Timeline: Vermont Public Classical

During the time of Alexander the Great, the city of Athens gave rise to something new in Greek culture. Up to this point, music was seen as subordinate to words; melody and rhythm worked in service to text or “logos.” Around 5th century BCE “The New Music” movement challenged these ideas introducing songs without words, new musical tools like modulation, intense competitions and a new instrument, the cithara. The cithara was a concert lyre with as many as eleven strings. The greatest virtuoso on this new instrument was the famed Stratonicus of Athens; at least that’s how he tells the story.

The scholar Michael Schmidt, in the book The First Poets, calls Pindar “the most careful architect that poetry has ever had.” Pindar was active around fifth century BCE and was the master of victory odes, or epinikia, which honored athletes and Olympic crown winners. He most likely wrote these songs on the lyre or the aulos, ancient pipes with double-reeds like oboes. 45 of these victory songs survive today; the first written for a winner of the 400-yard dash and last for a wrestling champion. It seems that Pindar was one of the first artists to see a way of cashing-in on the “cult of sportsmanship” that sprung up in Greek society.

In the biblical text of I Samuel chapter 16 we find the first king of Israel, Saul, suffering from a troubled mind. Saul’s advisors suggested that he seek a musician, a skillful player of the lyre, which might ease his pain. The lyre was an important symbol of divine connection, a means of communicating with God. The advisors recommended a shepherd boy named David, whose musical talents were well-known. Saul called on the young musician and David’s lyre calmed the “evil spirits” that plagued the king’s mind.

In the very next chapter, David slays the giant Goliath with nothing but a sling and a rock. These two stories are given equal weight in the narrative. David is described as the warrior artist, the military musician. His musical influence is evident in three major world religions. Judaism and Christianity both revere David’s psalms as the model for religious musical expression and Islam honors David for having “the most beautiful voice that God created.”

This next excerpt from Lewis Holmes’ book “The Mystery of Music” reads more like a pulp-fiction mystery novel however, the story is preserved on 3000 year old papyri. It has torture, conspiracy, bribery and, yes, a bit of music.

The galas were active starting around 2600 BCE, associated with funeral rites. Later writings state that they performed hymns of mourning and praise meant to keep the gods happy and hold off adversity. The term is “heart pacification.” If there was a natural disaster, drought or plague, or a military defeat then the gods must be angry and must be appeased. If everything is calm and peaceful then it was necessary to keep the gods happy and pacified.

At the mouth of the Euphrates River, in modern, southern Iraq, you’ll find the ruins of the ancient city of Ur. And when I say ancient, I mean very ancient. There’s evidence to suggest that this city was occupied as early as 6500 BCE over 8000 years ago. Ur was an important center of civil and cultural life for the Sumerians, the inventors of the first written language. In this ancient tongue we find the writings of the first author and composer of record in the history of the world, the Akkadian princess Enheduanna.

Welcome to our first episode looking at the lives of ancient musicians as detailed in Lewis Holmes’ new book “The Mystery of Music.” The book gives brief biographical sketches of 30 musicians and composers from many different cultures and we’ll look at a few of them together. Let’s begin with one of the earliest musicians we know by name, a flutist to Pharaoh in the Old Kingdom of Egypt over 4,500 years ago, Ipi.

We’re going to spend some time in the coming episodes exploring musicians from the ancient past; looking at composers and music makers from civilizations long gone. We’ll learn new names and discover how times have changed and how somethings about music, economy and society never change.

For the past few episodes we’ve been exploring different aspects of music therapy. We’ve talked about how music is being used to treat those with chronic pain, dementia, memory loss and ADHD. This episode, we thought it would be nice to talk to a practitioner of the growing field…

The ancient King of Israel, Saul, was said to have suffered from intense insomnia and a troubled mind. He employed a young musician named David, to play the lyre and help him find peace, rest and sleep. The story of David and Saul demonstrates that we’ve always understood the healing qualities of music; it’s ability to alleviate pain and ease the mind. However, it’s only been in the past few decades that we’ve truly begun to study music’s true palliative power.