Before the civil war in Syria destroyed ancient religious sites, and scattered some of the oldest Christian communities in the world, Jason Hamacher made several trips there, taking photos and recording ancient Sufi and Christian chants. This project got its start when Hamacher read in a book about “the world’s oldest Christian music”. He tracked down the author, William Dalrymple, who told him there were no recordings of the music. And he said, “it’s not a monastery in the desert; it is a Syrian Orthodox church in the middle of the city of Aleppo.” Hamacher ended up staying at that church, a guest of the archbishop, who has since been kidnapped by rebels.

Hamacher is planning a series of albums called Sacred Voices of Syria. The first, which was released this summer, is called Nawa: Ancient Sufi Invocations and Forgotten Songs from Aleppo. Hamacher isn’t coming at this from the perspective of a musicologist, or a member of a religious community. He’s a drummer who’s played in several punk bands in the Washington, DC area, including the group Frodus. He founded Lost Origin Productions, to distribute for his recordings and photographs.

Image of Mar Musa Monastery via Lost Origins by Jason Hamacher