Ebook: Ancient Greek Music

A fascinating account of all aspects of the music of ancient Greece. Describes the principles, practice, and historical development of Greek music and defines its position at the interface between European and Afro-Asiatic culture.

Ancient Greece was permeated by music, and the literature teems with musical allusions. For most readers, the subject has remained a closed book. Here at last is a clear, comprehensive, and authoritative account that presupposes no special knowledge of music, Topics covered include the place of music in Greek. life; instruments; rhythm; tempo; modes and scales; melodic construction; form; ancient theory and notation; and historical development. Thirty surviving examples of Greek music are presented in modern transcription with analysis, and the book is fully illustrated with plates and diagrams. Besides being considered on its own terms, Greek music is here further illuminated by being seen in ethnological perspective, and a brief Epilogue sets it in its place in a border zone between Afro-Asiatic and European culture. The book will be of value both to classicists and historians of music.