Hanna Petros

Hanna Petros
Born 1896
Mosul, Ottoman empire
Origin Baghdad, Iraq
Died 1958 (aged 64)
Baghdad, Iraq
Genres Syriac sacral music, Iraqi Maqams
Occupation(s) Composer, Singer, Songwriter
Years active 1920s–1950s

Hanna Petros (Syriac: ܚܢܐ ܦܛܪܘܣ‎, Arabic: حنا بطرس‎‎), was an Iraqi Assyrian composer and a scholar. He wrote numerous books and treatises on oriental music, Iraqi Maqams and Syriac hymnody. He also established a renowned conservatory in Baghdad.

Life

Hanna Petros was an ethnic Assyrian, born to a Chaldean Catholic family in Mosul in 1896. After finishing preparatory school, he studied oriental music at the hands of an Ottoman army officer from 1914–1918 and was shortly employed at the Ottoman military band in 1918. He subsequently worked as an instructor for scouting groups in Mosul in 1921. Later in 1924 he was asked to compose music for the Iraqi army's marching bands.

In 1936 he was asked to establish the Baghdad Conservatory which quickly drew musicians who gained fame such as Jamil Bashir and later his brother Munir Bashir. Şerif Muhiddin Targan was later appointed as the conservatory's dean and Hanna Petros continued to play a major role in the conservatory. It was then that he wrote most of his books. Moreover, he often appeared on the national radio to perform some of his musical works.

Hanna Petros died after a heart attack on 1958, and was buried at the Chaldean cemetery in Baghdad.

Works

"Sermon of Sadness" (ܟܪܙܘܬܐ ܕܚܫܐ).
A Syriac hymn sung by Hanna Petros, 1931.
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Hanna Peros' main attention was concentrated on oriental music, he composed and performed pieces in Iraqi Maqams and Syriac sacral music. He also left many literary works on that field most notably the Principals of Music Theory and The Book of National Anthems.

References

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