Ancient Greek music
Posted: Tue Mar 05, 2024 10:24 pm
There was a programme on BBC 4 last night about, mainly, ancient Greek music. For anyone with access to BBC iplayer, you may be able to catch it on there, or perhaps it will turn up on PBS America. It was called Discovering the Music of Antiquity.
Anyway, a small piece of folder papyrus was found in the Louvre which they managed to unfold and found a piece of music written down in the 2nd century BC. The Greeks had a system of musical notation, with some 1600 characters/symbols, and it seems this is well-known enough to have been computerised so that ancient Greek music can be heard again today. This song is believed to be from Euripides 'Medea' and is Medea protesting that she did not kill her two sons by Jason but that she entrusted them to a nursemaid. The brief song was performed by a male bass singer, as it would have been in the original theatre been performed by a male actor, and the deep tones were meant to signify the darkness of Medea's character.
Another Greek song has survived on a stele, I believe found in what was Constantinople, and I think they mentioned that one other song has survived.
The programme also featured the aulos, the double flute which seems to have been played at every event in ancient Greece. It is more resonant and deeper than a modern flute, which is rather breathy in comparison.
The programme also featured ancient Egyptian harps, which weren't very impressive, and Roman circular horns (I can't remember the name). They did not mention that these horns might have some connection with Celtic war horns, which are much louder and more impressive, even though the Roman army used these circular horns in much the same way that more modern armies used the bugle for signalling manoeuvres.
Finally, no music survives from Egypt or Rome, but it does from Greece.
Anyway, a small piece of folder papyrus was found in the Louvre which they managed to unfold and found a piece of music written down in the 2nd century BC. The Greeks had a system of musical notation, with some 1600 characters/symbols, and it seems this is well-known enough to have been computerised so that ancient Greek music can be heard again today. This song is believed to be from Euripides 'Medea' and is Medea protesting that she did not kill her two sons by Jason but that she entrusted them to a nursemaid. The brief song was performed by a male bass singer, as it would have been in the original theatre been performed by a male actor, and the deep tones were meant to signify the darkness of Medea's character.
Another Greek song has survived on a stele, I believe found in what was Constantinople, and I think they mentioned that one other song has survived.
The programme also featured the aulos, the double flute which seems to have been played at every event in ancient Greece. It is more resonant and deeper than a modern flute, which is rather breathy in comparison.
The programme also featured ancient Egyptian harps, which weren't very impressive, and Roman circular horns (I can't remember the name). They did not mention that these horns might have some connection with Celtic war horns, which are much louder and more impressive, even though the Roman army used these circular horns in much the same way that more modern armies used the bugle for signalling manoeuvres.
Finally, no music survives from Egypt or Rome, but it does from Greece.