Ancient Roman Music

Ancient Roman Music

by

Alfred Halfnight

Of all of the wonderful innovations in government and law that the culture of Rome is credited with, one thing they were curiously not known for, were their musical innovations. In fact, we know more about the music of ancient Greece, than that of ancient Rome. With ancient Greek music, we are aware of nearly forty examples of Greek musical notation of various sorts, whereas we have little surviving documentation at all from the monumental city-state.

One reason put forward by scholars is that the early Christian fathers did their best to suppress and minimize the influence of music within their culture as it was considered to be representative and supportive of pagan religion. It is unknown whether this influence caused the destruction of their musical history, or merely caused the suppression of its creation and innovation. While Roman culture relied heavily on the philosophy of the Greeks, it is still curious that their enthusiasm for innovation and adoption of cultural behaviors did not extend to the musical arena. Compared to the Greeks, the Romans appeared to have laced an emotional connection or spiritual connection.

Outside influences within the roman culture abound, such as the adoption and absorption of Etruscan art and architectural styles due to Imperial expansion, and as well as noted influences from African and Middle Eastern segments of the empire. But a discernible musical influence remains elusive. Not to say that the Romans did not play or appreciate music, but rather they were not particularly as innovative in this area, as they were in others such as law, organized politics, government and administration. They did have at their disposal a fair variety of instrumentation, but it was not particularly original, and they did not advance its cultural significance.

The Romans used instruments similar to those used today, such as various forms of tubas, flutes, panpipes, lyres and bugles. As well as the Aulos, similar to the modern oboe, which was reliant on a double-reed mouthpiece. They also used a semi circular instrument known as the cornu, which marginally resembles a French horn of today. And of course they did have drums of various types as well as percussion instruments, it s just that they did not focus on this area for advancement or development. Contemporary attempts at recreating Roman music have been made, most recently by Walter Maioli and his group Synaulia, and during Roman festivals and their music is played in

hotels in Rome

for an air of authenticity, but not all

Rome hotels

embrace this practice, choosing instead to favor the more popular romantic modes of Italian musical expression.

Alfred Halfnight is a London-based freelance journalist with a mission to make you a better and happier human being. Drawing attention to the peculiarities of life in the modern age is all part of the package.Check out his other articles for everything you need to know about travel destinations.

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