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The Influence of Music: From Arabic Sources

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2020

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Extract

The subject of this lecture, because of its exotic nature, would appear, at first sight, to be of little moment to Westerners. For that reason it may be advisable to indicate why attention should be directed to this question quite apart from any intrinsic worth that it may have. The doctrine of the Éthos, so highly prized in the art of antiquity, has an abiding interest, and therefore one may assume that its history may have a similar attraction. As Jules Combarieu pointed out not long since,∗ the doctrine of the Éthos had its origin in magic, and I take the liberty to draw up for you its genealogy, because, in the subject under discussion, it plays an important part.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Musical Association, 1925

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References

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Most of the material that I offer from “Arabic sources” is still in manuscript, or, if published, as yet untranslated. I hope, however, to be able to issue critical editions and translations of these Arabic musical treatises in the near future. Much, however, depends on the interest shown in the project. Those who care to pursue the subject outside the confines of the Arabian practice, may consult several good authorities For the doctrine of the Harmony of the Spheres, I can strongly recommend Carl v. Jan's Die Harmonie der Sphären in Philologus, lii, and Théodore Reinach's La Musique des Sphères in the Revue des Etudes Grecques, xiii. For the question of the Éthos, Gevaert's Histoire et Théorie de la Musique de l'Antiquité, must be consulted. Combarieu's La Musique et la Magie, and the articles on the Alphabet Vocalique des Gnostiques in the Dictionnaire d'Archéologie Chrétienne et de Liturgie, as well as Vincent's Notice sur divers MSS. in Notices et Extraits, xvi, also reveal some interesting points.Google Scholar

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There are innumerable items of interest concerning the Greeks in Arabic which have not been preserved in extant Greek works. Many, no doubt, are apocryphal, but some are certainly genuine. Those that refer to music and musicians deserve collecting. Pythagorean lore would make quite a volume in itself. Among the tit-bits one might mention Plato's “invention” of the psaltery (qānūn), Aristotle's “invention” of the organ, whilst the lute is attributed to both Euklid and Ptolemy!Google Scholar

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Al-Mas'ūdī, 11, 321–2. Barbier de Meynard, who has translated this work into French, makes zír = low, and bamm = high, which is wrong.Google Scholar

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Called “melody” (lahn) in the text.Google Scholar

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