Director – maestro Sister Narjis Henti (Iraq)

Members
Franklin ORAHIN
Rami AL-HURMUZI
Rayan ZAITO
Reveen NABATI

Who We Are

Bath-Qala is a vocal ensemble founded in Iraq in 2025, in the heart of the Chaldean Catholic Church, by a group of deacons trained in the reading and chanting of Eastern Syriac — a standardized form of Aramaic, that was spoken by Jesus. The ensemble is directed by Maestro Sister Narjis Henti SHJ.
This precious musical heritage, transmitted orally over the centuries, has found a home in the hearts of these young individuals. Since the origins of the Chaldean tradition, deacons’ choirs have played a central role in the liturgy. As early as the fourth century, in the schools of Edessa and Nisibis, under the influence of Saint Ephrem, Harp of the Spirit (? – d. 373), these melodies were taught orally and organized into a three-year educational cycle.

Bath-Qala, which means “echo” in Syriac, was born with the intention of being the echo of those ancient schools and melodies — to sing, preserve, transmit, and share them with the world and the richness that they embody.

 

Mission and Vision

Through this ensemble, we aspire to establish, in the future, a School of Sacred Music dedicated to take care and promote the richness of the our liturgy. Our mission includes the systematic transcription and recording of this musical heritage, to ensure its preservation and transmission to future generations.

We also aim to promote a deeper understanding of the liturgical-musical tradition of the Chaldean Catholic Church through rigorous and well-documented research, highlighting its historical, cultural, and spiritual value.