Greek and Roman Music

Step 1

 

Step 2

Use the following guide to comment on the 6 listening examples A-E.

A.  2 Ancient Papyrus Frangments

B.  Ancient Greek and Roman Music

C.  Fragments arranged for Lyre

D.  The Aulos

E.  The Kithara

 

 

A 

Is this type of music new to you? Yes, I'm not familiar with this type of music. 

What were your specific feelings or thoughts in response to the music? I felt a bit scared and intrigued. 

Tone color/Timbre (bright, brassy, warm, ringing, hollow, etc.) It was very echo-ey. He has a great tone! 

Texture (monophony, homophony, polyphony, etc.) This was a single monophonic melody. 

Your overall impression of the music of ancient times. I think this particular piece was particular haunting, and could have possibly been used for a funeral or some other sombre occasion. 

 

B

Is this type of music new to you? Yes, most definitely. 

What were your specific feelings or thoughts in response to the music? I was off-put by the intense dissonance. 

Tone color/Timbre (bright, brassy, warm, ringing, hollow, etc.) This is very foreshadowy and a bit omnious. 

Texture (monophony, homophony, polyphony, etc.) The first piece was polyphonic and the second was homophonic. 

 

Your overall impression of the music of ancient times. I didn't like the first piece much, but I was really enchanted by the wind instrument. 

 

 

C

Is this type of music new to you? No. I hear this kind of music a lot in some of the video games I play. 

What were your specific feelings or thoughts in response to the music? It looked rather difficult and the sound that came out was somewhat chaotic. I guess it had its own charm. 

Tone color/Timbre (bright, brassy, warm, ringing, hollow, etc.) It was somewhat dark, yet upbeat. 

Texture (monophony, homophony, polyphony, etc.) It was monophonic. 

 

Your overall impression of the music of ancient times. I don't think I'm the biggest fan of this instrument. Maybe I'm just a modern music snob. 

 

 

D

 

Is this type of music new to you? Yes, I don't think I've ever heard anything like this. 

What were your specific feelings or thoughts in response to the music? I loved the vibrato and the clashing notes in the song. 

Tone color/Timbre (bright, brassy, warm, ringing, hollow, etc.) This piece was very crunchy in it's composition. 

Texture (monophony, homophony, polyphony, etc.) This was polyphonic, with several parts going on at the same time. 

Your overall impression of the music of ancient times. I really liked this piece of music, weirdly. 

 

 

E

Is this type of music new to you? This is not new to me. 

What were your specific feelings or thoughts in response to the music? I felt like there was something exciting going on. 

Tone color/Timbre (bright, brassy, warm, ringing, hollow, etc.) It was somewhat bright and upbeat. 

Texture (monophony, homophony, polyphony, etc.) It was homophonic, with an accompanying drum of sorts in the background. 

 

Your overall impression of the music of ancient times. I really like some of the music. Other types just don't float my personal boat. 

 

 

 

 

 

Step 3

  • Watch THIS VIDEO to gain a better sense of music in the Ancient World and the development of musical notation

  • Describe what you see on the Epitath of Seikelos that might give clues as to how this song should sound. It looks like there are just words on the Epitah of Seikelos and that they are sung by virtue of the instructions the "letters" above them provide. 

  • Describe what you see of the Euripides parchment that might give clues as to how this music should sound. This Euripides has more instructional content than the Epitah of Seikelos and it has more on how a word and tonality would be expressed. 

 

 

 

 

In the Spirit of Socrates

Step 1

  • See your instructor to receive the following materials

  1. Music in Antiquity

  2. Outrageous Women of Ancient Times

  3. The State of Music at the End of the Ancient World

 

Step 2

  • Use the reading material to complete the questions below

 

From “Music In Antiquity” 

  1. What function(s)/purpose did music of Ancient Times serve? Music was used for celebratory phases in communities, with special regards to activities like weddings, the return of an emperor, and for religious purposes. 

  2. Why did pipers play during sacrifices? They played in order to cover up any noises and sounds made by animals. 

  3. Which instrument was used to signal retreat, attack and halt? The tuba, bucina, and cornu, respectively. 

  4. Why were musicians left to play in camps after the army had departed? Musicians were left playing in order to trick the enemy into thinking that the army was still there, when it had, in fact, left long ago. 

  5. Whose teaching salary was the highest in the Asia Minor? A doctor was paid the most, at 1000 drachmas, and second to that was a musician, who was paid 700 drachmas a year. 

  6. What was a music teacher’s responsibility? A music teacher needed to instruct his/her students on theory and instruct them how to play the kithara. 

  7. What’s up with Nero? Nero was a most vain emperor, who was so worried about appearance that he paid 5000 people to clap for him during the performances that were rigged. The judges only voted for him because they were afraid of being put to death. Nero was an amateur, at best. 

 

From “Outrageous Women of Ancient Times”

  1. When was Sappho active? Sappho lived between 640 and 690 BC and died sometime around 550 BC

  2. What musical instrument/accessory did she invent? She invented a small lyre and a plectrum, a picking tool, because her hands were too small to play a full sized lyre. 

  3. How many lyric poems did she compose? She composed about 500 poems. 

  4. Describe her students and cult. Sappho's students travelled from far and wide to be guided under her talented hand. She had her own cult to worship Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love. 

  5. What were some of the ways she was worshipped even 1000 years after her death? Gossip, fibs, and other talks about her continued forever. They used coins with her face on one of the sides and they named squares and places after her, in the capital of Lesbos. Her ways of teaching and traditions were passed on for a long time after her death. Plato, 200 years later, described her as the "tenth muse." 

  6. What about her writings made the Christians ‘anxious’? Her poetry and writing was seen as a "bad influence" because of "pagan" idealisms. Her honesty and love in her art was frowned upon. 

  7. When & where were some of her poems discovered? Some of her poetry, one of the most complete books in existence, was discovered in a garbage pit in Egypt by a group of archaeologists. 

 

From “The State of Music at the End of the Ancient World”

  1. Where did the history of Western art music begin? It began with the history of the Church and its modernization and spread. 

  2. Why did Roman musical traditions ‘disappear’ at the beginning of the Middle Ages? A lot of the music was tied closely to traditions and communal settings that the Church heavily frowned upon. That was how those musical traditions became discouraged and began to dwindle. 

  3. What attitude did Greek mythology display toward music and music makers? The Greeks revered musicians as if they were gods. They had the temperament and belief that music could heal the body and purify the spirit and soul. They also believed that musical had a strong benevolent impact on the outside world. 

  4. How did Aristotle react to the complexity of music festivals and competitions? Aristotle was shocked at the amount of admeasurement of music and warned against people taking extensive general musical training. 

  5. What does monophonic music sound like? Monophonic music only has a single melody, with no harmony or accompanying beat. 

  6. Why is the Epitaph of Seikelos of particular interest to music historians? The Epitaph had clear music notation, for the duration, at least. 

  7. How many notes survived the Euripides papyrus? 42 notes survived. 

  8. Why did the early Christian Church distrust all instrumental music? They were afraid that people could revert to their un-christianized past. 

  9. What type of singing is the earliest recorded musical activity of the Christian Church? Hymns were the earliest versions of musical activity coming from the Christian Church. 

  10. How did Byzantine musical practices impact western chant? They classified the western chants and music into eight dominant modes. 

  11. Who is ‘Gregorian Chant’ named after? It's named after Pope Gregory. 

  12. What language replaced Greek as the ‘official language of the Roman liturgy? Latin. 

  13. List a few of the jobs required of a monastic cantor? A monastic cantor was required to to maintain thee library and scriptorium and to direct the music for the liturgy. 

  14. Who was allowed to play the lyre to accompany hymn singing and psalms? Only people that were dedicated to the faith were allowed to accompany hymn singing and psalms with the lyre. 

  15. What role did the Christian missionaries play in developing Western music? The missionaries spread the songs and hymns of their faith to the rest of western Europe. 

  16. Who was Boethius? Describe one of his ideas about music. Boethius was an educated Roman philosopher that emphasized the influence the effect of music on character and being, and declared it as important in the education of children, as well as a gateway to more organized and advanced philosophical discussions. 

 

Step 3

  • Use the following listening examples to complete the questions below

 

A.  Sappho

B.  Euripides

C.  Seikilos

 

Aural Assessment

  1. Describe musical elements from “Sappho’s Marriage Celebration” (A). The overall theme is eerie, in a most exquisite manner. The flute accompanies the soft voice beautifully, engaging the listener in both words and a monophonic musical element. 

  2. What musical elements are present in ‘Euripides’ (B)? This is a rather haunting piece, that incorporated multiple instruments to produce crunchy dissonances, which are unexpected. The harmonies add a very complex component, mostly because they are unanticipated. The percussionists solidify the experience, with powerful abrupt components. 

  3. What musical elements are present in ‘Epitath of Seikelos’ (C)? There is a lot of consonance in this song, unlike the previous ones, which represents a more happy feeling. 

  4. What are the differences in how these three pieces sound? (ABC) The first two were more dissonant and haunting in musical tonality, versus the happier Seikilos, which was at a faster tempo. The Sappho had spoken words rather than the s

  5. Overall, how does the music of ancient times make you feel?(ABC) I felt rather sad. This would be the music that's playing constantly, and I wouldn't really prefer listening to such dissonant songs. I liked the more upbeat song, though. 

  6. If given the chance, which instrument would you run and hide from?  Why?(ABC) I would run from the phorminx, because the cross between a lyre and a kythara just seems too bizarre. 

  7. If you were to play an instrument from this time period, what would you choose?  Why?(ABC) I would play the lyre, because it reminds me of a harp, and I've always wanted to play a harp. It does have a rather limited range, though. 

  


 

HONORS TRACK PRESENTATION