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Some Pompeiian Musical Instruments and the Modes of Aristides Quintilianus

C. F. Abdy Williams

The Classical Review / Volume 16 / Issue 08 / November 1902, pp 409 - 413 DOI: 10.1017/S0009840X00206756, Published online: 27 October 2009

Link to this article: http://journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S0009840X00206756

How to cite this article: C. F. Abdy Williams (1902). Some Pompeiian Musical Instruments and the Modes of Aristides Quintilianus. The Classical Review, 16, pp 409-413 doi:10.1017/S0009840X00206756

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Downloaded from http://journals.cambridge.org/CAR, IP address: 144.173.6.37 on 18 Mar 2015 THE CLASSICAL REVIEW. 409 the real character of those charges. I take the usual, or the accepted reading, nor has for this purpose, as a fair sample, the most it any manuscript authority. In another, serious charge of all, namely the one in- Plaut. Cas. 404, cave obiexis is a mere con- volved in the following sentence near the jecture in a corrupt line (the MSS, have end of his article : ' When his {i.e., Elmer's) neither cave nor obiexis). Another, Plaut. list of perfects, which he believes to be " prac- True. 943 (933 in Ussing) was actually tically complete," lacksat least 11 examples given in my. list (p. 142), though the of ne or cave with the second -person printer's omission of 'True' before 933 (Bennett and I have supplied that number), seems to make the line-number refer to the his figures' on any subject are likely to be preceding ' Pers.' Thus disappear 7 of regarded with grave suspicion.' Of these 11 the alleged careless omissions. (12 i) examples to which he refers, two Professor Clement has then convicted me (Plaut. Vid. 83 and.91) were not found, at the simply of having overlooked 5 (41) instances time when I was making my collections for (only one prior to Cicero) in my reading of The Latin Prohibitive, even in those com- the more than ten thousand pages of Latin plete editions of Plautus that contained the from the earliest times down to the end of fragments of the Vidularia (Studemund's the Augustan Age—one omission to two discussions and Winter's Fragmenta I had thousand pages or more. He has discovered not seen, nor have I yet seen Weise's last these omissions by re-reading the authors ' in edition of the fragments). Another, viz. most cases, from two to eight times,' as he Plaut. Cist. 300 had not, as yet (with only tells us. I have no desire to belittle the one exception, if I mistake not), been importance of this achievement. I merely embodied in the text of the editions of that venture to repeat a sentiment expressed in play. In another, Plaut. Pers. 572, the my previous article, viz. that a critic who reading regularly found in editions existing makes such serious charges as Professor at the time was Tie, si parseris, etc., (not ne Clement has made against a fellow-investi- parseris, as since read by Goetz-Schoell and gator should be far more sure of his ground. Leo). In another, Plaut. True. 606 ne H. C. ELMBE. responsis (Goetz-Schoell) is not, even yet, Cornell University.

SOME POMPEIIAN MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS AND THE MODES OF ARISTIDES QUINTILIANUS.

IN the Naples Museum there is a small exactly the condition in which it was found, instrument, found at Pompeii in 1876, and and is considered of sufficient importance to described in the official catalogue as ' Instru- be placed in a case by itself. The Museum ment de musique k neuf tuyaux. II res- Authorities were kind enough to take its semble a un orgue.' Little interest seems measurements for me, and to give me per- to have been taken in this instrument, mission to photograph it; but owing to its which is passed over by Gevaert {La Musique fragmentary condition it was found impos- de I'Antiquiti, Vol. II. p. 301, Note) with sible to place it in a suitable position for the single remark, 'Je n'ai remarque au photography without risk of serious injury. mus^e de Naples, parmi les nombreux debris I believe it to be some kind of portable d'instruments pompeiens, qu'un seul frag- pneumatic organ, the mechanism of which, ment de syringe.' being of leather and wood, has entirely Of late years a second instrument has disappeared, leaving only the bronze pipes been found at Pompeii, similar in every and outer casing. respect to the above, but larger, and having The three portions or plates, A, B, C, are two additional pipes. For convenience I not joined, but were found in the position will refer to these instruments as No. I. (the shown in the diagram. Their ends are bent earlier), and No. II. (the later and larger back at a right angle to the depth of 14 instrument). millimetres. There is nothing to support No. II., of which a diagram accompanies the pipes, which, if the instrument were this article, being more decayed than No. I., placed upright, would simply fall down has been laid out on a plaster frame in behind the plates. I believe them to have 410 THE CLASSICAL REVIEW. been flute and not reed pipes, and that their lower corner of Plate A, are some very mouthpieces were of wood.1 corroded fragments of oblong pipes : similar With No. I. were found a few short ones were found with No. I., but detached pieces of bronze which exactly fit the oblong from it. They appear to have had some boles in its pipes. These holes, which are connection with the conveyance of the wind, at varying distances from the top* are found the arrangements for which may have in pipes Nos. 3 to 8 of the smaller instru- occupied a considerable space below and at ment, and Nos. 5 to 10 of the larger. the back. The diagram is to scale. The pipes of No. I. are on the left hand side, the largest being nearest the outer edge of the plate : they are therefore exactly in the reverse position of those of No. II. This, however, may be an accidental arrangement, due to a mistake in replacing the instrument in its resting-place after removal for measurement, and No. II., having been preserved exactly as it was found, is the more authoritative on this point. I place the measurements alongside of one another for facility of comparison. No. I. has nine pipes, No. II. eleven. The measurements are in centimetres.

No. II. No. I. Plate A.—40 x 8. 37x7. „ B.—40 x 15. 35-5x9-8. ,, C—40x8. 37x6-7. Diameter j . .„ of Pipes. ) 1'45. /No. 1 : 27. , 2: 26-5. , 3: 24. No. 1: 24-5 , 4: 21. , 2 : 22. 0 S 10 20 SO *O Lengths , 5: 20. , 3: 209. of Pipes. • 6: 17 0). , 4: 18-8 , 7 : 17 (?). , 5: 17. No. I. has, in addition to its three plates, , 8: 15. , 6: 15. , 9: 12. , 7: 13-2. an oblong piece of bronze containing eighteen ,10: 10. , 8: 11-1. holes similar to, and arranged in the same , 11: 9. ,9:9. order as, those shown in Plate C of the diagram. In No. II., I counted twelve of Taking Nos. 5 and 10 as representing the these holes, but owing to its corroded con- two F's of the treble stave, the scale result- dition I could not see if there were more. ing from the measurements of the pipes of At the left hand, projecting from the No. II. gives these intervals:

Ex. 1. 6 9 10 11

ZZ3Z ZJB1 which I obtain as follows : or ' Sharp' Fourth, slightly larger than the Nos. 5 and 10, being in the ratio of 2—1 perfect Fourth, 4-3. give an Octave. Nos. 5 and 2, ratio 20-26-5 = 53-40, Nos. 5 and 1, ratio 20-27 give a ' High' between the true Major Third, 5-4 and the

1 Pythagorean Major Third 81-64. Therefore In 1892 I made a thorough examination of very nearly the major third of equal tempera- No. I. and found nothing of the nature of metal tongues such as would be used for pipes of this ment. calibre if they were ' reeds.' Nos. 5 and 3 ratio 5-6. This interval, THE CLASSICAL REVIEW. 411 the Minor Third, is given by Eratosthenes the interval of a 12th from the fundamental and Didymus for the chromatic tetrachord, note, to sound out clearly to the disadvant- and by Ptolemy for the soft chromatic. age of the fundamental, and first harmonic. (Claudius Ptolemy, Edited by Wallis, The insertion of the bronze tongues in pipes p. 171). 5 to 10 would therefore probably cause this Nos. 5 and 4 ratio 20-21. This semitone portion of the scale to be transposed a 12th is given by Ptolemy (p. 177) in the mixed higher, without increase of wind pressure. soft diatonic genus. The series of notes given in Ex. 1 forms no Nos. 5 and 6, ratio 20-17. No recognised regular scale or mode as understood by us ; interval. but my impression is that the ancients never Nos. 5 and 7. No. 7 gave the same used a complete diatonic scale in actual per- measurement as no. 6. My impression is formance. This seems to be shown by the that a difference formerly existed, that the flutes found at Pompeii and elsewhere, and pipes have become altered by corrosion, and by the series of notes used in the Delphic that we have here to do with an enharmonic Hymns, of which I gave an analysis in the tetrachord. Classical Review of November 1895. Nos. 5 and 8, ratio 4-3. Perfect Fourth. Bellermann's ' Anonymus,'1 in describing Nos. 5 and 9, ratio 5-3. Major Sixth. the various kinds of instruments in use in Nos. 10 and 11, ratio 10-9. Minor tone. his time, says c/xirvcuora 8e avkoC re KO.1 This interval occurs in Ptolemy's mixed soft vSpavkeK tat irrepd. Not one word more is diatonic and mixed intense diatonic genera. said in the treatise concerning the -n-Ttpov, The measurements of No. II. were taken though the tropes for Lyres, Kitharas, for me in April last by an expert: that the Hydrauli, and Auloi are given. The only smaller instrument gives no satisfactory other author who mentions the Ttrepov is the results (there is no octave for example), is Hagiopolite (Vincent, Notices des Manu- probably due to my own faulty measure- scripts dela BihliotK&que du Hoi, Paris, 1847, ments taken ten years ago. p. 266), who says that the Iastian trope is I have had an oblong hole cut near the suitable to this instrument: and here we top of a conical brass whistle 29-5 cent, in have an important clue, for it will be found length, by 14 millimetres in diameter: on that if pipes Nos. 6 and 7 originally differed inserting a piece of brass (of size and shape in length so as to give an enharmonic diesis, similar to the short oblong pieces found we get the intervals of the Iastian mode with No. I.) which fits the hole and divides given by Aristides Quintilianus (Meibom), p. the passage at this point, I find that the 21, which he makes to consist of effect is to cause the second harmonic, i.e.

Ex. 2. 7 10 11

Diesis Diesis Ditone Trihemitone Tone

'and the diapason exceeds this mode by a in Ex. 1. with those found on other tone' he says. instruments strongly suggests that ancient This accounts for the upper six of the melodies and modes did not usually contain eleven pipes of No. II in a remarkable all the degrees of any particular octave, manner, and seems to point to the instru- but that notes were omitted, in a way ment being the irrepdv, the ' Wing' of analogous to the ancient Scotch pentatonic ' Anonymus.1 scale A comparison of the series of 11 notes Ex. 3. _

The lists of intervals given by Aristides of musicians in this respect. A few on p. 21, seem to agree with the practice examples will perhaps make my meaning 1 Anonymi Scriptio de Murica, published withclear. notes by F. Bellermann. "Berlin, 1841. On three Pompeiian Auloi, discovered in 412 THE CLASSICAL REVIEW. 1867 we find that the last melody played, closed,1 occupied these intervals (which I as shown by the holes which were found have transposed to facilitate comparison):

Ex. 4.

Ex. 5.

Ex. 6.

On two auloi in the British Museum, found in a tomb near Athens, the series of notes are: Ex. 7.

Ex. 8.

IZ2Z

It will be seen that in all the examples mesopycna. Its first interval must there- 4 to 8 the diatonic order of tones and semi- fore be a diesis, a quartertone in the enhar- tones is broken by leaps of major or minor monic, a third of a tone, or a semitone in thirds, analogous to the leaps which occur the Chromatic genus. , in Ex. 1, and which are accounted for by Dorian; Hypate Meson to Nete Diezeug- the Iastian mode given by Aristides menon, is contained between barypycna, Quintilianus. None of these examples give therefore its two first intervals are Dieses. what we understand by a Mode, that is a But Aristides says that its first interval is definite series of tones and semitones in the a tone, and that it exceeds the octave by octave; and in this connection it may be this interval. In other words the ancient well to compare them with the Modes of musicians added a note below its theoretical Aristides. compass, when using the Dorian mode.2 The Aristidean Modes (p. 21) besides the Phrygian ; Lichanos Hypaton to Paranete Iastian (Ex. 2.) are :— Diezeugmenon, contained between Oxypycna. Lydian; composed of Diesis, Ditone, Tone, Its first interval should be a tone or a tri- Diesis, Diesis, Ditone, Tone. This forms hemitone or a ditone, according to the an octave. genus. Aristides makes it begin with two Dorian; Tone, Diesis, Diesis, Ditone, dieses, and says that it is less that an octave Tone, Diesis, Diesis, Ditone. This exceeds by a tone. In practice therefore musicians the octave by a tone. cut off its lowest note, and made it begin Phrygian; Tone, Diesis, Diesis, Ditone, where we should expect the Dorian to Tone, Diesis, Diesis, Tone. This is less than begin. The Iastian Octave-species being the octave by a tone. (Compare Ex. 1.) the same as the Dorian, but a semitone Mixolydian; Diesis, Diesis, Tone, Tone, higher in pitch, is contained between bary- Diesis, Diesis, Tritone. This completes the pycna ; Cleonides does not mention this octave. The tritone is of frequent occur- 1 The Auloi were each capable of playing a com- rence in the melody of the first Delphic plete series of semitones (except that one single Hymn. semitone was absent from one of the instruments). By means of mechanism any holes could be opened Lydian Syntonon ; Diesis, Diesis, Ditone, or closed at will before and after, but not during Trihemitone, and Ditone. performance. These strange modes are explained by a 3 ' Le re infe'rieur est un son supplementaire, qui passage in Cleonides or Pseudo - Euclid ne fait pas partie integrante de la gamme, et ne sert (Euclid, p. 15, Meibom) in which it is shown sans doute que pour certains ecarts exceptionnels de la Melodie.'—M. L. Laloy, in reference to the Aris- that the Lydian; Parhypate Hypaton to tidean Modes in Congres International d'Bistoire de Trite Diezeugmenon, is contained between laMusique; Combarieu: Paris, 1900. THE CLASSICAL REVIEW. 413 mode. Its uppermost note was omitted in fore its two lowest intervals are Dieses, in practice, since Aristides says that it was accordance with Aristides. i less than an octave by a tone,' see Ex. 2. Lydian Syntonon. This is not mentioned Mixolydian; Hypate Hypaton to Para- by Cleonides. In its Aristidean form it gives us a major and minor triad. mese; contained between barypycna, there- Ex. 9. Major Triad

Diesis Diesis Ditone Minor Triad In my article in the Classical Review of that such a series is found in the three Nov. 1895 I endeavoured to explain my Hymns of the Antonines and in the Tralles view that the 'system' was the basis of Hymn, which are all in the diatonic genus : Greek melody rather than the ' mode'; and but none of the Pompeiian instruments my examination of these Pompeiian instru- hitherto discovered seem to have been used ments tends to confirm me in this view. for this genus, and though the auloi con- Aristides says (p. 13), ' some systems are tained mechanism which would allow of its continuous, the sounds being placed in con- use, they were arranged in the order shown tecutive order; others are irregular, in in the examples, when found. which the melody does not proceed by The varieties of Mode, Colour, Genus, to consecutive sounds.' The system is merely say nothing of the addition or subtraction a series of scale sounds of any number of notes from the octave species, must have greater than two (Aristoxenus) \; thus we placed immense resources in the hands of have the tetrachord system, the pentachord musicians unaccustomed to harmony. We system, the octave system, the greater and are wont to look upon their instruments as lesser perfect systems: but those used for meagre and of small musical value. This is melody, as opposed to these theoretical true of them from a modern harmonic systems may be 'continuous or irregular.' standpoint; but their meagre compass must They and the nomes appear to have been have been to a large extent compensated for formulas, analogous to the r&gas of South by the resources which the very absence of India, on which melodies were composed. harmony placed at the command of the per- It seems evident that the enharmonic and formers.2 chromatic genera, with their colours, had C. F. ABDY WILLIAMS. not died out at the time of the destruction 2 Since this article was written I have been kindly of Pompeii: and that musicians rarely if given an opportunity of examining a hydraulic organ, ever made use of a complete diatonic series constructed by the Rev. F. W. Galpin. Its scale of of notes for any given melody. It is true 19 sounds gives the six modes mentioned by Anony- mus as those used on this instrument; and on run- 1 Meiborn, page 16. See also Westphal's explana- ning the fingers rapidly over the keys at random I tion in Aristoxenus, Melik und Rhythmik, Leipsic was charmed by the attractive character given to the 1S83; p. 234. music by the modal arrangement of the notes.

THE SEXAGESIMAL SYSTEM AND THE CRADLE OF THE ARYANS.

IN his notable paper entitled Die Ur- Sumerians of Babylonia, and prove that the heimath der Indogermanen und das Europaiscfte European branch of the Indo-European race ZaMsyttvm, Berlin, 1890, Johannes Schmidt early dwelt near enough to the Euphrates took it for granted that the Indo-Europeans valley to come under the influence of the originally had a pure decimal system, and Sumerians, therefore, in Asia, and that thus argued that the many important traces it all Indo-Europeans originated in Asia. possesses of a sexagesimal system are an Schmidt summed the matter up as follows intrusion from the numerical system of the (p. 52) : ' Wo diese gegend zu suchen sei,