the Alqosh area, which are ascribed to a certain deacon Israel the language of these poems does not represent the particular dialect of its single authors, but rather a standardized form in use in northern Iraq. (H. L. Murre-van den Berg).

Modern Assyrian Music

World War One, and the resulting Assyrian Genocide, drove many Assyrians out from their mountainous region of Hakkari (South East Turkey) back into the Assyrian regions of northern Iraq, and WWII brought them in direct contact with the west especially the British army in Iraq, Russians in Urmia and the French in Syria. But the contact with the British caused the most influence on modern Assyrian Music, especially the period after the independence of Iraq in 1932, which brought British oil companies into Iraq and they employed many by now English speaking Assyrians. At this time they came in contact with western Music and Instruments. Assyrian youth started picking up and playing these new instruments after seeing and hearing the British playing. Assyrian youths started to find new bands and to play in parties, picnics and other functions for both Assyrians and others.

In Baghdad, Iraq the earliest known record is by Hanna Patros in 1931 – perhaps two Gramophones (78rpm) with 2 songs on each (church hymns and folk songs). Called “"Karuzuta d-khasha". Hanna Petros (1896–1958). Later became the music director at the conservatory in Baghdad. There were church hymns and folklore songs with a musical company on the records.

Albert Rouel Tamras releases his first records in Baghdad in 1966 on Bashirphone label owned by Jameil Bashir an Assyrian Iraqi oud and Violin Soloist. Singing in the background with Albert are Biba and Sargon Gabriel two Assyrian singers who will later become modern Assyrian singers in the US. Gabriel Asaad (1907–1997) in 1926 wrote and composed his first song "Othroye Ho Mtoth Elfan L-Metba".

The ethnically Assyrian and Armenian metal band Melechesh incorporates extensive Assyrian-Mesopotamian influences both lyrically and instrumentally in their music.

Assyrian Dances

Assyrians are proud people and one thing they master from a young age is dancing, these are few dancing that have survived to-date and you will see them danced in any Assyrian function. No one knows what their names means or who found them, but with some exceptions on few.

Some say the word comes from Bshkhana (getting warm), Assyrians before going on a hunt or battle they would dance on this beat to get warm. Much of the Assyrian original homeland was in snow-peaked mountains of Ashur, Assyria.

Among the oldest Assyrian dances, rarely performed these days. Due to the decline of new Assyrian songs on this beautiful beat.

Belatee:

Among other dances are those western influenced styles such as, Slow dance, waltz,…etc.

List of Assyrian singers

Sources