You may be thinking of the same fellow as +Ephraim was the composer of many hymns. Its likely though you are thinking of +Romanos the Melodist, a Syrian who was greatly influenced by the hymns of +Ephraim (who is also called The Syrian, though he was from Mesopotamia).
"Romanos the Melodist" rings a bell. I must have read an article about him at some point, and got my Syrians muddled.
Thanks for helping!