Ancient Greek Music
A New Technical History

This book offers a fundamental reworking of the history of the development of Greek music from the classical period to Roman times.

Stefan Hagel (Author)

9780521517645, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 17 December 2009

506 pages
22.9 x 15.7 x 3 cm, 0.84 kg

'I have no hesitation in pronouncing it a work of the highest originality and importance which future investigators will acknowledge as a landmark in the field.' Martin West, University of Oxford

This book endeavours to pinpoint the relations between musical, and especially instrumental, practice and the evolving conceptions of pitch systems. It traces the development of ancient melodic notation from reconstructed origins, through various adaptations necessitated by changing musical styles and newly invented instruments, to its final canonical form. It thus emerges how closely ancient harmonic theory depended on the culturally dominant instruments, the lyre and the aulos. These threads are followed down to late antiquity, when details recorded by Ptolemy permit an exceptionally clear view. Dr Hagel discusses the textual and pictorial evidence, introducing mathematical approaches wherever feasible, but also contributes to the interpretation of instruments in the archaeological record and occasionally is able to outline the general features of instruments not directly attested. The book will be indispensable to all those interested in Greek music, technology and performance culture and the general history of musicology.

Preface
1. The evolution of ancient Greek musical notation
2. Notation, instruments and the voice
3. Notation in the handbooks
4. Strings and notes
5. Fine tuning
6. Going beyond Ptolemy?
7. Assisted resonance
8. The extant musical documents
9. Aulos types and pitches
10. Before Aristoxenus
11. Synthesis
Bibliography
Indices.

Subject Areas: History of science [PDX], Western philosophy: Ancient, to c 500 [HPCA], Classical history / classical civilisation [HBLA1], Theory of music & musicology [AVA], Music [AV], History of art: ancient & classical art,BCE to c 500 CE [ACG]