Ancient Greek and Roman music Masterpost
As our national epic, the Odyssey, did I'll start from the middle. Please listen to the sound of medieval Greek music and then come back. It's an exercise, I command you!
Middle Ages Greek music is speculated to be "slowed down ancient Greek music"! 😁 So, take notes on that!
Christodoulos Halaris - Anthology of Byzantine Secular Music
(Christodoulos Halaris was a prominent Greek composer, researcher, and musicologist. He focused on secular Byzantine and traditional music, incorporating his extensive research into a solid and singular musical language.)
After your warm-up (and perhaps some confusion) let's get into what you came here to see.
What Ancient Greek and Roman Music Sounded Like - A Beginner's Introduction
Α fantastic introduction by a composer, musician, and researcher who calls himself:
OKAY, OKAY, HE IS FARYA FARAJI, YOU GOT ME.
So, this is going to be another excellent video where he spits facts. He gives a great impression of how ancient Greek and Roman music sounded like.
And no, they didn't sound like the watered-down (north)-eurocentric "ancient Greek music" on youtube videos you find. (who's surprised at this point, after all this Northwestern appropriation) Unless they are made by Farya Faraji because… the man knows his shit (and our shit 😂)
By the way, I called it "watered down", not because I believe western music is lame, but because the performers apply western rules to ancient Greek music, stripping it of all the Heterophonic complexity.
In the video above, you'll learn how the lyre should actually be played!!! And what instruments have been in continuous use in Greece for more than 2.000 years! And see all the ways our ancient and traditional music is more complex than Western music - such as Western music can be more complex than ours in other ways! (as also stated in the video)
And before you ask: Why does ancient Greek and Byzantine/traditional Greek music sound Oriental? Well, that's just your ear and biases and Hollywood stereotypes, my dear friend. See, these sounds are not (just) Oriental! They are originally Greek, too!
Many tunes and the way of singing the West associates today with the Middle East came from the Greek world (where these tunes are still in use, mind you) or other Mediterranean countries. That's not to say that Middle Eastern nations didn't have these scales and twirls for a long time - because they did. That's their ancient music, too.
Please see the video below to make more sense of my ramblings:
The Greco-Roman Influence on Middle-Eastern Music
All of Farya's videos have their sources in the description so make sure to check them out!
Now you can better enjoy the Epitaph of Sekeilos you heard in the first Middle Ages video! You can also listen to another great version by Farya, where he uses the above ancient Greek principles he mentioned in his video. That's why his version actually feels fun to listen to, thank god! (Of course Chalaris also orchestrates the Epitaoh in an excellent way)
Personal commentary: I am happy to share Farya's work online because he put into words why reconstructions of ancient Greek music online don't sound Greek at all. Greeks have a hard time relating to it because... that's not our folk music. They sound boring like Chopin playing piano when he was 3 years old. (But by now you know why! 😉)
Of course, ancient and traditional Greek music are not identical and no one expects them to be. But given our history, our music history, and cultural evolution, we know the sounds of our music - as all people can identify the music of their land and area. I am glad my gut feeling was right and the music wasn't actually that simple. With the complexity of our ancient chants and the plethora of instruments we had in antiquity, there was no excuse for our ancient melodies to be that simple.
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Mangvember: Native/Indigenous American Music Appreciation! Part 2 🎵🎶🍃🍁🐿️🍂🌼
If you’re interested in listening to Native/ Indigenous American artists and music, read my thread for Native American Heritage Month (Part 2) 🎵🎶🍃🍁🐿️🍂🌼 (Check the quote tweets in this thread to see some videos from these artists!):
Artists featured in the thread ⬆️: Raimy Salazar Official, Jesse Ed Davis (from the band Taj Mahal), Fawn Wood, Drezus, Frank Waln.
Native/Indigenous American artists and music thread Part 3 is coming soon!
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LOL
Look the photo : I found this "2 little guys" in a snow day while walking through by yard to my studio and then I told them that they looked like this movie - Titanic of actor protagonist superstars sad & romantic … I still remember Finally I got friends at that moment; 😄🙄😚 I talk to them a lot, but they're busying in love, lol so didn't care me much. :))) indeed reminded me that such lonely year not in winter only, but make friends with birds, deers, humble wildflower, trees, forest, squirrels, raccoons, goats, any wild animals even bugs better than a bad heart friend from some of my experences. ♫ ◠‿◠ ℒan~*
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Mangvember: Native/Indigenous American Music Appreciation! Part 1 🎵🎶🍃🍁🐿️🍂🌼
If you’re interested in listening to Native/ Indigenous American artists and music, read my thread for Native American Heritage Month (Part 1) 🎵🎶🍃🍁🐿️🍂🌼 (Check the quote tweets in this thread to see some of my favorite music videos/live videos from these artists!):
Artists featured in the thread ⬆️: Redbone, Leo Rojas, Inez Jasper, Wuauquikuna Official, Taboo (from the Black Eyed Peas)
Native/Indigenous American artists and music thread Part 2 is coming soon!
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