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Ancient & Antique Music

ramonmercado

ramonmercado

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And the earliest polyphonic music.

New research has uncovered the earliest known practical piece of polyphonic music, an example of the principles that laid the foundations of European musical tradition. The earliest known practical example of polyphonic music - a piece of choral music written for more than one part - has been found in a British Library manuscript in London.

The inscription is believed to date back to the start of the 10th century and is the setting of a short chant dedicated to Boniface, patron Saint of Germany. It is the earliest practical example of a piece of polyphonic music – the term given to music that combines more than one independent melody – ever discovered.

Written using an early form of notation that predates the invention of the stave, it was inked into the space at the end of a manuscript of the Life of Bishop Maternianus of Reims. ...

http://phys.org/news/2014-12-earliest-piece-polyphonic-music.html
 
Interesting. I know of Hildegard of Bremen, and her musical writings. IIRC, she (or stuff attributed to her) wrote musical notation for choral works, but as they were without any timing it's always been thought that the melodies were clearly well known. She's from around 11th/12th C.E. so there's a nice link to the works.
 
Does she have any link to the folk tale of The Musicians of Bremen?
 
Not that I'm aware of. TBH, it was just a small part of the syllabus from my O.U. BA. It went from Hildegard, to Don Giovanni to the Kinks in, what made perfect sense at the time, three easy steps. But the Hildegard pieces were so haunting they kinda stuck with me.
 
I suppose there was a reason the musicians came from Bremen in the tale, but I can't recall it now. Maybe I'll see if the Muppet version's on YouTube.
 
It's interesting but, from the re-created example online, we hear an earlier-than expected version of Organum, where the parts are sung a certain, set interval apart and converge at the end of the line.

Has anyone dated independent parts back to before the Wicker Man theme?
 
When my wife sings listening to her iphone I'm often transported to some far off time in the depths of the past perhaps to some long lost funeral? Firstly she starts a dirge, followed by a wailing and some gnassing of teeth thrown in at the end - It's quite moving.
 
'Music! Echoes Of Antiquity' At The Louvre-Lens Museum, France
9/18/2017 05:00:00 PM
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Let the crotales ring and the trumpets sound! The Louvre-Lens Museum presents the very first exhibition dedicated to the role of music in the great ancient civilisations, from the Orient to Rome via Egypt and Greece.
image: https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_6HntMja8UM/WdNmTKmiFWI/AAAAAAACDPY/NvKODKR2GIMhZgHFvvfI2ZG-Y_Fn8V8KQCEwYBhgL/s1600/AfficheMusiques.jpg

Music was an ever-present aspect of ancient cultures, where it served several functions. Whether played by professional musicians or amateurs, it accompanied people through the various stages of their lives, from the cradle to the grave. Just as likely to be heard on the battlefield as it was around the high tables of power, it was also a key part of religious rites and acted as an intermediary between people and their gods. Known by all and played by many, music represents an original yet universal key, with which our visitors can unlock the secrets of civilisations, which vanished long ago, and discover their social, political and religious workings.

image: https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NlNtSSlBUW8/WdNmjTg0CtI/AAAAAAACDPc/xgrtqDUlhl0rvfhaplb3_0j1YoNYB8rAQCLcBGAs/s640/louvre-1.jpg


Concert d’Égine (c.250–25 BC), Greece
[Credit: © Musée du Louvre]
From Mesopotamian cylinder seals to monumental Roman reliefs, taking in Egyptian papyri and Greek vases along the way, the exhibition brings together almost 400 incredibly diverse items. Some of these often-fragile pieces have never been displayed before. They are taken from the collections of the Louvre museum and around twenty other institutions, both in France and further afield, including the National Museum of Athens and the Metropolitan Museum in New York. The exhibition’s journey through time also includes new audio devices, which allow visitors to listen to reconstructions of what ancient instruments may have sounded like, as well as the oldest anthem known to mankind.

image: https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cX_WKJkUDHs/WdNmufGJjTI/AAAAAAACDPk/WmElXXxLgo8U6CTfNf7n8MhhOdDzfH-HgCLcBGAs/s640/louvre-7.jpg


Clay plate depicting Hétaïre playing music, Greek (c.490 BC)
[Credit: © Musée du Louvre]
It is difficult for anyone living in the 21st century to imagine the role of music in ancient cultures, especially since no sound from Antiquity survives to this day for our listening pleasure. On the other hand, musical instruments, sound-producing objects, musical notation and many depictions of musicians have been miraculously preserved, allowing us to tune in to 3,000 years of history.
Read more at https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blog...-antiquity-at-louvre.html#idA5X3YjqsqTmfWw.99
 
ramonmercado said:
...The earliest known practical example of polyphonic music - a piece of choral music written for more than one part - has been found...
Click to expand...

Fascinating. Haunting, yet stirring.

At about the time this was being sung, King Edward the Elder, son of Alfred the Great, was fighting the Vikings in Kent:

"...the army surrounded them, and there they fought. There fell Aldermen Siwulf and Sigelm; Eadwold, the king's thane; Abbot Kenwulf; Sigebriht, the son of Siwulf; Eadwald, the son of Acca; and many also with them; though I have named the most considerable. On the Danish side were slain Eohric their king, and Prince Ethelwald, who had enticed them to the war. Byrtsige, the son of Prince Brihtnoth; Governor Ysop; Governor Oskytel; and very many also with them that we now cannot name. And there was on either hand much slaughter made; but of the Danes there were more slain, though they remained masters of the field.

Ealswitha died this same year; and a comet appeared on the thirteenth day before the calends of November."

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle

It makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up...

maximus otter
 
Nordic collective Heilung record the oldest known song:

Heilung.png


https://www.theguardian.com/music/2...e-heilung-on-recording-the-worlds-oldest-song
 
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