UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Santa Barbara The Transmission of Coptic Orthodox Liturgical Music: Historical and Contemporary Forms of Theorization, Translation, and Identity Construction A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Music by Nicholas Joseph Ragheb Committee in charge: Professor Scott Marcus, Chair Professor David Novak Professor Dwight Reynolds September 2019 The dissertation of Nicholas Joseph Ragheb is approved. ____________________________________________ David Novak ____________________________________________ Dwight Reynolds ____________________________________________ Scott Marcus, Committee Chair June 2019 The Transmission of Coptic Orthodox Liturgical Music: Historical and Contemporary Forms of Theorization, Translation, and Identity Construction Copyright © 2019 by Nicholas Joseph Ragheb iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation is the product of many years of study, exploration, uncertainty, doubt, and ultimately perseverance, none of which would have been possible without the encouragement, advice, and assistance of a huge number of people in North America and Egypt. In North America, I would like to thank Peter Awad, Maged Guirguis, David Labib, Albair Mikhail, Arsani Sedarous, and Morcous Wahba, as well as Father Nathanael Guirguis (formerly Michael Guirguis), Father Gregory Bekhit (formerly Amir Bekhit), and His Grace Bishop Youssef for their kindness and willingness to speak with me at length about the work of arranging English language hymns for the North American diaspora. Thanks to Mina Guirguis, Mark Soliman, Ray Wassef, and Father Matthias Shehad, for allowing me to discuss with them their work related to church publications and online resources, as well as Akmal Gouda, Maher Kaldas, and Hany Takla, for sharing with me their knowledge and expertise about Coptic history, rites, and hyms. Thanks to Father Joseph Boules, Father Cyril Gorgy, Father Markos Hanna, and Father Kyrillos Ibrahim for kindly giving their time to speak with me about their own churches and the challenges they face in the United States at the current moment. I am also extremely indebted to Nader Mansi, a dedicated deacon of the Church who offered me advice, provided me with crucial introductions, and reliably responded to even my most rudimentary questions with a deep knowledge and good humored patience that is rare in today’s world. In Egypt, I would like to thank ensemble director George Kyrillos for meeting with me on two separate occasions to discuss Coptic hymns and his work with the David Ensemble. Thanks also to Dr. Hussein Saber, a warm individual and world-class musician iv and teacher, who provided me with access to the music library at the Helwan University College of Music Education, and also taught me a great deal about the performance and theory of maqām during our weekly ‘ūd lessons in Zamalek. I also owe a huge debt of gratitude to the mu‘allimūn who generously offered up their time to meet with me, answer my questions, and in some cases provide me with hymn lessons and extensive interviews about their roles within the Church and their local communities. Thanks to Mu‘allim Ibrāhīm ‘Ayād, Mu‘allim Reda Barsoum, Mu‘allim Ahdy Hanna (may he rest in peace), Mu‘allim Zaki Mowad, and a special thanks to Mu‘allim Maged Milad and Mu‘allim Maged Samy who were exceedingly hospitable and generous with their time during my fieldwork in Cairo. Thanks also to Father Faim al-Anba Bishoy, the director of the Dideymus Institute in Cairo, who was patient and extremely helpful in answering my questions about the institute where the mu‘allimūn of the Church are trained. Additional thanks to Mina Medhat Shafik, who graciously invited me to the St. Athanasius Deacons’ School in Nasr City, Dr. Māgid Samu’īl Ibrāhīm, who allowed me to attend classes at the Institute of Coptic Studies (ICS), and John Nasry Zakher, my teacher during hymn classes that I attended there. At the University of California, Santa Barbara, I would like to thank our graduate advisor Carly Yartz who was always an encouraging presence throughout my time there and who was the rare person who always seemed to understand all the moving parts of the university machine. Thanks to Professors David Novak, Dwight Reynolds, and Scott Marcus, for their invaluable critiques of my work and the many lessons that I learned from them both in the classroom and more generally as examples of what true scholars and teachers may aspire to be. I would also like to give a special thanks to my family. Thanks to my mother Susan for everything that she has done for me throughout my life that has made it possible v for me to pursue and complete this project. Thanks to my wife Leida for putting up with me, especially over the past seven years. And finally I would like to dedicate this dissertation to my father Youssef Shafik Ragheb, may he rest in peace, and my son Marcio Curado Ragheb. It was my father whose braveness and determination led him across continents and oceans to start a new life in the United States, who worked harder than any man I have ever known, who never once made me feel that I had to follow in his footsteps, and who always encouraged me to follow my dreams. It was my son who made me realize how much more beautiful and profound my dreams could be. vi VITA OF NICHOLAS JOSEPH RAGHEB JUNE 2019 EDUCATION Ph.D. Ethnomusicology, University of California, Santa Barbara, 2019 M.Mus. Ethnomusicology, University of Texas at Austin, 2012 B.S. Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University, 2004 PUBLICATIONS “Coptic Ethnoracial Identity and Liturgical Language Use.” In Sacred Messages in a Secular World: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Multiculturalism and the Christian Experience. Eds. Kesha Morant Williams and Omotayo Banjo. Lexington Books, 2018. “Defining a Turkish Drum: Musical Instrument Classification and the Politics of Power.” Ethnomusicology Review. Vol. 21. Los Angeles: UCLA Department of Ethnomusicology, 2017. PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYMENT 2019 Associate Instructor, MUS114 Music and Popular Culture in North America, Summer Session, UCSB 2018-2019 Teaching Assistant, MUS114 Music and Popular Culture in North America, Fall, Winter, and Spring Quarters, UCSB 2018 Lecturer, MUS22P/122P/222X Middle Eastern Percussion, Fall Quarter, UCSB - Associate Instructor, MUS501 Directed Teaching in Music, Fall Quarter, UCSB - Associate Instructor, MUS114 Music and Popular Culture in North America, Spring Quarter, UCSB - Associate Instructor, MUS17 World Music, Winter Quarter, UCSB 2017 Teaching Assistant, MUS114 Music and Popular Culture in North America, Fall Quarter, UCSB - Teaching Assistant, CLIT32 Major Works of Middle Eastern Literature, Fall Quarter, UCSB - Associate Instructor, MUS17 World Music, Summer Session, UCSB 2016-2017 Associate Instructor, MUS17 World Music, Fall, Winter, and Spring Quarters, UCSB 2016 Associate Instructor, MUS17 World Music, Summer Session, UCSB 2015 Associate Instructor, MUS17 World Music, Summer Session, UCSB 2014 Lecturer, MUS22/122 Middle Eastern Percussion, Fall Quarter, UCSB 2013-2014 Teaching Assistant, MUS114 Music and Popular Culture in North America, Fall, Winter, and Spring Quarters, UCSB 2011-2012 Teaching Assistant and Percussion Director, MUS180K Middle Eastern Music Ensemble, Fall and Spring Semesters, UT Austin vii AWARDS, HONORS, & FELLOWSHIPS 2015-2016 Research Associateship, American Research Center in Egypt, Cairo, Egypt 2015 Summer Research Grant for travel to Cairo, Egypt, Center for Middle East Studies, UCSB 2014 2013-2014 Excellence in Ethnomusicology Performance Award, Music Department, UCSB - Summer Research Grant for travel to Cairo, Egypt, Center for Middle East Studies, UCSB - Regents Special Fellowship, UCSB 2013 Conference Travel Award for presentation at national SEM conference in Indianapolis, Indiana, Center for Middle East Studies, UCSB - Critical Language Scholarship Alumni Development Grant, U.S. State Department - Arabic Critical Language Scholarship, U.S. State Department - 2012-2013 Excellence in Ethnomusicology Scholarship Award, Music Department, UCSB 2012 Conference Travel Award, Center for Middle East Studies, UCSB - Regents Special Fellowship, UCSB 2011 Continuing Outreach Fellowship, UT Austin - Butler Excellence Scholarship, UT Austin - Fellowship for Intensive Advanced Turkish Language Study, The American Association of Teachers of Turkish Languages and the American Research Institute in Turkey 2010 Diversity Mentoring Fellowship, University of Texas at Austin viii ABSTRACT The Transmission of Coptic Orthodox Liturgical Music: Historical and Contemporary Forms of Theorization, Translation, and Identity Construction by Nicholas Joseph Ragheb This dissertation explores the historical and contemporary forms of musical conceptualization, theorization, and transmission associated with the sacred music of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Egypt. Through analyses of historical and contemporary forms of musico-theoretical discourse, I explore the ways in which the imagination and transmission of Coptic musical structures are implicated in the formation and transmission of narratives of Coptic history, and ultimately contribute to the construction and maintenance of Coptic identity. While this study includes an extensive review of previous scholarship on Coptic music, this historical component of the dissertation is focused on how theorizations about Coptic musical structures reflect the cultural contexts and ideologies of their authors. In a similar manner, this