"Bishop Gregorios Yohanna Ibrahim has here given us an extremely valuable study of the history of music in the Syrian Orthodox Church. This book originated in Bishop Gregorios’ dissatisfaction with the lack of a study which would show where the music of the Syrian church came from, how it was accepted in the church, the basis on which it entered the church, the regional variation in chanting traditions, and the development of church music through time. Bishop Gregorios’ study takes us back to the time of Bardaisan and Ephrem to address these matters and others. But this book contains more than just history. There are also discussions of the eight modes of chant, the Beth Gazo, the Shimo, the names of different hymns and their divisions, excerpts from the Beth Gazo in musical notation, and a general introduction to Syriac music. The majority of the book is in Arabic, but it also includes chapters in Syriac and English. This book will be required reading for all interested in the subject of music in the Syriac tradition."--