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On The Music Of The Ancients.
ON THE MUSIC OF THE ANCIENTS .
TO THE EDITOR OF THE FREEMASONS' MAGAZINE . DR . Barney acknowledges , ' that the ancient Music must have been something ' with which mankind was extremely delighted ;' as ' not only the poets , but the historians and philosophers , of Greece and Romeare as diffuse in its praisesas of those arts concerning
, , which sufficient remains are come down to us to evince the truth of their panegyric . And if no more substantial proof were now subsisting of the excellence of the poetry , eloquence , sculpture , and architecture of ancient Greece , than of its Music , we should probably be as incurious and incredulous about them , as ' we are at present about the Music of the spheres . ' *
A warm admirer of the remains cf Grecian genius will observe with regret , that Dr . Burney , although he has made such acknowledgments , yet appears reluctant to admit that the Grecian Music . could have possessed any excellence to be compared with the improved state of that art in modern times ; nay > that he has expressly asserted the superior excellence of modern Musicin the * two
, grand and essential parts of the art—Melody and Harmony . ' He seems anxious to impress on the minds of his readers , that the influence over the human passions and affections , ascribed to the Grecian Mtisicj has been chiefly fabulous and allegorical ; and that , as all rude nations are delighted with their own songs or Music , however
simple or uncouth , so , notwithstanding the charms which the Greeks found in their own Music , it might , ' if known , afford little pleasure ' to ears more refined and cultivated . I have already quoted so much from Dr . Burney , that I shall adduce only one passage out of many , to prove his desire of inculcating the opinion here imputed to him . ' The Music of the Greeks and Romans , of which the effects have been lendidldescribedand which have long remainedand
so sp y , , , it is feared , ever ' will remain enigmas to all , who have the misfortune to be born too late for the strains of swans and syrens . ' f The purport of the sneer conveyed in this passage is too obvious to require to be pointed out . Yet in some of the arts , particularly in poetry , eloquence , sculpture , and architecture ; in all those arts , in . short , in which specimens
of their best efforts have reached us , the Greeks , it must be acknowledged , attained to unrivalled excellence : and some of the philosophers , who have spoken with rapture of the Grecian Music , are universally allowed to have been exquisite judges in all the other arts . Aristotle ' s treatises on rhetoric and poetry contain principles and precepts so precise and just , that they still continue to be the chief guides of the best critics . Yet his rules- were principally drawn from models which had already existed in Greece . But Aristotle
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
On The Music Of The Ancients.
ON THE MUSIC OF THE ANCIENTS .
TO THE EDITOR OF THE FREEMASONS' MAGAZINE . DR . Barney acknowledges , ' that the ancient Music must have been something ' with which mankind was extremely delighted ;' as ' not only the poets , but the historians and philosophers , of Greece and Romeare as diffuse in its praisesas of those arts concerning
, , which sufficient remains are come down to us to evince the truth of their panegyric . And if no more substantial proof were now subsisting of the excellence of the poetry , eloquence , sculpture , and architecture of ancient Greece , than of its Music , we should probably be as incurious and incredulous about them , as ' we are at present about the Music of the spheres . ' *
A warm admirer of the remains cf Grecian genius will observe with regret , that Dr . Burney , although he has made such acknowledgments , yet appears reluctant to admit that the Grecian Music . could have possessed any excellence to be compared with the improved state of that art in modern times ; nay > that he has expressly asserted the superior excellence of modern Musicin the * two
, grand and essential parts of the art—Melody and Harmony . ' He seems anxious to impress on the minds of his readers , that the influence over the human passions and affections , ascribed to the Grecian Mtisicj has been chiefly fabulous and allegorical ; and that , as all rude nations are delighted with their own songs or Music , however
simple or uncouth , so , notwithstanding the charms which the Greeks found in their own Music , it might , ' if known , afford little pleasure ' to ears more refined and cultivated . I have already quoted so much from Dr . Burney , that I shall adduce only one passage out of many , to prove his desire of inculcating the opinion here imputed to him . ' The Music of the Greeks and Romans , of which the effects have been lendidldescribedand which have long remainedand
so sp y , , , it is feared , ever ' will remain enigmas to all , who have the misfortune to be born too late for the strains of swans and syrens . ' f The purport of the sneer conveyed in this passage is too obvious to require to be pointed out . Yet in some of the arts , particularly in poetry , eloquence , sculpture , and architecture ; in all those arts , in . short , in which specimens
of their best efforts have reached us , the Greeks , it must be acknowledged , attained to unrivalled excellence : and some of the philosophers , who have spoken with rapture of the Grecian Music , are universally allowed to have been exquisite judges in all the other arts . Aristotle ' s treatises on rhetoric and poetry contain principles and precepts so precise and just , that they still continue to be the chief guides of the best critics . Yet his rules- were principally drawn from models which had already existed in Greece . But Aristotle