Category: Mauricio Roman

by Cristina Serra de Torres
(translated by Mauricio Roman)

In this article, which follows from our earlier introduction to Greek Musical Thought, we are going to focus on the musical theory built by the Ancient Greeks, on the formation of the modes, and on how this differs to how Greek modes are referred to from the Middle Ages to the present day. Starting from the Pythagorean proportions, the basic modal unit of the Greek system is the tetrachord, which is a set of four notes, the interval between the first and last being a perfect fourth. To understand the examples that will appear throughout the article, we must take into account that the Greek musical system is exposed in a descending way, from high to low.

It is thought that the melodies were originally limited to the sounds that made up this system, since until the 7th century the lyre was an instrument that had only four strings and that, later, Terpander increased it to 7 strings.

As we have already mentioned, the tetrachord was formed by four successions of notes arranged in a descending 4th Just interval. Of these four notes, the ones at the ends were fixed, and therefore were called ακινετοι (akinetoi) while the intermediate, mobile notes were called κινετοι (kinetoi). The latter varied depending on the genus to which the tetrachord belonged. There were three genres.

• Diatonic: Built with 2 tones and 1 semitone. This genre was the oldest and dates back to classical times.
• Chromatic: Consists of 1 semi-ditone (one and a half tone) and 2 semitones. This genus and the next date from Hellenistic times.
• Enharmonic: Built with 1 ditone (two tones) and 2 quarter tones

In this system, the set of the three lower sounds is called πικνον (piknon); these three sounds are called οχιπικνον (oxipiknon), μεσοπικνον (mesopiknon) and βαρψπικνον (barypiknon).

The systems are formed from these tetrachords and their genera. We should mainly talk about two of them. On the one hand we have the joint Heptachord, which is two tetrachords joined by the same note called σιναφε (synafe), that is, they share one of the two akinetoi notes, and they could be tetrachords of different genres. The upper tetrachord is called σψνενμενον (synenmenon) and the lower tetrachord μεσον (meson).

This system is completed with another interchangeable tetrachord with the superior one, called the διαζενγμενον (diazengmenon) tetrachord. This union is formed by two disjoint tetrachords, which is why a Disjoint Octachord is formed, which are united by a διαζενγεσισ (dazengisis). In addition, it should be added that the Synenmenon tetrachord had a metabole, which is an altered note and is used to modulate the heptachord system to the octachord.

The system formed by three tetrachords joined by a synafe is called the Small Joint System, and the system formed by three tetrachords, of which the upper two are joined by diazenxis and the lower two by synaphe is called the Small Disjoint System.

The tonal system, called the teleion diatonic system or the Great Perfect System, is formed by adding two tetrachords above and below the octachord joined by synafe. These tetrachords are: Hyperbolaion and Hypaton.

Fragments called harmoniai were extracted from this system. The term, used in classical times, meant “pact, convention and replaced nomos, which meant law.” The term designates music anchored in tradition, but in a musical sense it indicates the arrangement of intervals within a scale.

Although in Plato’s time its meaning was broader since it also referred to the height of the sounds, the color, intensity or the timbre. These harmonies received the name of allusion to the most characteristic Greek Regions. Doric, Phrygia, Lydia, and later Mixolidia will be added to it. Later, others are added by prefixing hipo-.

The systematic classification of harmoniai according to ethical and formal criteria constituted the basis of musical theorization from this time on, but after the classical period other terms appear, such as tonoi or tropoi to refer to harmonies simply as scales of different heights.

As we can see, at no time did we use the term “modes” in this article; Ancient Greeks used the term “harmony”. Cleónides speaks of skemai or aspects of 8th to refer to the realms of 8th within a system.

The confusion with the Gregorian modes and with the modal scales that are used today comes from the Middle Ages. In the 9th century the treatise Alia Musica appears, which identifies the eight Gregorian modes with some schemes that appear with Claudius Ptolemy in the 2nd century AD, which is a guide for transposition.

Bibliography
ARÍSTIDES QUINTILIANO, (1996), Sobre la música, Madrid: Gredos.
BURKHOLDER, J.P., GROUT, D.J, & PALISCA, C.V., (2015), Historia de la música occidental, Madrid:Alianza Musical.
DALHAUSM, C., (1996), Estética de la música. Berlín: Reichenberger.
FUBINI, E. (2018), Estética de la música. Madrid: Alianza Música.
LANDELS, J.G., (2001), Music in ancient Greece and Rome, Londres: Routledge.
LANG, P.H., (1979), La Música en la civilización occidental. Buenos Aires: Eudeba.
PÉREZ CARTAGENA, F.J. (2002), La “Harmonica” de Aristóxeno de Tarento. Edición crítica con Introducción, Traducciwón Y Comentario., [Tesis de Doctorado, Universidad de Murcia], Repositorio Central de Tesis Doctorales de España.
REDONDO REYES, P., (2002), La Harmónica de Claudio Ptolomeo: edición crítica con introducción, traducción y comentario [Tesis de Doctorado, Universidad de Murcia], Repositorio Central de Tesis Doctorales de España.
REINACH, TH., (1926) La musique Grecque antique, París: Payot.

Cristina Serra de Torres (Andújar, 1995) has a degree in Musicology from the University of Granada and a Master’s degree in Music Patrimony from the International University of Andalucia, and is beginning her PhD studies centered around gypsy flamenco genres in Granada. She is a singer and cellist. At age 3, she began her studies in classical, bolero and flamenco dance. While her research is focused on Flamenco and Blues, she has a background on the analysis, harmony, transcription, edition and interpretation of Early Music. Currently, she lives in Granada, where she teaches singing, musical language, music history and appreciation, does research and produces the Spanish language podcast “Música con mucha Historia”.

By Cristina Serra de Torres
(translated by Mauricio Roman)

Introduction

To understand the historical evolution of music in the West, we must first look at what happened in ancient civilizations. Ancient Greece was the main culture which not only shaped aesthetics but also the musical system ubiquitous in the West, which was later enriched or modified by the Roman Empire and later by Christendom. The thinking, the theory and the musical organology developed by this civilization influenced, not only Western music, but also that of other Eastern cultures such as the Arab and even those in Asia.

This is the first in a series of articles in which we will try to explain how the Greek musical system developed. First of all, we must understand Greek civilization as encompassing not only the Greek peninsula but also the Aegean islands, much of Asia Minor, southern Italy, as well as Sicily and the colonies around the Mediterranean and the Black Sea — as seen in the map below.

Areas settled by Ancient Greeks (source: Wikipedia)

We have numerous images of this ancient culture, as well as a few instruments which have been preserved, writings on the objectives and effects of music, theoretical writings on the elements of music and more than forty musical examples in a notation that we can read.

Sources

Yet, as we delve into the study of Greek music, the main problem we find is that of sources. Although the texts and data on Greek music that have reached us are very numerous, those that speak of musical practice and interpretation are very scarce, so they prevent us from getting an idea about how that music should sound. On the other hand, most of the treatises and writings on musical theory and thought that we know are after the second century AD, and are more related to mathematical and philosophical speculation than to practice.

The first sources that reach us are mythical. There are in Greek mythology a great variety of stories in which music is the main protagonist. It is difficult to discern what historical truth these stories can contain, but they allow us to glimpse and conclude that for the Greek musical base the contributions of the Egyptian, Syrian, Phoenician and Middle Eastern peoples were very important, as we can see in the use of instruments such as the harp, drums, tambourine, zills and cymbals.

Reconstruction of an Egyptian harp according to “Musica en la era de las pirámides” by Rafael Pérez Arroyo

On the other hand, we have numerous organological remains found in archaeological excavations, as well as reliefs, sculptures, mosaics and paintings that show us the importance of music in these societies as we can see in the following images, about which we will discuss further in future articles. In the first image, we see a lyre associated with the god Apollo, and on the second one we see a man interpreting the aulos, an instrument associated with the god Dionysius.

Quelis — a musical instrument at the British Museum

Image from a Greek vessel showing a woman playing the tambourine and a man playing the aulos (National Archeological Museum in Spain)

Musical Thought

For the Greeks, musical theory and practice were different aspects. In this case, theoretical knowledge was not a means to approach or practice, but an end in itself. As we have already mentioned, there are no known composers prior to the 3rd century BC and the musical examples that have come down to us are very few and almost always incomplete. However, we do know and have a lot of information from the theorists.

Among the main theorists, in the first place we must highlight Pythagoras of Samos (6th century BC), as both he and the Pythagorean school form the basis of Greek musical thought. The basis of Pythagorean thinking boils down to numbers. We know, thanks to Damon and many of his disciples, that Pythagoras carried out a series of experiments with sound objects, discovering the three basic intervals of Greek music theory .

According to legend, one day Pythagoras passed near a forge. Inside, the men were hammering on the anvil and their blows raised different high pitches. Pythagoras quickly discovered that the larger hammer produced a lower note than the smaller one. Then he began to perform experiments. He picked up two hammers, one weighing twice as much as the other, and struck them on the anvil. An octave was produced (equal to a distance of eight tones). Pythagoras thus discovered the mathematical-numerical ordering in music and the succession of the intervals within an octave.

Pythagoras discovered the intervals by measuring chords; depending on how he divided the chord, he got a certain interval:

• By dividing in half, the resulting string sounds an octave
• By dividing in three parts, the resulting string sounds a fifth
• By dividing in four parts, the resulting string sounds a fourth

Engraving from Theorica musicae by Franchino Gaffurio (1492)

These proportions create the series 1: 2: 3: 4, whose sum is 10, and which for the Pythagoreans represented perfection, and was symbolized graphically in the τετρακτύς (tetraktys). This symbol and theory were later used by various theorists or congregations.

Graphical symbol of the Tetraktys

On the other hand we have Damon of Athens, one of Socrates’ teachers. He is considered one of the first theorists who establishes a relationship between music and the character and will of man, which will be called Theory of Ethos. Within this theory, we must also mention Plato and his disciple Aristotle, who will refer to the importance of music within the educational system since it contributes decisively to the ethical formation of the citizen.

In our next article, we will explore the fundamentals of Greek Musical Theory.

Cristina Serra de Torres (Andújar, 1995) has a degree in Musicology from the University of Granada and a Master’s degree in Music Patrimony from the International University of Andalucia, and is beginning her PhD studies centered around gypsy flamenco genres in Granada. She is a singer and cellist. At age 3, she began her studies in classical, bolero and flamenco dance. While her research is focused on Flamenco and Blues, she has a background on the analysis, harmony, transcription, edition and interpretation of Early Music. Currently, she lives in Granada, where she teaches singing, musical language, music history and appreciation, does research and produces the Spanish language podcast “Música con mucha Historia”.