Music of Ancient Rome and Greece

[Sergey Lenkov]

Well, Stefanos, it`s better to see that than to read about it in the books .

[Sergey Lenkov]

Hello, Susanna!
How are you?
As main expert here on Mesomedes of Crete, please tell me...
There`s famous Norwegian saxophonist Jan Garbarek.
On his album "Mnemosyne" there are versions of Delphic hymn and Hymn to the Sun by Mesomedes. These songs are performed by well-known choir The Hilliard Ensemble. Usually they are performing Renaissance music. So thier version of Hymn to the Sun sounds very strange.
Listen to the soundclip on the following link (it is last track of the album):

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00000 ... oding=UTF8

What do you think of this and what did they do to the original?

[hoplite14gr]

Well, Stefanos, it`s better to see that than to read about it in the books .

Hmm, The only refernces I have are on the book of
E. Poulsen Delphi 1920 who says that this was originaly curve in the walls of the Thesaurus of Athenians at Delphi.
Kind regards

[Sergey Lenkov]

I know Ludi Scaenici, I saw them live and know the CD...the show is great , I love the dancing girls :wink:
Their were ones one group with Synaulia, their are the people who played mostly the reed-instruments on their first and second CDs. The music is self-written. They do not sing...its a show-troup. They are very good musicians. But their music is as authentic as I think from Synaulia...same mistakes...
But I think all the recordings do good work, it interests people in the theme and it helps to learn from mistakes.

While we are waiting for Susanna , proboably it could be interesting for somebody - link to Ludi Scaenici site
http://www.ludi-scaenici.it/

[Sergey Lenkov]

Follow these links and you could listen to sondclips from CDs by Petros Tabouris, which were
discussed above.
As I see now, it is mainly modern music in Ancient Greek style:

http://music.barnesandnoble.com/search/ ... 1620&ITM=1

http://music.barnesandnoble.com/search/ ... 3723322029

[Susanna]

Hi again,

sorry folks, I have been ill and due the fact that I am pregnant I was not allowed to leave bed instead of for our concert we gave in Carnuntum (Archaeological Park) last week.

Well, Paniagua did not read Pöhlmann well enough:
Terencio. Hecyra 861 and Poem Mor for example are fakes.
Pöhlmann wrote that in his book years before Paniagua made his recordings...as I said before, he should have gave himself more time for research...

The other links of you, Sergej, I have to check.
I also will check my personal messages now...;-) )
Thanks!

[Sergey Lenkov]

Well, Susanna, we all wish you good health!!!!!!!

Poem Mor. by Grigorios Nazianzenos is also fake (made by Kircher)?
Deep in my soul I hoped that it is fragment of Byzantine vocal-instrumental music which is survived
Had anybody heard any other reconstructions of Byzantine secular instrumental music than that of Christodoulos Halaris - which as I understands is of very doubtful kind?

[Sergey Lenkov]

Probably it could be interesting for somebody:
very unauthentic version of the Ancient Greek music by Russian musician Alex Kharlamov. Now he lives in LA and works with the different musicians, among them with Paul Haslinger, former member of Berlin electronic music band Tangerine Dream.
Sorry, link will lead you only to homepage of his site. Then:
1. Click "Discography".
2. Click the title of the album "Alexander the Great: Posa Somata, Posa Pneumata". Here you would find the soundclips:
http://www.kharlamov.com/

[Arthes]

Probably it could be interesting for somebody:
very unauthentic version of the Ancient Greek music by Russian musician Alex Kharlamov. Now he lives in LA and works with the different musicians, among them with Paul Haslinger, former member of Berlin electronic music band Tangerine Dream.
Sorry, link will lead you only to homepage of his site. Then:
1. Click "Discography".
2. Click the title of the album "Alexander the Great: Posa Somata, Posa Pneumata". Here you would find the soundclips:
http://www.kharlamov.com/

Interesting, but a little 'monkish' although 'Glory to the battlefields' clip sounds good.
The Traditional Ethnic clips in 'Music' are rather nice ... especially 'Hymn to Nemesis'....and the 'Saipan' Asian track makes me think of swaying dancers.... :wink:
I am of the opinion that ancient Greek music was actually quite lively...!
regards
Arthes

[hoplite14gr]

Depending on the ocasion Cristina.
You can hardly describe "Doric Anapestos" as lively.
Kind regards

[Sergey Lenkov]

If you are interested in ancient music I have something new for you:
http://www.musicaromana.de/de/synpan.html
This is the new CD of Musica romana, a project from germany, playing on reconstructed instruments.The cd I linked is very very good, but unfortunately too short...

Due to Susanna`s courtesy I could give you more detailed review of the new CD "Symphonia Panica" by Musica Romana. Subtitles of this record: "Music of Antiquty" and "Sound of Roman Times". So Musica Romana gives us unique possibility to hear re-created flutes of Pan, copies of two flutes of Roman times founded in Germany and Switzerland. The performers tried to give listener a chance to feel sounds of their instruments, so record sounds lively and and not so polished in studio as a la new age or Peter Gabriel-style records by Synaulia or "Melpomen". Sound of this CD seems for me Theocritic... It`s very interesting listening experience.
1 track - XVIII. 3:28
Short beautiful melody by Anonymes of Bellermann.
Firstly you hear pure sound of panflute, after that comes the sound of trigonon (angular harp, which sounds... Celtic for my modern ear), the slow theme repeates and in the end the you hear the Roman tibia in the background. Good start.
2. Cave Carminem! 2:42. It is origianal composition by Musica Romana.
They tries to paint you a picture of Roman Triumph - so we hear tibia and drums, melody is very moving and dynamic.
3. Pandoura Hora 2:46. Also original compostion. Real hit of this CD.
Pandoura or Coptic Lute (by the way the Copts are desendants of the Ancient Egyptians) gives rhythm, groove to the dynamic melody and the sound of panflute pictures us the scene of Bacchic dance.
4. Fistula Thurga 2:40. This original compostion gives you possibility to hear panflute founded in Thurgau. Style of playing and melody seem very lively. While listening to it I thought that I`d prefer to listen to pure sound of panflute without tibia and my wish is fulfilled in the next track.
5. Poem Mor. 3:31. This compostion was attributed to Grigorios Nazianzenos by German Jesuit, musicologist and Orientalist Athanasius Kircher (but as I understands he was the real author). So we are listening to fantasy Byzantine music as it was imagined in the 17th century according to their knowings of Antique music. Panflute and harp... Very beautiful.
6. Fistula Pastorales. 2:25. Musica by Susanna. Pure sound of flute.
7. Careula Bellermanni. 2:25.
This piece is also taken from Anonymes of Bellermann. Harp leads the melody. I think - if to play panflute with hydraulis - it would be real space music of that epoch.
8. And the beautiful song Faunus (2:52), original compostion, based on Horatio verses ends this programme.
In general CD is very interesting and also it`s interesting to compare versions by Musica Romana with playing of the same fragments by Paniagua, Ensemble De Organographia and Ensemble Kerylos.
I think that wish of every listener would be to hear more authenic pieces of Antique music, and on the third live CD by Musica Romana we would hear music by Mesomedes of Crete with this new material. Musica Romana is in the beginning of their way as recording performers - let`s hope that they wouldn`t stop and that they would give us more pleasure to listen to authentic music of Antiquty.

[Susanna]

Hi,

thank you for you beautiful very long review. wink:

Cool, the CD reached you.

By the way, we have a Classical Music Destributor now, so the CD will appear in some weeks on the German Version of Amazon, so also people from another country can order it easily.

More later this week... :wink:

Thank you again,
Susanna

[Arthes]

There are some good Kithara examples here
The Aulos sounds rather like Midi files.....a strange sound..
Did the church organ accompanied hymns develop from the ancient Greek hymns accompanied by the Aulos..possibly by way of Byzantium...?
I know very little about this subject.... :oops:
Regards
Arthes

[Susanna]

That are from our collegue Dr. Stefan Hagel.

He uses very hard reed, so the sound is rather hobo-like, a little midi-like.

Bute we have also Auloi with hard reeds, they sound nearly the same, while our Auloi with soft reeds sound more like a shalmei or a bagpipe.

You can change the reeds on the same instrument and you while produce a different sound. But you cannot take every reed anyway, it has always to fit to the mensur of the pipe.
:wink:

[Sergey Lenkov]

Thank you for your work, Susanna!