Ancient Greek Music in Perfomance: Symposion Wien 29. Sept. - 1. Okt. 2003 (Wiener Studien Beihefte, Band 30) [paperback]

The collection of essays is based on the papers held at a symposium that was held to discuss various “practical” aspects of ancient Greek music. The individual contributions address organological questions of tuning and playing techniques, ancient and modern performance contexts and expectations, as well as the notorious topic of musical “ethos”. The accompanying CD contains, in addition to musical examples of passages referred to in the papers, the recording of a public performance that was part of the symposium. Singers and instrumentalists from four countries present their approaches to the ancient melodies that are extant; especially when different interpretations of the same piece can be compared, the complex questions involved in any re-creation of ancient music become obvious immediately.

Table of contents:

J.C. Franklin, Hearing Greek Microtones

S. Hagel, Twenty-four in auloi. Aristotle, Met.1093b, the harmony of the spheres, and the formation of the Perfect System

G. Lawson, Ancient European lyres: excavated finds and experimental performance today

M.J. Pernerstorfer, Carl Orffs hesperische Musik

E. Pöhlmann, Dramatische Texte in den Fragmenten antiker Musik

R.W. Wallace, Performing Damon’s harmoníai

G. Danek, Homerische Vortragstechnik: Rekonstruktion und modernes Publikum