Ancient music

The origins of music, at all times and among all peoples a popular subject of speculation and research, will be derived with the peoples of antiquity with compliance of the Godhead, as a result, all of them the music acting as forming and ennobling, under certain circumstances, as a miracle applies.

India

See also: Indian Music

In the ancient Indian music theory Gandharva reigned intuition to worship not only the highest of the gods, but also the creator of the music and in his son Narada the inventor of the national musical instrument in Vina Brahma.

As revealed by divine power Tonweisen but the most wonderful effects have been attributed to: A result was that which she sang, was consumed by fire, another could the sun be darkened, a third rain to bring forth, etc. Like all ancient cultures dares the Indian music to an enormous power. The Indians developed here an almost unlimited wealth of intervals and key signatures, which latter amounted to no less than 960 as stated by the music scholar Soma.

However, it should be noted that the term "key" in antiquity, another and another was as in Europe, and all consequences by increasing, depression or skipping individual intervals of the scale variants were considered as such.

As a result of this great wealth of intervals divided the Indians like the other nations of antiquity, the octave into more than twelve tones. They used even quarter-tones (after Ambros up to 22 to the octave). So their music appears via rich in melodic material, but unsuitable for polyphony and functional harmony.

China

The Chinese music took in public life a prominent position; one recognized her as an effective means to promote morality, and the wisest of all Chinese legislator Confucius (500 BC), even claimed that if one wants to know whether a country well governed, and is well mannered, so one must its listen to music.

Over time, the rigid adherence to tradition formed which progress in all areas of work more difficult in China and eventually brought the fruits of his millennia-old culture, the country, and for the development of the music a serious obstacle. As evidence of this on the conservative direction, only the fact should be mentioned that the ancient fünftönige, the fourth and seventh ermangelnde, scale ( the same as that laid Giacomo Puccini his overture to Turandot basis ) all attempts at reform n defiance until well into the 16th century. AD the Chinese was regarded as normal system.

My impose the missing intervals, so claimed the music scholar, hot so much, wanting to be like the hand attach a sixth or seventh finger, and even the as music connoisseurs generally accepted Prince Tsai- Yu, the per se in the first half of the 16th century had placed the tip of the musical Progressive Party, failed to break the resistance.

Egypt

That the music in public and private life of Egypt played an important role, the numerous recurring on almost all the monuments of the country pictorial representations of singers and instrumentalists, sometimes individually, sometimes united to choirs and orchestras.

Also can the diversity of appearing there instruments, among them the large, reichbesaitete harp, close to a certain external grandeur and opulence of the Egyptian music. After all, was forced by the fiat of a force acting in a mysterious dark priest layer to the constant repetition of certain types, such as sculpture and painting of Egypt, arrived at a certain level of training, as well as the sealing and composition; But these arts had the safer succumb under the mentioned conditions the state of torpor when they can least dispense with the lively participation of the people to their prosperity.

In this state, the Egyptian art shows yet at the time of Plato ( 4th century BC), who in his "laws" ( prefectures, Book 2 ) reports that there are beautiful shapes and good music knew well appreciated; " But how shall be designed these beautiful shapes and good music, is determined by their priests, and neither painters, musicians nor other artists, it is allowed something new to introduce from those once recognized as beautiful patterns to the contrary. Hence also it is that her paintings and statues that were manufactured 10,000 years ago, not a single work any better or worse than those that are made ​​even more now. "

In ancient Egypt, musical performances and dance are also detected as the Hittites. The stringed lyre and harp, as well as wind instruments flutes and reed instruments are known. For details, see music history.

As in all ancient civilizations, the melodies gradients were only transmitted orally in ancient Egypt, through the practice of Chironomie: hand and finger movements that display the various cadences.

Israel

See also: Jewish Music

As for the music of the Hebrews, one is merely required with regard to their internal composition on conjecture, not only because no written notices of them are present, but also in monuments of Hebrew antiquity ( a relief on the Arch of Titus in Rome with illustration of a train captive Jews excepted) lack. It is characteristic of the Jewish worship, that the biblical text is never read or declaimed, but always with musical accents ( Teamim ) and cadences is provided. The church father Jerome testifies this practice around the year 400 with the words: decantant divina mandata: " they (the Jews) to sing the divine commandments."

Greece

The tetrachord, which always includes two whole tones and a semitone, ie depending on the position of this semitone Doric (if it lies in the depth, such as EF- GA), Phrygian (if he is in the middle, for example, D -EF -G) or lydian (if it is in the height, such as CD -EF ).

From the composition of two Doric, Phrygian or Lydian tetrachords the octave species of the same result (Greek Harmonia ), which subsequently four more, beginning with the other tones of the diatonic scale were added, namely Hh ( Mixolydian ), Aa ( Hypodorisch ) Gg ( Hypophrygisch ), Ff ( Hypolydisch ). The last three, however, are not to be regarded as independent keys, but they may only be considered as changes of the first three, the higher half of the fifth, became deeper. In addition to this system, the octave species but was another to use, the transposition scale ( Tonos ), that is, a two -octave minor scale, which thus arose that one of the Dorian octave species Ee nor a Doric tetrachord in depth and one in the height inflicted (both in such close connection that the boundary tones coincided ) and finally this series by a sound in the depth, " added withdrawn " ( Proslambanomenos ) completed.

This system is the nature differs according of the octave species in that it ( major and minor scale as well as modern ) will be transposed to each of the twelve semitones of the octave, without changing the interval sequence, as indeed different in the octave genera pitch the case.

Although the octave species in the nature of different ( on the relations of the two systems is another one details in Frederick Beller 's anonymous. Note 28, p 45), the transposition scales but resulted in the same terms by province, and indeed were the names of the seven original ( their number later rose to fifteen):

  • Hypodorisch ( F minor ),
  • Hypophrygisch ( G minor ),
  • Hypolydisch (a minor),
  • Doric ( B flat minor )
  • Phrygian ( C minor ),
  • Lydian ( D minor )
  • Mixolydian ( E flat minor )
  • Darmiolydisch ( the minor)

With regard to the last -mentioned names had already pointed out that they are almost a millennium later recur in the same sequence as the name of the Christian church modes, although these are nothing but the Greek octave species, therefore, have nothing in common with the transposition scales - a mistake which thereby caused that during the first centuries of the Middle Ages with the Greek language, the music lesson was forgotten and the difference of those two systems remained unnoticed on resumption of studies of the ancient theory.

As a key distinguishing feature of the ancient Greek by the modern music its melodic diversity must apply as they occur to the Tongeschlechtern and shades to light. Among the former, of which there were three, the diatonic, chromatic and enharmonic, one understood the modifications of the intervals in the tetrachord, the enharmonic ancestry to the interval of the Fourth Elton, while the shade (chroma) still referred finer intonation differences.

Roman Empire

The Roman was music, as well as the seal, initially quite under the influence of Greek poetry. In illiterate time the rhythmic language was a prop for the memory. The singers and musicians were primarily practitioners and leaned against in their interpretation of the accents of the spoken language; Auxiliary character for the on and off of the voice have been invented by Aristophanes of Byzantium in the 3rd century BC. Music had a special role in the social structures of society always beside a ritual and symbolic significance. In Rome they did not seek in music, although the ethical, character-building value as in Greece, but it served as an indispensable companion in the cult, at funerals, in the army and in government actions, such as triumphal processions and also in performances in the circus and amphitheater.

One of the oldest musical instruments was the bone flute. Later they used to manufacture including wood, ivory or metal. From the Greeks, the Romans took over the two Lyre, lyre and the kithara.

The Aulos ( Doubled reed instrument ), also Tibia, one of the most frequently depicted instruments of antiquity, is a double reed instrument. A double flute is unknown in antiquity.

Under Etruscan influence found among the Romans various wind input, which were mainly used in the army: the signal instrument of the legions was the Roman tuba, a natural trumpet. Your body is a straight pipe made ​​of bronze, which ends in a funnel-shaped opening at the end. A special form was the Etruscan Lituus, which was used as a horn in the cavalry. Further, the Cornu was used. It had to reinforce a solid cross bar and was bent round, similar to the letter G. Another brass instrument was similar, slightly longer and deeper Bucina.

There were, of course, percussion instruments, and since the Hellenistic period was the water organ, the so-called hydraulis known that was invented by the Alexandrian mechanics Ktesibios around 170 BC. A few years ago, successful reproduction by the Juilliard School of Music in New York revealed that her penetrating tone required an exclusive outdoor use. The hydraulis was therefore used primarily in Rome in the circus. The choral singing was extremely popular, but the polyphony was unknown. The choirs and orchestra were enlarged, especially for state ceremonies to Huge. Hunting, war and festivities in the open air required loud instruments.

The fact that musicians were already integrated in the Early Republic into the Roman army, already shows the Centurienverfassung, which provided, inter alia, engaging an entire people for military service: from 193 to alternate end of the citizenry Centuries accounted for two of the minstrels. Trumpeter and bugler gave signals in the army to attack and retreat, to leave and stop making, and they proclaimed the times of eating and the vigil.

If one keeps in mind that the Triumph next to the victor, logically, the most important thing the army is ( without an army no win, no win no triumph ), it can be assumed that also the "Military music " fell to a prominent role. Unfortunately, there are few pictorial and literary evidence for music in triumph.

Representations of Roman warriors with trumpets, there are numerous in the Roman triumphal iconography, but mostly they are rather faded into the background. The victor and his actions, especially the subjugation of the enemy in battle and the actual fight happening are in pictorial representations usually in the foreground. A marble relief in the conservator palace in Rome shows Marcus Aurelius in the chariot, the progresses a trumpeter. Also interesting is a denarius Gaius Julius Caesar with the representation of an elephant trampled a Celtic war trumpet ( karnyx ).

Also, literary references to music in triumph are rather sparse. Be mentioned in this context are, for example, the triumph of Lucius Aemilius Paullus ex Macedonia et brisk Perse (167 BC) and the Flaviertriumph (71 AD). In both cases, it is mentioned that " the trumpeters go away like in the fight ." More often than the instruments, the soldiers are mentioned in the choir in literary evidence, the triumpe the archaic Triumphakklamation Io, also together with the audience, offered up. The soldiers sang songs of victory or satirical songs ( ioci militares ) to the victor.

It is remarkable for today's musicology that a distinction was already very well between the timbre of brass and woodwind instruments (these modern term refers to the type of the mouthpiece and not on the material from which the instrument is made ).

This is evident in the ovatio, a triumph replacement (minor Triumphus ): The commander had to go on foot, the wreaths were made ​​of myrtle and not of laurel, the troops did not march with, and the musical accompaniment consisted of flute music ( = woodwind instrument ) and not Triumph trombones ( = Brass Instrument ). Plutarch writes of Marcus Claudius Marcellus to ovatio de Syracusaneis (211 BC): ". The flute is indeed a peaceful instrument "

Since the Roman music was mostly associated with social occasions, which abhorred the early Christianity, or with cult practices that should be eradicated, efforts have been made in late antiquity, to emphasize the ancient musical tradition from the minds of believers. In particular, the instrumental music met with reluctance, and it took centuries until the church, also looked at the music of the ancient world, but probably lived on in folk music, or the music of lower social classes as important for the development of music in the Western civilized world.

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