Did Coptic music present the same problems? How does one represent such intervals with musical notation?
How many times was our work interrupted because errors were discovered? Even with much care and precautions, we had to understand that the work would remain imperfect. In spite of the difficulties that this work presented, we have tried to reach the highest possible perfection. We have tried especially to render with the highest accuracy, the melody and the rhythm of the chant. We preferred to reproduce scrupulously all that we heard, however relatively difficult to measure.[2] With this desire of precision to the smallest detail, we have kept the national character of Coptic chant. Even though they have been described as such, these chants do not contain “harsh and baroque modulations” and “savage and soporific melodies.”[3] They have none of the raw character of Arabic melody. Their cadences and their rhythms, more happy than sad, do not emit a gaiety that is born from pleasure. One will find, especially, beginning from the preface of the Mass, No. 31 to the end of the Office, passag
