Ancient Music

Glossary Terms

hymnsaulosKitharalyre

monophonicHarmoniaEthos

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.

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

Hymns-song to a god

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

-plucked instrument that usually had seven strings and was strummed with a pick

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.

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Kithara-Ancient Greek instrument, a large

LYRE

The kithara was a large lyre usedespecially for processions andsacred ceremonies and in the theatre.

Monophonic

Harmonia

-consisting of a single unaccompanied melodic line

-unification of parts in an orderly whole.

Ethos-one’s ethical character or way of behaving

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.

The Epitaph of Seikilos

Modern Translation

(English Translation)While you live, Shinehave no grief at all;

life exists only for a short while,and time demands its toll.

MesopotamiaThe 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 ofinstructions for performing that era’s music.