Ancient Greek Music

Front Cover
Clarendon Press, Oct 1, 1992 - History - 424 pages
Ancient Greece was permeated by music, and the literature teems with musical allusions. For most readers the subject has remained a closed book. Here at last is a clear, comprehensive, and authoritative account that presupposes no special knowledge of music. Topics covered include the place of music in Greek life; instruments; rhythm; tempo; modes and scales; melodic construction; form; ancient theory and notation; and historical development. Thirty surviving examples of Greek music are presented in modern transcription with analysis, and the book is fully illustrated. Besides being considered on its own terms, Greek music is here further illuminated by being seen in ethnological perspective, and a brief Epilogue sets it in its place in a border zone between Afro-Asiatic and European culture. The book will be of value both to classicists and historians of music. - ;The only available study in English of Ancient Greek music -
 

Contents

Music in Greek Life
22
The Voice
39
Stringed Instruments
48
Wind and Percussion
81
Rhythm and Tempo
129
Scales and Modes
160
Melody and Form
190
Theory
218
Notation and Pitch
254
The Musical Documents
277
1 Sunrise and Forenoon
327
2 High Noon and Afternoon
356
Greece between Europe and Asia
386
Select Bibliography
391
Index
401
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