Source Readings in Music History: Greek Views of Music

by Thomas J. Mathiesen (Editor), Leo Treitler (Editor)

How did the ancient Greeks regard music? In many different ways, as the readings in Greek Views of Music reveal. This collection presents three entire treaties, as well as excerpted writings on music by Plato, Aristotle, and others. Included is the first English translation of Gaudentius's complete Harmonic Introduction , prepared by the volume's editor, Thomas J. Mathieson, who also revised the other translations in light of recent scholarship. These selections not only illuminate Greek thinking about music, they also help us understand ideas about music set forth by medieval and Renaissance writers and theorists.

128 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1997

Reviews

[James Finch]

If you are an ancient Greek wanting to write about music, you essentially have two options:

1. Write about notes, chords, scales, semitones, ratios, and Pythagoras; filling your pages with parameses, trite diezeugmenons, enharmonic diezeugmenons and the like. Really exciting stuff that keeps the reader on the edge of his seat.

2. Write about the influence of music on society and in particular, on the behaviour of the young.

A few things are clear: that the issue of music is of central importance, since music plays a role in all of life – education, amusement and entertainment; that the type of music that people listen to will act on them to form them – this is almost assumed, so obvious that it doesn’t need to be debated; and that people who play music are ‘vulgar’, it being – as Aristotle assures me – ‘not manly to perform music, except when drunk or for fun’, thus vindicating my complete lack of musical ability.

The Greeks were concerned with the modes (sets of notes associated with specific ethos, or character) of music permitted for their citizens: they should be exposed to music associated with courage, steadfastness, bravery, and also temperance, restraint and self-control.
Maybe Plato went too far with his musical requirements. But can we really reject his claims about the potency of music, when even David demonstrates its power over Saul – ‘whenever the harmful spirit from God was upon Saul, David took the lyre and played it with his hand. So Saul was refreshed and was well, and the harmful spirit departed from him’? Perhaps soothing a possessed king for an afternoon is not quite the same as forming a generation, but the principle still stands. And should we be surprised by the weak, effeminate, chaotic, angry character of our present society when we look at the music listened to by the citizens?

Plato puts it best in The Republic:

‘education in music is most sovereign, because more than anything else rhythm and harmonia find their way to the inmost soul and take strongest hold upon it, bringing with them and imparting grace, if one is rightly trained, and otherwise the contrary? And further, because omissions and the failure of beauty in things badly made or grown would be most quickly perceived by one who was properly educated in music, and so, feeling distaste rightly, he would praise beautiful things and take delight in them and receive them into his soul to foster its growth and become himself beautiful and good. The ugly he would rightly disapprove of and hate while still young and yet unable to apprehend the reason, but when reason came the man thus nurtured would be the first to give her welcome, for by this affinity he would know her’

All of which is to say that I should most certainly have learned an instrument, and should by now know a trite diezeugmenon from a parhypate. But Aristotle assures me that not playing is the manlier course, so I will be content to wear my ignorance as a virtue. Who am I to question Aristotle.