There are currently about 45 pieces of ancient Greek music that have been preserved, and their creation time ranged from 600 BC to 400 AD. They were carved in stone or recorded in papyri and medieval manuscripts. The two aforementioned musical excerpts from plays, possibly composed by Euripides himself, would have been composed between the sixth and fifth centuries B.C. This great era of ancient Greek lyric poetry, tragedy, and comedy can no longer be distinguished. The music has survived.

The earliest works of which we can date are two Delphic hymns, from about 128 BC (although there is some dispute). They were originally carved on the walls of the Athenian treasury at Delphi. One of the Hymns to Apollo, recorded in vocal notation, has recently been attributed to an Athenian (Athenaeus may also be a name rather than a nationality). The first and second lines of this hymn to the sun were lost due to damage to the masonry. The other work is the Hymn to Apollo and prosodion, which is recorded in instrumental notation. From the title of the work, we know that the author is Limenius. Prosodion is sung in processions when approaching a shrine, with the singer calling the name of the god. The rhythm used in these two hymns is called Cretan rhythm, but other rhythms are sometimes used. The piece by Limenius changes tempo in the final section.

Mesomedes was a Greek lyric poet and composer in the Roman era. He was born in Crete and was active under Emperor Harder in the early second century AD. Good times. Hadrian, the wise king, was an avid lover of Greek culture and a talented poet himself. Several famous hymns from Monceumides have survived. One is "Hymnto the Sun" (Hymn to the Sun), also dedicated to the sun god Apollo. It was recorded in a later Byzantine manuscript. It is elegant and gorgeous, and is a typical artistic style of Hadrian's era. Another Hymn to Nemesis also uses iambic rhythm, with an interesting twist at the end of each line. Nemesis is the goddess of revenge in Greek mythology, who punishes those who offend her gods for their arrogance. The hymn's lyrics depict the traditional image of Nemesis, a winged goddess holding scales, holding the balance of human life in her hands.

Finally we introduce a Christian hymn copied on the back of an official papyrus found at Oxyrhynchus in Egypt in 1922. From the writing form, it can be recognized that this hymn was composed around the late third century AD, which was also the last afterglow of ancient Greek civilization in Egypt. This work is of great significance in the history of music. It is considered a transitional work between the ancient Greek tradition and the Byzantine tradition. It is probably the last extant work using Greek notation and the earliest surviving work with music. Christian hymns, in which some Syrian musical influence can also be found. One of its characteristics is that a long syllable can be divided into two or even three short syllables, corresponding to two or three notes. The hymn has five lines of lyrics with musical notation, but most of the first line is unreadable. The lyrics ask for the cosmic forces to become silent as the poet sings, and all natural forces to sing "Amen" when singing about the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Title: Ancient Greek Music

Performance: Ensemble De Organographia

Label: Pandourion 1001

Record review

This ancient Greek music album was also recorded by the ancient orchestra Ensemble De Organographia, recording musical works from 500 BC to 300 AD. The group uses a variety of restored and reconstructed ancient Greek instruments, such as lyre, kisara, aphros, pandora, sarpinx, xenon flute, drums, etc. The first recording is of the Salpinx Horn piece, which gives a taste of the terrifying horns used in battle. The album contains almost all the famous ancient Greek music: Epitaph of Sekylos, choral excerpts from Euripides' dramas, Delphic hymns, hymns of Monsomedes and transitional works of Christian hymns. The performance of this American ancient orchestra is relatively stable, fresh and natural, and is no exaggeration. It allows people to immerse themselves in ancient works from more than 2,000 years ago, rather than being confused by fancy gimmicks. The album's booklet comes with English translations of all lyrics, making it easier for music lovers who don't understand ancient Greek. If you only listen to one album of ancient Greek music, this is it.

Title: Ancient Greek Music

Performer: Melpomen, Conrad Steinmann (conductor)

Label: harmonia mundi “Documenta” , HMC 905263

Brief Record Review

The Melpomen Ensemble, led by Conrad Steinmann, a recorder teacher at the Basel Singing School, a famous ancient music education base, independently explores ancient Greek music and plays in ancient times. The album was published with the help of musical instrument expert Reichlin. Most of the performers play multiple instruments. For example, Arianna, the daughter of the Spanish ancient music master Savard, sings and plays the barbiton, which seems to remind us of the style of the ancient Greek poetess Sappho. Although there is a lack of exact information such as music scores, and the music in the album is hypothetical and newly created, the group has done in-depth and detailed research and possible conjectures in terms of musical instrument restoration, ancient Greek pronunciation and poetic rhythm, in an attempt to restore the B.C. Music from a fifth-century ancient Greek symposium scene, recreating the historical setting as closely as possible. Many of the pieces are performed like a competition, with singers and players of various instruments showing off their skills against each other, such as the voice, avros and kisara. This kind of performance is very attractive in effect, but the authenticity is a matter of opinion. All in all, the album is worth listening to.