| MUSIC is one of those art forms which act as a mirror of social and cultural structures. If the society or the culture of a particular place is going into decline, it will be reflected in the music of that place immediately. Likewise, when the society or the culture is booming, the music will also flourish. Thus, music has a major role in the tracing the past of a country and its culture.
Modern music owes much to the Ancient Greeks. In fact, the term "music" is originated from the 9 Ancient Greek muses, who were goddesses controlling the arts and sciences. Contemporary musicians refer to their muse, which is somebody who has an effect on another person's creative work. A great many musical terms originated from the Greek language. Nevertheless, with the fall of Ancient Greece and the collapse of the Roman and Byzantine Empires, Greek music hibernated for a few centuries until it was revived in the Nineteenth century.
Greeks are said to have considered music a way of worshipping God. Music was also part of their social life. It was played on all forms of social occasions. Since drama was also popular in Greece, music was used when drama was staged.
It is often said that Greek music did not have harmony. It was mostly performed by one vocalist and not by a chorus as is ordinarily shown in Greek plays. Ancient musicians stringently observed the laws of music and didn't mix one form with another. The rules were so stringent that the audience or listeners were not permitted to clap. The objective of musical shows was not to amuse but to teach common people.
Pythagoras was the first to use numbers to denote musical scales. The concept was introduced to Ancient Greek Music. Therefore, Pythagoras became the father of music theory. Most musical works, as reported, was monophonic. Thus, they were rather similar. But when musicians started introducing new things to music, some Ancient Greek experts like Plato showed strong disapproval.
Contemporary Greek music is a mixture of Greek traditional folk music and both Eastern and Western tendencies. |