The World's Earliest Music: Traced to Its Beginnings in Ancient Lands by Collected Evidence of Relics, Records, History, and Musical Instruments from Greece, Etruria, Egypt, China, Through Asyria and Babylonia, to the Primitive Home, the Land of Akkad and SumerSmith, Hermann
History
The World's Earliest Music: Traced to Its Beginnings in Ancient Lands by Collected Evidence of Relics, Records, History, and Musical Instruments from Greece, Etruria, Egypt, China, Through Asyria and Babylonia, to the Primitive Home, the Land of Akkad and Sumer
Smith, Hermann
Music -- To 500 -- History and criticism
The great length of the flutes in these paintings led me to the
conclusion that, as I have stated, the Lady Maket’s being considerably
shorter and so slim, are properly funereal or wailing flutes. Curiously
enough we already possess a pair of these flutes in the Museum; but
even to my enquiring eyes the truth was not revealed until the Lady
Maket’s flutes taught me what to look for. So true is it that the eye
only sees what it is prepared to see? I knew that three straws with
holes were stuck in a rack; looked at them after I had handled Lady
Maket’s pipes, and saw nothing more than one straw pipe very similar.
At last it suddenly dawned upon me that another straw was very likely
half a pipe, and a further scrutiny leaves no doubt that it is the
complemental pipe, the upper part missing, broken off below the middle
knot.
With the usual perversity attending the exhibition of musical
instruments, this broken pipe was so placed as to be, in relation to
its companion, as the horse with its tail where its head ought to be,
and was thus passed by without understanding. The length complete, as
near as I could measure is fifteen inches; and if the broken one should
be placed end for end parallel to the perfect one, the relation would
be apparent; the lowest holes of each being the same distance from the
end, three inches, and so corresponding to the Lady Maket measure.
In the national museums at Leyden, Berlin, Paris and at other
continental museums, there are straw flutes or portions of them; but
how much they are from good condition I do not know. So far as I am
aware the pipes found by Mr. Flinders Petrie are the only existing
_perfect_ specimens of the Gingroi or wailing flutes.
By the term straw we merely indicate slenderness; the pipes being
truly reeds, called by botanists _Arundo Donax_, and also, _Sativa_.
From this kind of stalk our oboe and other reeds are made, the chief
European supply coming from Fréjus on the Mediterranean.
When these pipes first came into my hands for examination and
measurement, I at once expressed my belief that they were sounded by
Arghool type of reed; when the right reed, I said, is discovered after
numberless experiments, then we shall have better surety of an exact
scale as heard by Egyptian ears, with perhaps the proviso that somewhat
of the skill of the player of the old race is attained.
THE TEACHINGS OF EXPERIMENTS.
As there are no known existing examples of the _Diaulos_, the
extreme interest attaching to the Lady Maket flutes as the original
representatives of the later use of the Greeks, justifies the fullest
investigation of the scale they give into our hands, with an enduring
testimony of truth, that goes beyond that afforded by painting or
written record.
Very greatly esteeming the permission given to me to measure and take
the particulars which I have stated, I made all haste to get models
made for me in metal upon which to investigate the scale.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account