Alleluia of Mourning

In the last month or so, two of my dearest friends lost family members leading me to look into the Coptic Rite of the funeral. Today, I’d like to share two important points that I discovered. The first is that the ⲃⲁⲧⲟⲥ psalis/doxologies of Lent, ⲡⲓⲙⲁⲓⲣⲱⲙⲓ and ⲛⲉⲕⲛⲁⲓ ⲡⲁϭⲟⲓⲥ are an essential part of the funeral rite, as they are prayers for repentance for the departed. They are to be chanted after ⲯⲁⲗⲙⲟⲥ ⲛ︦ (Psalm 50), ⲛⲏⲉⲧϣⲱⲛⲓ (Litany of the Sick) and ⲁⲣⲓⲕⲁⲧⲁⲝⲓⲟⲓⲛ (Graciously) and prior to the Alleluia of Mourning (Alleluia al-tagneez) which is the introduction to the psalms. This was still regularly practiced until recently, though it is now a rarity. Take a look at the funeral of cantor Tawfik Youssef of the Muharraq monastery (21:40): https://app.box.com/s/yib2gkas1xzs7166m2qgm3th9gymgptf

The second point is the use of the Alleluia of the Funeral/Alleluia of Mourning. Thus far, I’ve found that the hymn is used in two places: the funeral rite, and in the midnight office during Lent as the introduction to the Great Canticle of psalms. It was never recorded by the cantors of Cairo (to my knowledge) but a rendition of it was preserved in the collection of cantor Sameer Al-Kommos Yacoub of Upper Egypt. In order to revive this hymn and restore it to its place, I’ve recorded it here and dedicate it to the remembrance of Fr. Mikhail Ayad Gerges, and Dr. Isis Samy Youssef. May their memories be eternal!