Transcript Ancient Music - McCollum High School

Ancient Music
Glossary Terms
hymns
aulos
Kithara
lyre
monophonic
Harmonia
Ethos
Bone Flute
The oldest bone flute on
record is the so-caled
“Neanderthal flute” found
in a Slovenian Cave in
1995. This flute is
estimated to be about
45,000 years old, and was
made from the hollow femur
of a juvenile cave bear.
Hymns
-song to a god
The earliest composer know to us by
name is Enheduanna (2300
B.C.E.), an akkadian high priestess
at Ur, who composed hymns to the
moon god Nana and moon goddess
Ianna
Aulos
-was a pipe typically played in pairs.
The aulos was used in the worship of
Dionysus, god of fertility and wine.
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Lyre
The lyre was associated with Apollo, god of light, prophecy,
learning, and the arts, especially music and poetry. Learning to play
the lyre was a core element of education in Athens. Both men and
women played the lyre,which was used to accompany dancing, singing,
or recitation of epic poetry such as Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey.
-plucked instrument that usually had seven strings
and was strummed with a pick
Kithara
-Ancient Greek instrument, a large
LYRE
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The kithara was a large lyre used
especially for processions and
sacred ceremonies and in the
theatre.
Monophonic
-consisting of a single unaccompanied
melodic line
Ethos
-one’s ethical character or way of behaving
Harmonia
-unification of parts in an orderly whole.
The Epitaph of Seikilos
The Epitaph of Seikilos
oldest surviving example of a complete
musical composition, including musical
notation, from anywhere in the world.
The find has been dated variously from
around 200 BC to around AD 100.
Modern Translation
(English Translation)
While you live, Shine
have no grief at all;
life exists only for a short while,
and time demands its toll.
Mesopotamia
The earliest known music was in the
form of a cuneiform tablet, created
about 2000 B.C.E.
The so-called Ur tablet, sometimes
referred to as the “oldest known song,”
was actually a set of
instructions for performing that era’s
music.