Book Review: Strunk's Source Reading for Music History Vol 1 "Greek Views of Music"

Finally, I have taken action to write this review, which will be of great benefit to my learning and assimilation of knowledge. This review is more a summary than a criticism (the review I did for Musical Childhood is a criticism, if you are interested in that.)

For those who are not familiar with what Strunk's Source Reading of Music History is, this is a book that compiles excerpts or totalities of original documents or their translations. The first edition is a bulky 919-page compendium of essays from "the classical antiquity to the romantic era", published in 1950. Oliver Strunk, himself an expert on music in the middle ages, took great shouldering in creating "a history of music faithfully and entirely carved from contemporary accounts". The current edition I am reading is published in 1998. Split into seven volumes, each is edited by a veteran musicologist who specializes in each era. The seven volumes are titled:
Greek Views of Music, The Early Christian Period and the Latin Middle Ages, The Renaissance, The Baroque Era, The Late Eighteenth Century, The Nineteenth Century, and the Twentieth Century. The latter, of course, was untackled by Strunk, and this void is only to be fulfilled by a younger generation (old, of course, as compared to me or my teachers). The general editor, Leo Treitler, is installed to ensure a coherent tone in the seven volumes (achieved in the first edition by Strunk since he was to the only person compiling the writings). Articles from these source readings are frequently assigned in music history classes, including mine at the Chinese University and Eastman School of Music.

I aimed to finish reading all seven volumes in the summer, prior to the commencement of my PhD program in University of California, San Diego (UCSD). I believe that, although I will be specializing in a certain kind of music, or period of musical-philosophical-critical style, a solid general foundation of music history based on primary sources is essential for a "real" doctor in music - a person of vast knowledge, and a person who would not embarrass himself due to his lack of knowledge, which is always the case. Starting from volume 1, it is as though I am revising for the undergrad History I course.

As the foreword bespeaks, this volume is not about "The Greek View of Music", but Greek Views of Music. Greek views, according to my assimilation of the book, consist of the theoretical and the expressive. This is a reflection of their understanding of music, a union of science and beauty.

The first writings, by Plato, however, embarks on the role of education of music. Plato did not went into technical details on how to tune in different modes (a word that I will further explain). He emphasizes that the Dorian and Phrygian are to be used to arouse warriors' morale, while youngsters should learn another mode (which I forgot which one it is). Other treatises expounds on the power of music to sooth or iritate the soul. Depending on the musical mode and the instrumentation, siginicantly different effects would result.

The Greek terminology is different from ours. For example, their modes seems to differ from our understand of modes, which are established by the Church during the 14th century (that's arguably the earliest time we can say. It's also plausible to say 16th C.) They have similar names: Dorian, Lydian, Mixolydian, etc. But the Greek ones are based on tetrachords (scales that consist of four notes) and often include quarter-tones (diesis in Greek). The modes that we know (including the major and minor modes) consists of seven notes and no quarter tones, but only semitones and tones, are involved.

There are a few vocabs that reflect key Greek thoughts: (will add in the explanations this week...)
melos
harmony
consonant and dissonant
intervals
ethos

Why read the Greek? Because people at all times look back to them as the source of civilization, i.e. people to quote and quotes to justify their innovation. A musical example: Plato said "the harmonia and the rhythm must follow the text"; in the 16th/17th century, Monteverdi, while promoting his seconda practtica, justifies his standpoint quoting Plato. (p. 10) The skepticism of Sextus Empiricus also has its remote descendents from the Middle Ages on. Outside of the musical context and the context of this book, Nietzsche's philosophy is based on his reading of the Greek mythologies, and suggest new ways of seeing the world. (Actually, all continental philosophers love/ take advantage of the Greeks.) In an academic point of view, the Greeks is the beginning of the story of western music, and being able to trace back to it is great joy. In a purely personal perspective, I find the Greek's sensitivity fascinating. Their souls are touched by different modes, and touched by good and bad music playing. Hence Spartans are different from Athens. They also correlate music with the planets and cosmos. It's not considered rational in our world today, but in some imaginative ways, doesn't it make sense? They are just enunciating today's unspeakable.

(The evolution of listening is also wondrous. Greeks: quarter tones are their everyday lunch and dinner. But they wanna get them right and pleasant. Music affects their morality. Middle ages: plainchants, but still, sing well please. Renaissance: Michelangelo Rossi's Settima Toccata explains it! Baroque: J. S. Bach's writing P&F to show different colors of the different keys which give different affects. Coming to the end of the Romantic period: Equal temperament. Maximalism strikes the general audience more than anything. 20th century and beyond: let's put it this way... the sensitivity is different. Less auratic, in the Adornian, nostalgic sense.)

The theoretical part of Greek music is an important foundation to music but I personally find them less interesting. It consists of the Pythagorean calculation of pitch (how to divide a vibrating cord to produce different intervals), the naming of different modes (in tedious names), and different signs/ symbols for ntoes and modes. Seimologists may be very excited to look at them!

Funny moments: professional musicians (aulo-ists) are dirty people... and the great Socrates learn music when he's old (so music teachers, you know what to say if an adult wants to learn music!)