Music in MesopotamiaWriten by Gabriel Rise
If we view the movement of history in the light of the conditions which increase men's knowledge, it seems that the most potent results are to be found where the greatest number of culture-contacts meet. For this reason, it is of Mesopotamian civilization that we speak, rather than of Sumerian or Akkadian. Thus we are compelled to look beyond strictly geographical limits in our survey of Mesopotamian music of the distant past, for indeed all peoples on what Breasted calls 'the fertile crescent' and its periphery must come within this purview, because it was by reason of admixture of stock, contrasts in habits, diversities in religion, and even friction of interests, that crossfertilizations of ideas were produced, which made the supreme greatness and vitality of Mesopotamian civilization possible. Nowadays, when scarcely a month passes without some fresh archaeological discovery, or a new philological deduction being registered, it is difficult to speak with any chronological certainty.
That being so, many of the early dates that will be posited in what follows must be considered simply as helpful stepping-stones, placed temporarily to accommodate the eye and mind in their stride across the stream of history, until a more durable bridge has been erected. The readjustments so ably determined and summarized by Albright have persuaded us, with some latitude, to draw up the following table which enables the reader to appreciate why certain dates do not synchronize with those of Dr. Curt Sachs and the late Canon F. W. Galpin who have contributed so much to our knowledge of the music of the peoples of the Mesopotamian past. Of the instruments of music in ancient Mesopotamia we possess a fair store of knowledge through the existence of actual specimens and a multitude of delineations, although much perplexity lies in their names, of which both the Sumerian and Akkadian languages offer quite an assemblage. Among idiophones we possess actual specimens of clappers from Ur ( twenty-fifth century B.C.). These consist of a pair of copper blades. Other specimens were found at Kish. We also have them depicted in the art remains, although we do not know their names. Sistra were also discovered at Ur, but all that remains are the jingling plates. Yet we know the complete form from art sources. At a late period we have a bell from Assyria, and sonnettes from the same place and period. Cymbals occur in two kinds: the plate type, pictured on a Babylonian plaque and a cup type of late Assyrian times.
Gabriel Rise has been experiencing in custom research papers and dissertation writing for several years. Now she is consulting writers and customers on term paper writing.
See Piano Learning Info Here > http://www.learntomasterpiano.com/