Saint Yared ( Ge'ez: ቅዱስ ያሬድ; 25 April 505 – 20 May 571) was an

Aksumite The Kingdom of Aksum ( gez, መንግሥተ አክሱም, ), also known as the Kingdom of Axum or the Aksumite Empire, was a kingdom centered in Northeast Africa and South Arabia from Classical antiquity to the Middle Ages. Based primarily in wh ...

composer in the 6th century. Often credited with the forerunner of traditional music of Ethiopia and Eritrea, he developed the

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...

of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and

Eritrean Orthodox Church The Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church ( ti, ቤተ ክርስትያን ተዋህዶ ኤርትራ) is one of the Oriental Orthodox Churches with its headquarters in Asmara, Eritrea. Its autocephaly was recognised by Pope Shenouda III of Alexandri ...

, and the use in

liturgical music Liturgical music originated as a part of religious ceremony, and includes a number of traditions, both ancient and modern. Liturgical music is well known as a part of Catholic Mass, the Anglican Holy Communion service (or Eucharist) and Evensong ...

, as well as the Ethiopian musical notation system. Additionally, he composed '' Zema,'' or the chant tradition of Ethiopia, particularly the chants of the Ethiopian-Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Churches, which are still performed today. St. Yared was from Axum; according to traditional legend, his earlier education was dwindled after his father death, and his mother subsequently sent him to parish priest Abba Gedeon. Upon embarking exile to his uncle's birthplace in Murade Qal, St. Yared remorsed from his failure in education after he saw exemplification of a caterpillar's effort to climb up a tree to its peak. Stimulated by the caterpillar's success, St. Yared gained confidence in his worth and subsequently achieved his success in later life. He became priest of the Holy Ark of Sion. During the reign of Emperor Gebre Meskel (son of Emperor

Kaleb Kaleb (), also known as Saint Elesbaan, was King of Aksum, which was situated in modern-day Eritrea and Ethiopia. Procopius calls him "Hellestheaeus", a variant of grc-koi, Ελεσβόάς version of his regnal name, gez, እለ አጽብ� ...

), St. Yared significantly gained prominence for his musical style and the emperor beloved him. During Nine Saints expedition from

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

, St. Yared cooperated with them to build several churches in location of Lake Tana,

Begemder Begemder ( amh, በጌምድር; also known as Gondar or Gonder, alternative name borrowed from its 20th century capital Gondar) was a province in northwest Ethiopia. Etymology A plausible source for the name ''Bega'' is that the word means " ...

and in

Tigray Province Tigray Province ( Amharic and ), also known as Tigre ( tigrē), was a historical province of northern Ethiopia that overlayed the present day Afar and Tigray regions. Akele Guzai borders with the Tigray province It was one It encompassed most ...

. One of the church called Saint Mariam was founded together after debilitating journey in the location of Zur Amba. In Abune Aragawi's ''Gadla Aragawi'' account, the name "Zur Amba" derived from God's appearance in order to guide him to the east side to build the church. He is regarded as a saint of the Ethiopian-Eritrean Orthodox Church with his feast day celebrated on 19 May. His name is from the Biblical person known in English as "

Jared Jared is a given name of Biblical derivation. Origin In the Book of Genesis, the biblical patriarch Jared (יֶרֶד) was the sixth in the ten pre-flood generations between Adam and Noah; he was the son of Mahalaleel and the father of En ...

" (

Book of Genesis The Book of Genesis (from Greek ; Hebrew: בְּרֵאשִׁית ''Bəreʾšīt'', "In hebeginning") is the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its Hebrew name is the same as its first word, ( "In the beginning" ...

5:15).

Traditional account

It was widely accepted that St. Yared was born on 25 April 505 in the city of Axum,

Axumite Kingdom The Kingdom of Aksum ( gez, መንግሥተ አክሱም, ), also known as the Kingdom of Axum or the Aksumite Empire, was a kingdom centered in Northeast Africa and South Arabia from Classical antiquity to the Ethiopia in the Middle Ages, Middle ...

from his mother Tauklia and his father Adam. When he reached six, his parent gave him

tutelage Tutoring is private academic support, usually provided by an expert teacher; someone with deep knowledge or defined expertise in a particular subject or set of subjects. A tutor, formally also called an academic tutor, is a person who provides ...

of Yishaq, who was a teacher of Axum. Under his instruction, St. Yared completed alphabet and

Psalms The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived ...

. Yishaq brought St. Yared back to his parent and his father died. Unable to raise him, his mother Tauklia left him to his uncle Abba Gedeon, who was a parish priest. Gedeon was a teacher of Old and

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...

in Saint Mary of Sion and he began translating

Holy Scriptures Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They differ from literature by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual pra ...

into Ge'ez from Hebrew and Greek. At that time St. Yared was in poor education and unable to acquire knowledge, which led him severe punishments and mockery at school. Aware of his failure, St. Yared decided to go on to his uncle's birthplace Medebai Welel. Due to heavy rain, St. Yared sheltered under a nearby tree in place of Murade Qal. Pondering his life, St. Yared rested and noticed a caterpillar climbing the tree to eat leaves. The caterpillar continued to fall down, but eventually it succeeded to reach its destination. St. Yared wept and returned to Gedeon and pledge him not to offend. Gedeon began teaching Psalms. St. Yared subsequently moved to Saint Mary of Sion for prayer. When St. Yared was fourteen, Gedeon died; St. Yared took his mastering position. He then returned to Axum at the age of nine, becoming the chief priest in Holy Ark of Sion. Soon after, St. Yared composed "Ariam". While at Axum, St. Yared created musical notations and alphabets, as well as '' mequamia''. During the 14-year rule of King Gebre Meskel (the son of King Kaleb) from 525 to 539, St. Yared became a dominant musical figure in Axum. He proclaimed as the greatest poet and the King favored him. Soon after St. Yared composed ''Zema'', resulting in his succession in church service. During this, St. Yared decided to live with ascetics and requested to the Emperor:

Promise to grant me...allow me to retire from my work in the court and to live among the people so that I may devote the rest of my life teaching, to meditation and to prayer.

Though Gebre Meskel resented by his retirement, he kept his promise and granted him to leave his service. St. Yared travelled to

Semien Mountains The Simien Mountains (Amharic: ስሜን ተራራ or Səmen; also spelled Simen and Semien), in northern Ethiopia, north east of Gondar in Amhara region, are part of the Ethiopian Highlands. They are a World Heritage Site and include the Simien M ...

. St. Yared become a pioneer of observing Hossana, also called

Palm Sunday Palm Sunday is a Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in each of the four canonical Gospels. Palm Sunday marks the first day of Hol ...

in Axum. He divided hymns into four parts: winter, summer, autumn and spring. He completed the

Book of Deggua The Book of Deggua ( gez, መፅሃፈ ድጓ, ''De'guaa'', means "lamentation") is a hymnary guideline of the Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Churches written by the six century composer Yared. The great Deggua is called Mahlete Yare ...

, (De'guaa) in

Tigrinya (; also spelled Tigrigna) is an Ethio-Semitic language commonly spoken Eritrea and in northern Ethiopia's Tigray Region by the Tigrinya and Tigrayan peoples. It is also spoken by the global diaspora of these regions. History and literatur ...

, which means "lamentations". Deggua divides into three chanting modes: Ge'ez, Ezel, Araray. Ge'ez relies a plain chant for ordinary days, Ezel is increased measured beat for funeral and Araray is a free mode, light beats for festivals. The highest part of Deggua is Mahlet St. Yared (hymn of St. Yared). Those three chants represent the

Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God th ...

. St. Yared also composed ten tones with notations, unlike the European modes consisting of six notes. St. Yared then developed their arrangements calling "Seraye", which signifies hymnary guideline. The glyphs of notations consist of dashes, dots and curves. Tsome Deggua is written for Lent, Me'eraf is sung for Sabbath vigils, Zimare is for Holy Communion, Mewasit is for funerals, requierems and Eastern Eve and Quidase is for Communion. These books spend nine years in order to complete. The Nine Saints, who were expelled by religious persecution from

and who reached Ethiopia in the 5th century, met with St. Yared, with whom he visited individual churches and aid them to build with assistance of Axumite Emperors. St. Yared also consecrated

Debre Damo Debre Damo (), also spelled Debre Dammo, Dabra Dāmmo or Däbrä Dammo), is the name of a flat-topped mountain, or amba, and a 6th-century monastery in Tigray Region of Ethiopia. The mountain is a steeply rising plateau of trapezoidal shape, abou ...

churches founded by Abuna Aregawi. One place where St. Yared successfully gave mastery is St. Qirkos in Lake Tana. St. Yared communication with one of saint named

Abba Pantelewon Abba Pentelewon (Pantaleon) (c. 470 – 522) was a Christian monk who is traditionally credited with founding Pentalewon Monastery located on the top of Mai Qoho Hinorthwest of Axum in Tigray, Ethiopia. He is one of the members of the group k ...

was expedient. Pantelewon told that St. Yared knew Western tradition and he went to

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

once. He recalled that "I went to Rome econd Rome Constatinoplewhere I saw a Church, I knew her and loved her like my own sister, a few years later, I visited her again during the time she was bathing in the river Tigre." Through assistance of Pantelewon, Aragawi and Abba Yesehaq, St. Yared acknowledged the Western culture. According to ''Tarika Nagast'' and ''Gadla Aragawi'', King Gebre Meskel, Aragawi and St. Yared maintained stable friendship for establishing churches at Lake Tana,

and Tigray. After two years, they went to Gayint and built a church called Saint Mariam at Zur Amba. The foundation is said to be as a result of "God's guide" and this location was named ''Zur Amba'' after "appearance of God to Aragawi". The account wrote about God's appearance and guidance to Aragawi in Ge'ez: "Zur Abba Mengale Misraq...." which means "...Abba, turn to the east; you will find the way to the hill."

Later life and death

On the coronation of Gebre Meskel, Yared placed a wreath of flower to crown on him. The event is found in Deggua. St. Yared died at the age of 66 on 20 May 571 in a cave of

. He had been traveling to teach. 19 May is conceived as his feast day and the Orthodox Tewahedo Church venerate in commemoration of his "disappearance".

In popular culture

Little known of the life of St. Yared outside the traditional account. St. Yared thought to gather his pupils to teach his musical system after being asceticism in monastic life. He has been said to bequeath musical heir where the practice also revolutionize "a genealogy of masters from St. Yared in the 6th-century to

Aleqa The title Aleqa ("Master", also transliterated Alaqa) is a honorific title used in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. It is used as the title of a chief priest, the head of a monastery, as well as being an honorific An honorific is a titl ...

Mersha in the 20th-century." St. Yared's chant and voice revered as powerful; his performance on liturgical music outstrip into secular domain, where "the remark [is] often made of a good singer; his voice makes one cry." His work has been contested to controversy by religious and secular discourse. Secular teaching argued that St. Yared is the base and father of secular music. The outlook of "secular music" strongly objected by Orthodox Church. Another challenges are spiritual songs in audio and audiovisual form is possible without original hymn. Without proper knowledge, some musicians prepare religious music and some singers taken to secular form. The most contentious is the use of church treasures such as drum, sistrum, clothes and stick currently used by Protestant followers. Some of St. Yared's song like "Yekome Were", "Yetegulet Digua", "Yeankober Wereb", Yewashera Qine", Yeachabr Wereb", "Yeselelkula Kidase", "Ye Aba Giorgis" and "Ze Gasicha Seatat" are becoming obsolete or few scholars have no students.

Reception

St. Yared regarded by Ethiopian Studies scholars as the founder of ''qene''. His musical work swayed Yohannes of Gebla in Wollo Province, Wollo and Tewanei of Deg Istifa in Gojjam, who improvised into complex forms. The work also contributed for service from time of day to day of year, depending of valuable occasional feasts and religious season. Deggua's summary opening by:

Oh! Music!... Ah! Music that I heard the angels' sing in Heaven Uttering Holy! Holy! Lord! The Heavens and the Earth are filled with Your holy praise

Tradition holds that St. Yared ascended to Heaven supported by angels Seraph and Cherub, singing "Holy! Holy! Holy!", a paraphrase of Ancient of Days in Book of Daniel. In addition, it augmented supernatural entities bolstered him: three white angels, three white birds singing with animals and beasts. His compositions also reflect agriculture and seasons. For example, for rainy season (mid-June to mid-September) and for harvest season (mid-September to mid-December): ;Rainy season

Listen to the sound of the footsteps of the rain! When the rains pour down, the poor rejoice. Listen to the sound of the footsteps of the rain! When the rains pour down, the hungry are satiated... The clouds hear and obey His word; And the streams brim with water. And the furrows quench their thirst...

;Harvest season

In its own time, the rainy season has passed. Now is established the season of plenty. Behold! The plants have blossomed and brought fourth fruit...

References

External links