Music of Ancient Rome and Greece

[Sergey Lenkov]

Site devoted to Rafael Perez Arroyo's project "Music in the Age of Pyramids":
http://www.rafaelperezarroyo.com/eng/librosdiscos.htm

On the page of NAR studios (in Spanish) stated that project "Music of Antiquity" is in preparation.

http://www.naturalacoustic.com/catalogo.htm

[Medusa Gladiatrix]

Finally the new album of MVSICA ROMANA is out. It's called Pugnate, contains 23 titles with a total playing length of 52:38 minutes. You could hear on that album their reconstruction of a hydraulis (water organ).

[Sergey Lenkov]

P.S. By the way, check out blog by Susanna - link is above.

[Sergey Lenkov]

Some more Ancient Greek music related projects founded on myspace:
Young Greek band "Ifiastos"
http://www.myspace.com/ifaistosmusic

Page by famous Luis Paniagua, former member of Atrium Musicae De Madrid, who participated in famous first record of programme of Ancient Greek music (now he is writing his own music):
If you'd listen to the first track in his player "Mientras Vivas Brila" you'd get some familiar for you sounds of Seikilos epitaph:
http://www.myspace.com/luispaniaguasilentium

Page by Micheal Atherton - he recorded album "Ankh. Sound of Ancient Egypt" but dodn't record "Hear Orpheus sing. Sound of Ancient Greece". Sadly, no any ancient music in the player on his page:
http://www.myspace.com/mjatherton

[hoplite14gr]

Hymn to Apollo curved on the "Treasure of the Athenians" at Delphoi an reconstructed with modern notes. Enjoy!

[Sergey Lenkov]

Thank you, Stefanos! How are you?

[hoplite14gr]

Horoso Sergei!

Also the humn with translation in English and French courtesy of Athansios Poropris

[Sergey Lenkov]

OK. Glad to meet you here.

[hoplite14gr]

This comes from a grave stele as Sekilieon(Asia Minor)

Kind regards

[Susanna]

Hey folks, I am just in contact with a trade for our new CD in US...I received a lot of mails concerning that fact that people wanna buy our new album "Musica Romana - Pugnate" there...who is still interested in doing so? Plz let me know via PN. Thank you!

[Sergey Lenkov]

I’m listening to the new album “Pugnate” by Musica Romana.
Ten or even five years ago it was hard to believe that it would be possible at all – CD with… the organ music of the Ancient world. But – here it is. A little miracle for me.
Before that we could hear hydraulis only on rare tracks of record by Atrium Musicae de Madrid, on video about Diona organ founded in Greece, rare soundclips etc. (check out this thread) (I don’t mention some lucky persons who could hear it on the concerts of European Cultural Center in Delphi).
Musica Romana gives us unique possibility to enjoy the sound of hydraulis nearly for fifty minutes. (Total time – 52:38, but there are some compositions without organ).
Main impression – it’s the new phase of development of Musica Romana and the new quality of sound.
The concept of the record is the same as on the previous release by the band – authentic pieces (Hymns to Helios and Nemesis by Mesomedes, Seikilos epitaph) plus re-created by Musica Romana music and songs based on Roman poetry (Hymnus Dianae by Catull and Faunus by Horatius). We had heard Mesomedes and Faunus on previous records by Musica Romana – but the new instruments and new arrangements are presented here.
Topic of this record is the gladiators’ fighting. Musica Romana would bring you through the start of the games with the solemn sounds of the winds (tracks 1 – “Pompa Circensis” and 7 – “Tubae Sonant”), waves of organ sound (track 2 “Gladiatores”), mantric singing of “Hymnus Dianae”, moving and rhythmic “Ludi” (track 5), magic “Hymn to Helios" (you could find it nearly on every record of Ancient music – but here – it’s something special – with organ solo part); you would see the comin’ of emperor to the amphitheatre (track 11 “Imperator”) and hear the voices of crying people on funerals of Seikilos (track 21). Listening to this record I want to say: “I believe!”. New record by Musica Romana brings you not the shamanic feeling of Atrium Muscae de Madrid record, but the joy of listening to the music of Ancient world. If you like records by Synaulia or De Organographia (I mean the feeling that performers just returned from ethnographic expedition from Ancient world - you would like new album by Musica Romana.
The booklet with a lot of information and pictures is in German.

My greatest impression from the experinence of listening to the Ancient World music were the following. This summer I was in Side (Turkey). Early in the morning I came to ancient amphitheatre in Side (I was the first and for some time the only visitor) with CD player and sitting here started to listen to CDs by Ensemble De Organographia and Musica Romana. The theatre and the landscape became alive for me. It was the moment of happiness, moment of new understanding of spiritual culture of Antiquity.
P.S. Soundclips on Musica Romana Myspace page giving very rough impression of the sound of this album.

It’s interesting that Musica Romana presents to us polyphonic (as it seems for me) playing in “Oktokaidekasimos Hydraulicon” (organ piece – track 12) and singing (on the next track – “Hymn to Nemesis”). Is that only a kind of mind game or now researches are sure that the music in Ancient Greece and Rome were polyphonic?

[Carus Andiae]

Is this available in the UK?

[Sergey Lenkov]

You could write directly to author - PM to Susanna or find e-mail adress here: http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuse ... =504997256

[Iulia Cassia Vegetia]

There is a wonderful musician/reconstructionist named Michael Levy who can be found at this website:
http://ancientlyre.com


who posted this for fun a version of an ancient Greek piece played on an axe (a type of electric guitar):
[url:33nps4zg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLGa0xqPbsQ&feature=player_embedded#[/url]


Also some beautiful pieces:
[url:33nps4zg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M52VD3dggGk&NR=1[/url]
[url:33nps4zg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWyXPpf7Vjo&feature=related[/url]

Enjoy!

[Susanna]

Thank you very much for the post.

I am sorry, but I have to correct some stuff
(I know I am self-opinionated):

I know the "Harp of David" from the net, too.
This harp is a lyre, not a harp. And it is a modern instrument,
I own one myself. It has much more strings than any ancient lyre.

the last video:
The Epithath of Seikilos is not the oldest complete written song
in the world. To claim that makes it absolute.
Most people might not read the word "complete" n think it
is just the oldest one. The songs of Mesomedes are mostly
complete as well and date to the early 2nd cent.
We have a lot more older songs. Mostly not complete, yes,
but with a lot of notation n texts, so makes you able
to sing and play it.
But we have no dating for the epithath of Seikilos for sure
to the 1st cent. As Pöhlmann dates it to the 2nd cent.

But the arrangement is great (truly modern with drums),
but in the second part makes the correct metre, great!
Best musical arrangement I heared of this song for a long time,
also with this pseudo-aulos at the end. Applause! :-) )

F.e. the epitath of Seikilos has a little different rhythm
then most of our interpretations, it just has become a tradition :-) )
Here u might listen to the same metre:

http://www.wat.tv/video/musique-1i6pl_130cm_.html

(sorry for the quality, is not my recording, just of
a nice visitor of one of our concerts)