DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.4593#0328
302 THE ISLES AND SHRINES OF GREECE
that these sons of Gaul should first render at Athens
a hymn which was sung by the pilgrims of the Attic
metropolis as they passed thick-wooded Helicon and
came to the waters of Castalia's plenteous spring under
the twin peaks.
I have since had the privilege of bringing out with
a chorus this hymn in the " Athens of America." It
has been harmonized in Paris and in Athens, but I
prefer to print it without modern alloy, that the reader
may get as close as possible to the original. As the
invasion of the Gauls took place in 279 B. c. it is
supposed that this hymn was composed soon after.
Rendered with a chorus of male and female voices,
with flutes and harp, observing carefully the -{j rhythm,
one may form, in spite of the breaks in the stone, —
indicated in the copy by the rests, — some idea of the
form and spirit of the oldest known piece of music in
the world.
Like certain music as extremely modern as this is
extremely ancient, it must be not only heard but
absorbed. In two public renderings I have found
that singers would at first persistently count six-eight
instead of five-eight time, and that the tonality, espe-
cially on the last page, seemed difficult and arbitrary;
but after sufficient rehearsal the best musicians sung
it with satisfaction and admiration. The addition of
simple harmonies on the harp or piano helps the
general effect. The key of F minor of the music that
follows is not derived from the original stone, but
from a modern transcription. Some fragmentary
words in the original have been omitted.
that these sons of Gaul should first render at Athens
a hymn which was sung by the pilgrims of the Attic
metropolis as they passed thick-wooded Helicon and
came to the waters of Castalia's plenteous spring under
the twin peaks.
I have since had the privilege of bringing out with
a chorus this hymn in the " Athens of America." It
has been harmonized in Paris and in Athens, but I
prefer to print it without modern alloy, that the reader
may get as close as possible to the original. As the
invasion of the Gauls took place in 279 B. c. it is
supposed that this hymn was composed soon after.
Rendered with a chorus of male and female voices,
with flutes and harp, observing carefully the -{j rhythm,
one may form, in spite of the breaks in the stone, —
indicated in the copy by the rests, — some idea of the
form and spirit of the oldest known piece of music in
the world.
Like certain music as extremely modern as this is
extremely ancient, it must be not only heard but
absorbed. In two public renderings I have found
that singers would at first persistently count six-eight
instead of five-eight time, and that the tonality, espe-
cially on the last page, seemed difficult and arbitrary;
but after sufficient rehearsal the best musicians sung
it with satisfaction and admiration. The addition of
simple harmonies on the harp or piano helps the
general effect. The key of F minor of the music that
follows is not derived from the original stone, but
from a modern transcription. Some fragmentary
words in the original have been omitted.