History of music: the story on HearLore

History of music

The oldest known musical instrument, a bone flute carved from a cave bear's femur, was discovered in the Divje Babe cave in Slovenia and dates to between 43,000 and 82,000 years ago. This artifact, potentially created by Neanderthals, remains the subject of intense scholarly debate, with some arguing it is merely a bone chewed by hyenas rather than a deliberate musical tool. If the flute is authentic, it proves that a musical culture existed during the Middle Paleolithic period, long before the Upper Paleolithic era when the majority of surviving Paleolithic instruments were found. These early instruments, including eight bone flutes discovered in the Swabian Jura of Germany, were crafted from the wing bones of birds and mammoth ivory, suggesting that the complexity of music arose much earlier than previously thought. The absence of other instruments from this time is likely due to their construction from biodegradable materials like reeds, gourds, and skins, which have long since rotted away, leaving only the durable bone and stone artifacts for modern archaeologists to study.

The Confucian Court

In ancient China, music was not merely entertainment but a fundamental pillar of governance and cosmic order, a concept formally designated by the philosopher Confucius as proper music. During the Shang and Zhou dynasties, the ruling class utilized stone bells known as qing and bronze bells called zhong to appeal to supernatural forces and assert political power. The most remarkable surviving example of this era is the monumental set of 65 tuned bianzhong bells found in the Tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng, which dates to after 433 BCE and spans five octaves. These bells were so complex that they required at least five players to perform, and they remain playable to this day, bearing rare inscriptions that document their musical theory. Confucius and his disciples, such as Mencius, viewed the preference for lively vernacular music over traditional ceremonial music as a sign of moral decay, believing that music was intrinsically connected to the universe and the proper administration of the state. The Five Classics of the Zhou dynasty, including the Shijing Classic of Poetry, contain 160 texts to now lost songs from the Western Zhou period, preserving a literary record of a musical tradition that was deeply aligned with cosmology and the eight symbols of bagua.

The Persian Golden Age

The Sasanian period, spanning from 226 to 651 CE, left an unusually rich record of musical culture, particularly in the areas dominated by Zoroastrianism, where Shahanshahs like Khosrow II presided over a golden age of Persian music. This era produced a class of musician-poet minstrels known as gōsān, who held considerable status in the court and served as both performers and chroniclers of history. The most famous of these musicians was Barbad, who, along with contemporaries like Ramtin and Sarkash, worked in the service of Khosrow II, creating a tradition where the distinction between poetry and music was virtually non-existent. While earlier periods like the Achaemenid Empire relied heavily on Greek historians for information, the Sasanian era provides ample evidence through rock reliefs and textual records, showing that sophisticated court ensembles emerged by the 1st century BCE. These ensembles featured the arched harp as a central instrument, and the prominence of musicians in these reliefs suggests they were essential figures in religious ceremonies, bridging the gap between the divine and the mortal world through sound.

Common questions

When was the oldest known musical instrument created and where was it found?

The oldest known musical instrument, a bone flute carved from a cave bear's femur, dates to between 43,000 and 82,000 years ago and was discovered in the Divje Babe cave in Slovenia. This artifact potentially created by Neanderthals remains the subject of intense scholarly debate regarding its authenticity. If the flute is authentic, it proves that a musical culture existed during the Middle Paleolithic period.

What is the significance of the 65 tuned bianzhong bells found in the Tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng?

The most remarkable surviving example of ancient Chinese music is the monumental set of 65 tuned bianzhong bells found in the Tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng, which dates to after 433 BCE. These bells span five octaves and were so complex that they required at least five players to perform. They remain playable to this day and bear rare inscriptions that document their musical theory.

Who were the famous musician-poet minstrels of the Sasanian period and what was their role?

The Sasanian period, spanning from 226 to 651 CE, produced a class of musician-poet minstrels known as gōsān who held considerable status in the court. The most famous of these musicians was Barbad, who along with contemporaries like Ramtin and Sarkash, worked in the service of Khosrow II. These figures served as both performers and chroniclers of history while bridging the gap between the divine and the mortal world through sound.

How did the Florentine Camerata influence the transition from the Renaissance to the Baroque era?

In the 1570s and 1580s, a group of intellectuals in Florence known as the Florentine Camerata sought to restore the music of ancient Greece and sparked a revolution that ended the Renaissance. Led by Vincenzo Galilei and Giulio Caccini, this group developed a declamatory melodic singing style known as monody which eventually evolved into the first operas written around 1600. This new form marked a radical departure from the modal music of the past and created the first truly international style in European music.

What were the defining characteristics of the Romantic period in music history?

The Romantic period witnessed a dramatic expansion in the size of the orchestra and the role of concerts as part of urban society, transforming music into a more expressive and emotional art form. Famous composers like Wagner, Verdi, and Tchaikovsky led this movement which saw the development of nationalistic fervor in the works of figures such as Dvořák, Sibelius, and Grieg. Between 1890 and 1910, a third wave of composers including Mahler, Richard Strauss, and Puccini built on the work of their predecessors to create even more complex and often much longer musical works.

How did the 20th century revolutionize music listening and composition?

The 20th century brought about a revolution in music listening as the radio gained popularity worldwide and new media and technologies were developed to record, edit, and distribute music. The invention of musical amplification and electronic instruments, especially the synthesizer, in the mid-20th century revolutionized classical and popular music. Two fundamental schools determined the course of the century: that of Arnold Schoenberg who pioneered atonality and the twelve-tone technique, and that of Igor Stravinsky who constantly reinvented his style.