APPENDIX

Table I.

Scales of the seven oldest Keys, with the species of the same name.

Seven Scales

Table II.

The fifteen Keys.

Fifteen KeysFifteen Keys

Transcriber's Note:Corrected final note in "Lydian" midi file from E as written to F as is more logical.

The moveable notes (phthongoi kinoumenoi) are distinguished by being printed as crotchets.

The two highest of these keys—the Hyper-lydian and the Hyper-aeolian—appear to have been added in the time of the Empire. The remaining thirteen are attributed to Aristoxenus in the pseudo-EuclideanIntroductio(p. 19, l. 30), and by Aristides Quintilianus (p. 22, l. 30): but there is no mention of them in the extantHarmonics. It may be gathered, however, from the criticism of Heraclides Ponticus (see the passage discussed onpp. 9-12) that the list of keys was being considerably enlarged in his time, and Aristoxenus, though not named, is doubtless aimed at there.Music of the 'Orestes' of Euripides (ll. 338-344).

Music of OrestesMusic of Orestes[Listen]

kat-o-lo-phu-ro-mai ma-te-ros ai-ma saso s ana-bak-cheu-ei. o me-gas ol-bos oumon-i-mos en Bro-tois a-na de lai-phos hôstis a-ka-tou tho-as ti-na-xas dai-mônkat-ek-ly-sen dei-nôn po-nôn hôs pon-toulab-rois o-leth-ri-oi-sin en ky-ma-sin

The metre is dochmiac, each dochmius consisting of an iambus followed by a cretic,symbols. The points which seem to mark the ictus, or rhythmical accent, are found on the first syllable of each of these two feet. If we assume that thefirst syllable of the iambus has the chief accent, the dochmius will be correctly expressed as a musical bar of the form—

dochmius

If the first syllable of the cretic is accented, the dochmius is divided between two bars, and becomes—

dochmius

The accompaniment orkrousis, consisting of notes interposed between the phrases of the melody, is found by Dr. Wessely and Dr. Crusius in the following characters:

1. The characterinstrumentalZappears at the end of every dochmius shown by the papyrus. After the first, third and fifth it is written in the same line with the text. After the seventh it is written above that line, between two vocal notes. Dr. Crusius takes it to be the instrumentalZ, explaining the difference of shape as due to the necessity or convenience of distinguishing it from the vocalZ. If that were so the forminstrumentalZwould surely have been permanent, and would have been given in the schemes of Alypius and Aristides Quintilianus. I venture to suggest that it is a mark intended to show the end of the dochmius or bar.

2. The grouptriad08occurs twice, before and after the wordsdeinôn ponôn. There is a difficulty about the signsign, which Dr. Crusius takes to be aVortragszeichen. The other two characters may be instrumental notes.

The doubleωofως(writtenΩΩΣ) is interesting because it shows that when more than one note went with a syllable, the vowel or diphthong was repeated. This agrees with the well-knownhei-ei-ei-ei-ei-eilisseteof Aristophanes (Ran.1314), and is amply confirmed by the newly discovered hymn to Apollo (p. 134).

Musical part of the Seikelos inscription.

Symbols

OSONZÊSPHAINOUMÊDENOLÔSSYLYPOUPOSOLIGONESTITOZÊNTOTELOSOCHRONOSAPAITEI

The inscription of which these lines form part was discovered by Mr. W. M. Ramsay, and was first published by him in theBulletin de correspondance helléniquefor 1883, p. 277. It professes to be the work of a certainSeikelos. The discovery that the smaller letters between the lines are musical notes was made by Dr. Wessely.

The Seikelos inscription, as Dr. O. Crusius has shown (Philologusfor 1893, LII. p. 161), is especially valuable for the light which it throws upon ancient rhythm. The quantity of the syllables and the place of theictusis marked in every case, and we are able therefore to divide the melody into bars, which may be represented as follows:

Symbols

The hymns recently discovered at Delphi.

Since these sheets were in type the materials for the study of ancient Greek music have received a notable accession. The French archaeologists who are now excavating on the site of Delphi have found several important fragments of lyrical poetry, some of them with the music noted over the words, as in the examples already known. The two largest of these fragments have been shown to belong to a single inscription, containing a hymn to Apollo, which dates in all probability from the early part of the third centuryB. C.Of the other fragments the most considerable is plausibly referred to the first centuryB. C.These inscriptions have been published in theBulletin de correspondance hellénique(viii-xii. pp. 569-610), with two valuable commentaries by M. Henri Weil and M. Théodore Reinach. The former scholar deals with the text, the latter chiefly with the music.

The music of the hymn to Apollo is written in the vocal notation. The metre is the cretic or paeonicsymbols, and the key, as M. Reinach has shown, is the Phrygian—the scale of C minor, with the conjunct tetrachordc—d♭—d—f.

In the following transcription I have followed M. Reinach except in a few minor points. When two notes are sung to the same syllable the vowel or diphthong is repeated, as in the fragment of the Orestes (p. 132): but I have thought it best to adhere to the modern method.

Symbols

Symbols[Listen]

Ton kithari]sei kly-ton pai-da me-ga-lou [Dios a-]eidete pa]r' a-kro-ni-phê ton-de pa-gon, am[broth' hos]pa-si thna-tois pro-phai-neis [logia, tr]i-po-da man-tei-on hôs hei[les, echthros hon e-phr]ou-rei dra-kôn;ho-te te[oisi belesin e-tr]ê-sas ai-o-lon he-lik-tansy-rig-math' hi-eis a-thô-pe[ut' eba;nyn] de Ga-la-tan a-rês..n epe-ras' a-sep-t[os]sal-li-ô](?) gen-nan..n thalos phi-londa-moi-o lo....rôn e-phor..te-on k.. e-nai k..ôna ba-thy-den-dron hai la[chete Dios eri]bro-mouthy-ga-tres eu-ô-le[noi] mo-le[te] syn-o-mai-mon hi-naPhoi-bon ô-dai-si mel-psê-te chry-se-o-ko-man;hos a-na di-ko-ry-ni-a Par-nas-si-dos tas-de pet--ras he-dra-na [me]ta kly-tais Del-phi-sin Kas-ta-li-doseu-u-drou na-mat' e-pi-ni-se-tai, Del-phon a-na[pr]ô-na man-tei-on e-phe-pôn pa-gon. [ithi] klytame-ga-lo-po-lis Ath-this, eu-chai-si phe-ro-ploi-o nai--ou-sa Tri-tô-ni-dos da[ped]on a-thrauston, ha-gi--ois de bô-moi-sin Ha-phais-tos ai-thei ne-ônmê-ra tau-rôn; ho-mou de nin A-raps at-mos es Y--lym-pon a-na-kid-na-tai; li-gy de lô-tos bre-mônai-o-lois [me]le-sin ô-dan kre-kei; chry-sea d'ha-dy-throu[s ki]-tha-ris hym-noi-sin a-na-mel-pe-tai;ho de [the]-ô-rôn pro-pas es-mos Ath-thi-da lach[ôn]

The notes employed in this piece of music cover about an octave and a half, viz. from Parypatê Hypatôn to the Chromatic Lichanos Hyperbolaiôn. In two of the tetrachords, viz. Synemmenôn and Hyperbolaiôn, the intervals employed are Chromatic (or possibly Enharmonic): in the tetrachord Diezeugmenôn they are Diatonic, while in the tetrachord Mesôn the Lichanos, which would distinguish the genus, is wanting. On the other hand there are two notes which do not belong to the Phrygian key as hitherto known, viz.O, a semitone below Mesê, andB, a semitone below Nêtê Diezeugmenôn. If we assume that we have before us Chromatic of the standard kind (chrôma toniaion), the complete scale is—

Chromatic Scale[Listen]

Enharmonic Scale[Listen]

If the intervals are Enharmonic, or Chromatic of a different variety, the moveable notes (in this caselambda_kappaandpeace_star) will be somewhat flatter.

M. Reinach is particularly happy in tracing the successive changes of genus and key in the course of the poem. The opening passage, as he shows, is Diatonic. With the mention of the Gaulish invasion (Galatan arês) we come upon the grouptriad09(g—a♭—a) of the Chromatic tetrachord Hyperbolaiôn. At the beginning of the second fragment the intervals are again Diatonic, up to the point where the poet turns to address the Attic procession (ithi, klyta megalopolis Aththis, k.t.l.). From this point the melody lies chiefly in the Chromatic tetrachord Synemmenôntetrachord05(c—d♭—d—f)—a modulation into the key of the sub-dominant as well as a change of genus. At the end of the fragment the poet returns to the Diatonic and the original key.With regard to themode—the question which mainly concerns us at present—M. Reinach's exposition is clear and convincing. He appeals to three criteria,—(1) the impression which the music makes on a modern ear; (2) the endings of the several phrases and divisions; and (3) the note which recurs most frequently. All these criteria point to a Minor mode. The general impression made by the Diatonic parts of the melody is that of the key ofCminor: the rhythmical periods end on one or other of the notesc-e♭-g, which form the chord of that key: and the notecdistinctly predominates. This conclusion, it need hardly be said, is in entire agreement with the main thesis of the preceding pages.

The symbolsOandB, which do not belong to the Phrygian scale, are explained by M. Reinach in a way that is in a high degree plausible and suggestive. In other keys, he observes, the symbolOstands for the noteb(natural). Thus it holds the place of 'leading-note' (note sensible) to the keynote,c. It has hitherto been supposed that the standard scale of Greek music, the octavea-a, differed from the modern Minor in the want of a leading note. Here, however, we find evidence that such a note was known in practice, if not as a matter of theory, to Greek musicians. If this is so, it strongly confirms the view thatcwas in fact the key-note of the Phrygian scale. The symbolB, which occurs only once, answers to ourg♭, and may be similarly explained as a leading note tog, the dominant of the key. We infer, with M. Reinach, that the scale employed in the hymn is not only like, but identical with, the scale of our Minor.

The fragment markedCby M. Weil resembles the hymn to Apollo in subject, and also in metre, but cannot belong to the same work. The melody is written in the Lydian key, with the notation which we have hitherto known as the instrumental, but which is now shown to have been used, occasionally at least, for vocal music. The fragment is as follows:

Symbols[Listen]

t' e-pi tê-les-ko-pon tan[de] di-ko-ry-phon klei-tyn hym[in]Pi-erides ai ni-pho-bo-lous mel-pe-te de Py-thi-onPhoi-bon on e-tik-te L[a-tô]

M. Reinach connects this fragment with a shorter one, also in the Lydian key, but not in paeonic metre, viz.—

Symbols[Listen]

.. thon es-che ma ... thê-ra kat-ek-ta.... syrigm' a-per..

M. Reinach thinks that the mode may be the so-called Hypo-lydian (the octavef—f). The materials are surely too scanty for any conclusion as to this.

The fragment D, the only remaining piece which M. Reinach has found it worth while to transcribe, is also written in the instrumental notation of the Lydian key. The metre is the glyconic. The fragment is as follows:—

Symbols

Symbols[Listen]

ton man-to-sy[na klyton] ô-leth' hy-gra ch ...despoti Krê-siôn .. ai nae-tas Delphôn...in ap-tais-tous Bak-chou [thiasous] ... te prospoloistan te do[u]ri[klytôn ar-chan au-xet' a-gê-ra-tô thal ...

This piece also is referred by M. Reinach to the Hypo-lydian mode. It may surely be objected that of three places in which we may fairly suppose that we have the end of a metrical division, viz. those which end with the wordsDelphôn, prospoloisandagêratô, two present us with cadences on the Mesê (d), and one on the Hypatê (a). This seems to point strongly to the Minor Mode.

On the whole it would seem that the onlymode(in the modern sense of the word) of which the new discoveries tell us anything is a mode practically identical with the modern Minor. I venture to think this a confirmation, as signal as it was unexpected, of the main contention of this treatise.

It does not seem to have been observed by M. Weil or M. Reinach that in all these pieces of music there is the same remarkable correspondence between the melody and the accentuation that has been pointed out in the case of the Seikelos inscription (pp. 90, 91). It cannot indeed be said that every acute accent coincides with a rise of pitch: but the note of an accented syllable is almost always followed by a note of lower pitch. Exceptions are,aiolon, hina(which may have practically lost its accent, cp. the Modern Greekna), andmolete(if rightly restored). The fall of pitch in the two notes of a circumflexed syllable is exemplified inmanteion, heilen, Galatan, Phoibon, ôdaisi, klytais, bômoisin, homou:the opposite case occurs only once, inthnatois. The observation holds not only of the chief hymn, but of all the fragments.

Note on the Seikilos Inscription(pp. 89-91, 133).

Since the publication of this work, the Seikilos inscription has been examined afresh by Mr. J. A. R. Munro (of Lincoln College, Oxford). The result of his examination is to show that the last note of the melody has been misread. From a squeeze which he has kindly placed at my disposal it appears that the wordapaiteiis written—

Sympols

The line drawn under the three notestriad10has caused the last to be read asreversegamma, which has no meaning here. In fact it is a reversed Gamma (g apestrammenon), and answers to ourenatural.

Hence the last line of the transcription on pp. 89-90 should be as follows:

Music Scoreto te-los ho chro-nos a-pai—tei[Listen]

The importance of this correction is obvious. The scale employed is now seen to be the octave—

If, as I ventured to suggest onp. 90, the mode is the Hypo-phrygian (the scale of our Major mode, but with a flat Seventh), the key-note will bea. The close on the Dominantewill then have to be noted as a fact supporting the belief that in Greek music the close on the Dominant or Hypatê was the usual one (see p. 45).

The line drawn under the three symbolstriad11is found in several other cases where the melody gives more than one note for a syllable. Sodiad01(l. 2), anddiad02(l. 3),diad03anddiad02(l. 4). It does not appear however undertriad12(l. 1).

D. B. M.

[1]Plato,Rep.p. 400balla tauta men, ên d' egô, kai meta Damônos bouleusometha, tines te aneleutherias kai hybreôs ê manias kai allês kakias prepousai baseis, kai tinas tois enantiois leipteon rhythmous.

[2]It is foreign to our purpose to discuss the critical problems presented by the text of Aristoxenus. Of the three extant books the first is obviously a distinct treatise, and should probably be entitledperi archôn. The other two books will then bear the old titleharmonika stoicheia. They deal with the same subjects, for the most part, as the first book, and in the same order,—a species of repetition of which there are well-known instances in the Aristotelian writings. The conclusion is abrupt, and some important topics are omitted. It seems an exaggeration, however, to describe theHarmonicsof Aristoxenus as a mere collection of excerpts, which is the view taken by Marquard (Die harmonischen Fragmente des Aristoxenus, pp. 359-393). See Westphal'sHarmonik und Melopöie der Griechen(p. 41, ed. 1863), and the reply to Marquard in hisAristoxenus von Tarent(pp. 165-170). is not given in theHarmonicswhich we have: but we find there what is in some respects more valuable, namely, a vivid account of the state of things in respect of tonality which he observed in the music of his time.

[3]Harm.p. 37, 19 Meib.houtô gar hoi men tôn harmonikôn legousi barytaton men ton Hypodôrion tôn tonôn, hêmitoniô de oxyteron toutou ton Mixolydion, toutou de hêmitoniô ton Dôrion, tou de Dôriou tonô ton Phrygion: hôsautôs de kai tou Phrygiou ton Lydion heterô tonô.Westphal (Harmonik und Melopöiep. 165) would transfer the wordshêmitoniô ... Mixolydionto the end of the sentence, and insertoxyteronbeforeton Dôrion. The necessity for this insertion shows that Westphal's transposition is not in itself an easy one. The only reason for it is the difficulty of supposing that there could have been so great a difference in the pitch of the Mixo-lydian scale. As to this, however,see p. 23(note).The wordsHypophrygion aulonhave also been condemned by Westphal (Aristoxenus, p. 453). He points out the curious contradiction betweenpros tên tôn aulôn trypêsin blepontesand the complaintti d' esti pros ho blepontes ... ouden eirêkasin. But ifpros tên ... bleponteswas a marginal gloss, as Westphal suggests, it was doubtless a gloss onaulon, and if so,aulonis presumably sound. Since theauloswas especially a Phrygian instrument, and regularly associated with the Phrygian mode (as we know from Aristotle,see p. 13), nothing is more probable than that there was a variety of flute called Hypo-phrygian, because tuned so as to yield the Hypo-phrygian key, either by itself or as a modulation from the Phrygian.In this scheme the important feature—that which marks it as an advance on the others referred to by Aristoxenus—is the conformity which it exhibits with the diatonic scale. The result of this conformity is that the keys stand in a certain relation to each other. Taking any two, we find that certain notes are common to them. So long as the intervals of pitch were quite arbitrary, or were practically irrational quantities, such as three-quarters of a tone, no such relation could exist. It now became possible to pass from one key to another,i. e.to employmodulation(metabolê) as a source of musical effect. This new system had evidently made some progress when Aristoxenus wrote, though it was not perfected, and had not passed into general use.

The wordsHypophrygion aulonhave also been condemned by Westphal (Aristoxenus, p. 453). He points out the curious contradiction betweenpros tên tôn aulôn trypêsin blepontesand the complaintti d' esti pros ho blepontes ... ouden eirêkasin. But ifpros tên ... bleponteswas a marginal gloss, as Westphal suggests, it was doubtless a gloss onaulon, and if so,aulonis presumably sound. Since theauloswas especially a Phrygian instrument, and regularly associated with the Phrygian mode (as we know from Aristotle,see p. 13), nothing is more probable than that there was a variety of flute called Hypo-phrygian, because tuned so as to yield the Hypo-phrygian key, either by itself or as a modulation from the Phrygian.

In this scheme the important feature—that which marks it as an advance on the others referred to by Aristoxenus—is the conformity which it exhibits with the diatonic scale. The result of this conformity is that the keys stand in a certain relation to each other. Taking any two, we find that certain notes are common to them. So long as the intervals of pitch were quite arbitrary, or were practically irrational quantities, such as three-quarters of a tone, no such relation could exist. It now became possible to pass from one key to another,i. e.to employmodulation(metabolê) as a source of musical effect. This new system had evidently made some progress when Aristoxenus wrote, though it was not perfected, and had not passed into general use.

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