Hello! Sorry for very naive question but Coptic hymns is new subject for me, I’m interested in it very much but yet know very little. So I would be very thankful for following information:
Where can I find common information about Coptic hymns, something like historical info. In particularly I have following questions:
-is Coptic original language of all Coptic hymns? How many of them are translated to Arabic and English?
-How many hymns exist and if there is list of the most popular Hymns?
-What is a rule of Hymns’ performance, I mean – what kind of Hymns are used in Liturgy/other services and how often and what it depends on?
Shukran,
Anna
Comments
About 1048 Hymns! (thank god i have CTV)
and the list is diffrent depending on who you ask :D
-is Coptic original language of all Coptic hymns?
Well, to begin, there are TONS of coptic hymns......just a lot. 95% or maybe more are fully coptic with words that are of greek original. the thing is that there are many coptic words that were taken from greek to actually fit a reformed christian language. other then that there are a couple of hymns that are fully greek. 99.9% of them are translated in arabic...that .1% probably consists of Yestermeje, Nativity paramoun liturgy communion hymn and any hymn that we don't know about :)
For english, well....we are still working on that. the MAIN things that are chanted in church often are already translated and are edited by many where it's hard to find a standard..BUT atleast they are being translated.
what we always work on are thing that not much people say.....not even in egypt but they are trully in books we have. can't give you all.....no way. you have to consider MANY MANY books and also all the services we have in church....i mean ALL. you can consider many things as hymns. the doxologies, the verses of cymbals, tai shori, ti-shori....anything that you actually sing in our liturgical services.