Plato is one of the most important sources for understanding one of the ways the Ancient Greeks viewed music. As with any era in history, people from different backgrounds have diverse opinions on important parts of a society, such as music. Plato’s ideas about music, however, have proven to be particularly lasting and influential and […]
Music Theory in Ancient Greece
Winter
In addition to creating carefully defined and distinct forms and styles of music, the Ancient Greeks developed a tremendously intricate and complex music theory system. The technical aspects of Ancient Greek music theory have been discussed in great detail in works both from antiquity and modern times, but their general effect on all but the […]
Music in Ancient Greece: The Later Years
Summer
Note: Part 1 of this article was published in Spring 2005. In contrast to the large, dramatic productions of dithyrambs, the lyric poets Sappho and Alcaeus emerge in the sixth century BCE . Both came from the island of Lesbos and composed their poetry-music in a personal, monodic (non-harmonic) form. Their works were very popular […]
Music in Ancient Greece
Spring
Music meant something different to the Ancient Greeks than it means to us today. It was not simply sound or performance on an instrument; it was, in addition, an entire artistic collection of song, poetry, and dance. Music also sounded very different to the Ancient Greeks than it does today. Their system of organizing pitches, […]
The Vibrato Thing
Fall
The Question: If, when and where to apply modern, “continuous” vibrato to older works and still prevent high-brow performance sophisticates from kicking metaphysical sand in your face.1This delightful imagery was borrowed, with a tip of the hat, from Michael Michalski’s private audio advertisement entitled “Webern’s Greatest Hits.” The Good News: They don’t know much more […]