Ethiopian chant

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
"Zema" redirects here. For the name, see Zema (name).

Ethiopian liturgical chant
mequamia
Part of
Oriental Orthodoxy
Oriental Orthodox churches
Independent churches
Autonomous churches
History and theology
  • Ecumenical Councils:
  • Theology:
Liturgy and practices
  • Anaphora & Rites:
  • Calendars:
  • Bible:
  • Peshitta
  • Coptic Bible
  • Armenian Bible
  • Orthodox Tewahedo Bible
  • Cross:
Major figures
Related topics
Links and resources
icon Christianity portal
This article contains
Ethiopic text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols
instead of Ethiopic characters.

Ethiopian liturgical chant, or Zema, is a form of

Saint Yared
. Through history, the Ethiopian liturgical chants have undergone an evolution similar to that of European liturgical chants.

Etymology

Zema means a pleasing sound, a song or a melody in

Ge'ez,[1][4] the liturgical language of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.[5]

History

liturgical chants.[6] Yared, who lived in the sixth century, represents the first known case of indigenous Ethiopian musical notation and religious music.[7] He invented three forms of chanting. They are known as ararai, ezil and geeze.[8] The Synaxarium of the Ethiopian Church attests that Ethiopian liturgical chants are faithful to Yared and divine in nature.[5]

By the beginning of the sixth century, in Yared's lifetime, Ethiopia had been Christianized. Around that period, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church already had a corpus of prayers. Ethiopian liturgical chants were developed only after that. Book of Deggua, Ethiopian antiphons, in particular are of much later origin, dating from the second half of the 16th century.[5] Most of the Ethiopian Highlands had been Miaphysite Christian since the fourth century. Ancient chanted liturgy with congregation participating with clapping, ululation and rhythmic movements has been retained from that era.[9]

Ethiopian liturgical chants are based on both written and oral sources,[10] but the isolation of Ethiopia and the lack of source material make it difficult to reconstruct the exact history of Ethiopian church music.[11]

The musical notation (melekket) used for the chants, is not a typical notational system since it does not represent pitch or melody. Rather, it is as a mnemonic. Most studies conclude that there has been impressive consistency since the 1500s. It is likely that Ethiopian liturgical chants have undergone an evolution similar to that of European liturgical chants.[3][10] It can be assumed that the notations have become more and more complex as time has passed. Regional varieties may have become standardized over time, and more symbols and segments of music have become available for composers.[3]

Any form of Ethiopian

Ethiopian Radio in recording.[7]

Practice

External media
Audio
audio icon Abetu Fetariachin by former members of Temero Mastemar and Meserete Haimanot Spiritual Associations choir,
YouTube, recorded by Beide Mariam Ejigu Retta at St Stephen's Church in Addis Ababa
, retrieved 1 April 2017

Students of Ethiopian liturgical chants study the Ge'ez language, and begin practicing singing in childhood. Education takes place in liturgical dance schools called aqwaqwam bét and includes, in addition to singing and dancing, training in traditional instruments such as the

mequamia. Singing students (däqä mermur) become singers (däbtära) and some will eventually become masters (märigéta). A student is considered ready when he has mastered the complicated genre of qené.[5] It has been suggested by Monneret de Villard that liturgical dance, that always accompanies the music, has its origins in the Ancient Egyptian dance.[11]

Ethiopian Orthodox Christians form approximately 43.5% of the population of modern day Ethiopia.[12] Ethiopian Church music remains tightly bounded within the communities and rarely attracts attention by outsiders. Ethiopian Christian music is largely sustained by communities of descent.[13]

United States

Further information: Ethiopian Americans

Since the mid-1970s, large-scale emigration of Ethiopians has created a diaspora in the United States. The emigrants brought their secular and liturgical music traditions with them. There is a large concentration of qualified priests (qes) and musicians (däbtära) in Washington, D.C. However, Ethiopian Churches in smaller communities face challenges in maintaining the liturgical cycle and musical tradition.[13]

Notational system

Terms for rates of speed[8]
1. Mereged Comparable to largo and grave. Very slow.
2. Nuis-mereged Comparable to adagio. Slow.
3. Abiy-tsefat Comparable to allegretto. Moderately fast.
4. Tsefat Comparable to allegro. Fast.
5. Arwasti Comparable to prestissimo. Very fast.
Notational signs[8] (ቅርጽ)
1. Yizet (ይዘት) ᎐ Comparable to staccato.
2. Deret (ደረት) ᎑ Low and deep voice. Humming at the lowest range of the male voice.
3. Kinat (ቅናት) ᎕ Comparable to upward glissando.
4. Chiret (ጭረት) ᎖ Comparable to downward glissando.
5. Difat (ድፋት) ᎔ Usually means a change to an octave lower.
6. Kurt (ቁርጥ) ᎙ Comparable to coda.
7. Rikrik (ርክርክ) ᎓ Comparable to tremolo.
8. Hidet (ሂደት) ᎗ Comparable to simultaneous
crescendo and portamento
.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Ethiopian chant | vocal music | Britannica". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  2. ^ "Zema for Christ". Music In Africa. Retrieved 1 April 2017.[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ a b c Scelta, Gabe F. (2011). "Ethiopian Christian Liturgical Chant & Historical Context" (PDF). University of London. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 February 2017. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
  4. ISBN 978-0-8147-6212-7
    .
  5. ^ a b c d "Choeur Saint Yared: Chants de L'église Éthiopienne" [Choir of Saint Yared: Songs of the Ethiopian Church] (in French). Maison des Cultures du Monde. Archived from the original on 10 April 2017. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
  6. ISBN 978-1-85733-620-7
    .
  7. ^ a b "Zema for Christ". Music In Africa. Retrieved 1 April 2017.[permanent dead link]
  8. ^ a b c "The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church". Archived from the original on 1 April 2017. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
  9. doi:10.1163/157006600X00438. Archived
    from the original on 19 January 2022. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
  10. ^
    S2CID 193208295. Archived
    (PDF) from the original on 10 April 2017. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
  11. ^
    doi:10.3406/ethio.1985.928
    .
  12. ^ "2007 Ethiopian census, first draft" (PDF). Ethiopian Central Statistical Agency. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 June 2012. Retrieved 6 May 2009.
  13. ^ a b Shelemay, Kay Kaufman (2009). Music in the Ethiopian American Diaspora: A Preliminary Overview (PDF). Trondheim: Norwegian University of Science and Technology. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 April 2016. Retrieved 5 April 2017.

Further reading

External links
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ethiopian_chant&oldid=1191699999"