Scientists Revive Long-Lost Ancient Greek Instrument

March 17, 2009

The metallic, crisp and bright sound of the epigonion, a harp-like musical instrument that was last played in ancient Greece, has finally been heard again -- thanks to powerful grid computing.

To know more about this intriguing project, just read my Discovery News story here. If you're curious as to what exactly an epigonion sounded like, here are two sonatas by Italian Baroque composer, Domenico Scarlatti (1685 –1757). They are entirely played by a resurrected epigonion.

Scarlatti: Sonata D Minor

 

Scarlatti: Sonata G Major

 

Music: courtesy of Domenico Vicinanza

The Sound Of The Neanderthals

February 10, 2009

What did Neanderthal music sound like?

The National Museum Wales has made its guess:  a " Neanderthal soundscape" has been just created by jazz composer Simon Thorne for the palaeolithic section of the museum's exhibition Origins of Early Wales.

"Given that Neanderthal's man brain was about the same size as ours, and much of our brain is given over to language, then you can assume they probably had language too.  Every culture has language and music, so we can probably assume that they had some kind of music too,"  Thorne told the BBC.

For his composition, Thorne was inspired by two books -  Steven Mithen's The Singing Neanderthals and David Lewis Williams's The Mind in the Cave. However, he admitted that knowing exactly what Neanderthal music would have sounded like is impossible.

"It's a ridiculous notion to suggest we could ever know the precise role that music played in the lives of the Neanderthals, but imagining it has been a fascinating experience, " Thorne said.

Just click  here to listen to a sample of his 75 minute composition.