Welcome to the blog this week, readers! It's great to have everyone back and there will still be one final installment on Roman Music in August. Before we dive into ancient woodwinds, I will be starting a longer series of blogs on my upcoming and final novel in the Antonius Trilogy starting in the third week of August. I'm looking forward to sharing more about my upcoming book and hope you'll join me in learning more regarding Marcus Antonius and the final years of his life--especially with Cleopatra!

So let's get started with ancient woodwinds! As a woodwind player, I've always had a passion for flutes and recorders. I'm a professional recorderist (there aren't many of us around!) and so Early Music is especially near and dear to my heart. 

First of all, there are several types of ancient woodwinds--and all of them were used in the Roman period, as well as before, in other cultures. However, some were more commonly used in Roman times, so we'll be addressing them. Transverse flutes, like the one in the picture at right, were held to the side. Sometimes, as on orchestral flutes today, one blew across a hole the way you would across the top of a bottle. On others, there may have been a small mouthpiece--again, as in the picture provided. This photo, by the way, is of Walter Maioli, founder of the musical group Synaulia. This week, I'm featuring some of their music as samples. For those who haven't yet read my first post in this series, Roman Music: Lost Melodies, be sure to do so, as you can learn more about Walter Maioli, who has recreated instruments from antiquity, learned to play them at a virtuoso level, and has spent years studying and learning more about the ancient world's music. 

 
​In my first week's installment, I mentioned that music in general was used in many ways in the Roman world. Religious rituals and ceremonies often featured music. In the lovely fresco from Herculaneum, an Isiac cult ceremony was being held. Use of sistra (rattles associated with the Egyptian goddess Isis) can be seen, held by priests at the top of the stairs to the Temple. At the bottom of the stairs, seated off to the right is a musician playing a flute. ​I've provided a close-up (bottom right) to take a closer look. The instrument appears to be played recorder-style, the mouthpiece being at the end. Though it's difficult to tell in the picture, the player's left hand could be manipulating cymbalum (finger-cymbals). If this is the case, then the single flute was likely a drone, which I'll be introducing momentarily when we begin discussing tibae. What's important to understand, is that there were already all sorts of flute-like instruments. This truly wonderful piece of art has been interpreted by some to have been a water ceremony, featuring actual water from the Nile River, considered to be sacred. Notice the movements of the worshippers... actually similar to Christians lifting their hands in praise. I love the birds strutting about in front of the altar--Egyptian ibses, of course--more Isiac symbolism.

The tibia impares (tibiae of two different lengths) are shown in the photo at right. Again, take another look at the Isiac musician. Though it's difficult to discern, he might be playing the drone of this instrument, or half of it--just the drone. Again, the tibia impares in this Synaulia recording is a double-reed flute, so that's what gives it a rather nasal sound. In fact in the sample, it sounds almost bagpipe-like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23iaAJAjBzs
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​Most of Maioli's "work" in the recording was done with his right hand on, which played most of the melody, while the left hand drones on the longer of the flutes. Oh, and by the way--there was an actual Latin term for a tibia player--a tibicin (pl. tibicines).

This next "woodwind" may surprise you. All woodwinds require a pipe or bore through which air passes. The size/shape of the pipe creates a certain pitch, either by its size or by covering holes drilled into a bore.

The ancient hydraulis (water organ) was a piped instrument, and yes, both water and air controlled its sound production, which, I might add, may have been more accurate than one can imagine. And based on size, the volume would have varied. 

The instrument to the left in the photo produced sound, but was but a replica of a small hydraulis discovered in eastern Europe that dated from around the 3rd century AD. And yes, that's my hand on the tiny keyboard, which worked exactly like a keyboard today, except that it was pitched according to Greek modes instead of the pentatonic or diatonic scale. 

Vitruvius tried his best to describe the mechanics of one of these babies, and even he struggled--a man trusted by Julius Caesar to construct his army's bridges: "I have striven to the best of my ability to describe clearly in writing a complicated machine. The task is not an easy one, nor accessible to the general understanding, except for those who have experience in matters of this kind. Yet if anyone grasps them imperfectly from my writings, a knowledge of the instrument will disclose the ingenuity and precision of its design." Vitruvius. De Arch.10.8.6.

It's a known fact that the hydraulis was used in gladiatorial games. Why were they used? Did people simply enjoy them playing tunes between matches, similar to organ music at baseball games today? If one of these instruments was large enough, it could have muffled "unsavory sounds such as screams of dying victims in gladiatorial games." Courtney, 2003. We may never know the draw, but Roman art testifies to the instrument's popularity during Roman games.

Next week, we have another guest blogger, who I'm excited to introduce to you. Silvia Prosperi, a native of Rome, will be sharing some of her favorite historical sites. So for those of you looking to travel once it's safe to do so, or simply interested in virtual travel, you'll love reading what she has prepared for us. In two weeks, I'll be preparing a special blog on brass instruments and music of the Roman military. Until then, I wish everybody a great week ahead. READ ON!!!

I hope everybody is ready for some history about ancient instruments. And I hope you'll also take time to listen to some of the fantastic sounds from them, too. 

​The first thing I'd like to do is share a bit about lyres. Along with harps, they're the most ancient stringed instruments. The cithara, which I want to focus on this week, had many lyre-like ancestors: the phorminx, barbitos, sambuca, and pandura, to name a few. They were made of many different materials, and I want to share several. Keep in mind that unlike the fabulous brand names we enjoy like Steinway, Yamaha, Gibson, or Fender, ancient instruments were custom designed and never made in mass quantities, as most instruments are today. Every single instrument in the ancient world was unique. Therefore, they probably weren't always tuned the same way and could be in various sizes and shapes which would also effect tuning and pitch. 

So let's start with one that's really old. I'm talking Mesopotamian "old"! This silver lyre (at right) was found in 1929 in what was once Ur. It dates from the 3rd millennium B.C. and was made of wood, covered in silver plate. Truly, it was a lyre fit for royalty. It even had some inlaid stones and you can see the lovely bull's head on one end. I have a dated but excellent recording I want to share with you of Peter Pringle playing a reproduction of this very instrument. Though it's such a primitive lyre, look what CAN be done on it! I guess it's all about a master's touch: ​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JU4QRxsZhjg

Let's move on to Greece. Musicians there often gave their instruments more resonance by using a concave sounding board, so pitches would resonate against it... much like one's voice on the walls of a cave give the voice such a "live" quality, acoustically. Some of these soundboards were made from actual tortoise shells. 

The sample on the left in the photo is not a real tortoise shell, but a copy of one, carved in limestone. It's not known whether this shell was actually used as part an instrument, but it does have drilled holes which would have supported the other components of the lyre. If it was part of an actual lyre, it must have been heavy to manipulate!

Let's listen to musician Michael Levy perform on his reproduced tortoise-shell lyre. And again, in comparison to the Mesopotamian lyre, it echos with resonance and doesn't sound quite as twangy and flat. The name of this piece is Ode To Aphrodite: youtu.be/zoo-sJaLEh8?list=TLPQMTkwNzIwMjAeCZs8thpomg

I have seen plenty of Hellenistic depictions of the cithara. Thus, it was used by the Greeks before the Romans. However, according to what is depicted in their art, the Romans appeared to have embraced it more than the lyre. In fact, for the first time, the cithara (which I like to think of as the ancient guitar) began to take on a more standard appearance.

While working on my Masters' thesis, I learned that the cithara was an instrument of elegance:
    Only very wealthy Romans would have been able to own such an instrument, and probably few musicians did. Instead of a  simple frame, the cithara had intricate, decorative moldings, especially near the strings. (Courtney, 2003)

The cithara wasn't a street instrument, but one associated with haute culture. Typically, a well-trained and higher paid citharista was hired for banquets, wedding feasts, or to give lessons within a wealthy household. In my thesis, I touched upon the social attitudes attributed to women players in particular:
 Roman social opinion of a woman... accompanied by her musical instrument is unclear. Despite the beautiful wall  paintings...literary sources offer that the upper classes of the day frowned upon female virtuosity, especially when such exceptional talent was made known to the public. Sallust writes of a late Republican woman named Sempronia, whose questionable reputation was, in part, attributed to her excellence in the arts:
 "Now among these women was Sempronia...able to play the lyre and dance more skillfully than an honest woman need, and have many other accomplishments which minister to voluptuousness." Sallust. Cat. 5.1-3.
(Courtney, 2003)

Whew! We can't have women too skillful or voluptuous! Ha! Poor Sempronia. However, for nobly-born Romans to perform publicly would have been frowned upon--especially women.
     

The lovely fresco above on the right is from Herculaneum, and shows some adorable cupids playing with a cithara, more than actually playing it. Notice the one that's seated. He may be holding a pick (plectrum) of some kind. What I love about this depiction, is that you can actually count the tuning pegs at the top of the instrument. Though there's a crack running straight through where the second peg should be--assuming it was there, I count six. Just like a guitar!

​This beautiful piece is from Boscoreale and it's currently housed in the Metropolitan Museum in NYC. Again, look at the more standardized appearance of the instrument itself. It's played by a woman, and one can instantly see that she's a woman of means, with gold earrings, a golden diadem, and the cithara itself might have been gilded. Since the girl standing in the background is similarly bejeweled, this might have been a mother/daughter portrait, with the instrument adding another touch of high social status.

Now, let's listen to the cithara! Again, here is Peter Pringle, improvising on a Greco-Roman cithara: youtu.be/mGKY7wQbrUE?list=TLPQMjAwNzIwMjDbNVnIOC6xQg

Anybody with any Roman historical background will recognize the "mug" on this coin's front side. Nero was the last of the Julio-Claudian emperors, and was also Marc Antony's great-grandson! He considered himself to be a consummate artist and some of his coinage from the day depicted him as Apollo on his lyre. Most likely, however, Nero was playing a cithara for his performances, as it was the preferred string instrument of the period. So instead of "fiddling" while Rome burned, he was probably plucking or strumming.

Indeed, for all of the despicable things Nero did, he was a huge arts supporter. In fact, in 60 A.D., he created a Greek-styled festival for furthering aesthetics in Roman culture. Naturally, he named it the "Neronia". Suetonius tells us:
 He was likewise the first to establish at Rome a quinquennial contest in three parts, after the Greek fashion, that is in music, gymnastics, and riding... Suetonius. Ner. 12.3.

In the Neronia, the Emperor himself sang, played, and recited in public. The Senate's overall actions at the time, trying to dissuade Nero from his public performing, add more credence to the opinion that such behavior must have been considered scandalous. However, it may have opened a door for more public approval of the arts--especially among the elite. Indeed, later Emperors, including Hadrian and Commodus certainly had lofty tastes for the arts. Whether Nero started a trend or not is impossible to say.

In our day and age, it's not very often when someone gets to hold a real cithara. Walter Maioli, founder of Synaulia, a musical group who has recreated and learned to play ancient instruments, allowed me to do just that. Unfortunately, the instrument I'm holding needed new strings at the time, and had had not been re-strung, but Walter coached me in how to hold it, and so here I am in all of my citharista glory, LOOKING like I'm doing something, even though I wasn't! 

Next week, we'll continue with Roman Music and delve into some ancient WOODWINDS! Until then, please READ ON!

Unlike the visual arts, music from the ancient world was pretty much lost until the second half of the twentieth century. This week, I want to begin a journey that will introduce you to what musical instruments and vocations existed in the Roman period. And if you're anything like me, you'll be surprised and intrigued at music's sophistication--even so long ago.

What we do know about Roman music comes not only from artistic representations and ancient inscriptions, but also from actual instruments which have been found intact or partially intact. For about three weeks, we explored the stunning world of Roman art through wall-paintings, mosaics, and statuary/busts.

I happen to be a professional musician in my day job, and whenever I travel, I always enjoy local sounds, whether it's vocal, percussion, strings, or winds. When I completed my Masters work in 2003, I focused on the musicians of ancient Rome in the late Republic and early Imperial period.

This week, we're going to hit the tip of the iceburg, and just talk about some of the basics of music in the ancient world. Since we have no contemporary recordings or notation from back then, visual arts have left us some idea as to HOW music was used in daily life. Music had a purpose in Rome, though few actual musicians from the period have left their names for posterity. 

A present-day Milanese gentleman, by the name of Walter Maioli, has been a true gift to the study of ancient Roman music. Walter has recreated instruments using extant archaeological remains and art, and has taught himself to play them. His work and performances with the musical group he founded, Synaulia, have been well-received in the past several decades and the entire ensemble performed in Ridley Scott's Gladiator and HBO's Rome. I had the distinct pleasure of meeting and dining with Walter and the picture above, at right, is the two of us having a little "jam session" during that visit.

In the picture, I'm playing the cymbalum, which are really nothing more than finger-cymbals which can still be found in orchestras and school music rooms all over the world. Walter's flute, however, was unique, for though it was transverse, it didn't have the typical mouthpiece of today's orchestral flute. Shortly after our visit, I went to the Palazzo Massimo Museum of Roman Civilization and found this small statue (below right) of either Pan or an un-named boy playing what had to be the original flute from which Walter designed his. Though the piece is damaged and the entire body of the instrument is missing, the mouthpiece and placement of its arms is telling. One can easily recognize the similar mouthpiece style of Walter's flute. Perhaps this type of instrument had its own name, but aside from "transverse flute" that hasn't yet been discovered.

Romans used music in many ways: theater, weddings, funerals, in the military... and over the next few weeks, I'll try to introduce you to some of the instruments and instrument families that led the way toward instruments of today. Here's a great example of what the tibiae (ancient double flutes) may have sounded like. For those of you who know music theory, the overal tonality (sound) is based on the Greek modal system--similar to our scales today. As with most things, the Romans took Greek knowledge and in some cases, added to it. Be sure to look at this instrument carefully. It is an ancient reed instrument... more specifically, a double reed, much like a bassoon or oboe. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7dzyzvXPeQwww.youtube.com/watch?v=n7dzyzvXPeQ

​Speaking of the Greek modal system, many folks ask whether or not the ancient world had any type of notation for their music. My answer: YES! The proof in the environs of Delphi, where the large Apollo cult was located. Below is a close-up of a mere excerpt from this stone inscription, which has been titled The Hymn To Apollo. Even if you don't read Greek, it's easy to see the text. Look carefully above some of the text and you'll see small circles--some with dots inside. Also there are some additional symbols resembling either the letter Y or M. You're looking at the world's earliest musical notation, and I would be willing to lay down money that this or something similar to it was used by the Romans at times, as well. It's therefore highly likely that the same modal tonalities heard in Greek music were passed on into the Roman period. 

Next week, we'll delve into the string instrument that became the virtuoso's preference in Marc Antony's day and also take a look at how it may have originated.

In closing this week, let me share that a reader emailed me this past week, asking when Book #3 would be launched. Good news! The wait is almost over. I'll be having a cover-reveal sometime in the next month or so and the launch should be in late September or early October. So in the meantime, READ ON! 

I'm hosting another guest blogger this week, and one I'm most thrilled to have join us. I had the pleasure of meeting Griff Hosker when we both attended a session at the Historical Novel Society conference, last summer. I will let Griff's bio tell you everything you want to know about him, but suffice it to say that this gentleman has clearly made his mark on historical fiction adventures. So, let's not waste another moment, but find out more about his latest project, who his main character is, and some details about how he likes to write! Oh, and since I'm a Griff Hosker fan myself, the last photo at the bottom of the blog is us last summer at the HNS conference!

‘Crécy: The age of the archer’ is the first book in a brand new series about Sir John Hawkwood who was a fourteenth century mercenary. I found his name whilst researching something else and that set me, like a hunting dog, on his trail. He sounded like a perfect vehicle for my work as he had humble beginnings and yet became one of the richest and most successful men of his generation.
This is the blurb from the book.

"In 1335 the Black Death was just thirteen years away from England but there were other threats and dangers. Young John Hawkwood is forced to leave his home and seek a life in London. There he learns how to survive and, more importantly, how to fight. Leaving his life as an apprentice tailor he follows the army and King Edward to fight the Scots. He has a skill; he can not only use a bow, but he can use a sword and his mind. It is the start of a life of war for the young man.
He fights first in the Low Countries at the battle of Cadzand before heading to Gascony to fight under the charismatic leader and cousin of the King, Lord Henry Plantagenet. As he fights so his skills improve and the novel follows his progress until he fights in the two great battles of 1346, Crécy and Neville’s Cross.

This is just the start for John Hawkwood who will become, in the fullness of time, one of the greatest condottiere the world has ever seen, a man who, at the Battle of Castagnaro in 1387, shows the world that he was a great leader, too."​

I was lucky in that his early life was not well documented and that gave me the freedom a writer craves. The first mention of his name comes from the Battle of Crécy and I began there. I knew that he was knighted after Poitiers which meant by then he was a man at arms and so this first book would allow me to write about his life as an archer. I also liked the fact that he began in England. That made the research so much easier. I am lucky in that I live close to land which has remained untouched, in terms of development, since medieval times. When I walk my daughter’s dog each morning, we walk across medieval plough marks! There is also an ancient greenway. All of this means that I can walk a land which my characters would have walked.

I also like to have weapons and armour so that when I write about a battle, I can be realistic. One of my readers, Rich Sankovich, allowed me to use his crossbow because I did not write about it accurately enough! I now understand that weapon. I have a helmet, coif and sword- one day I will get the mail hauberk too! This allows me to use the weapons my characters use. I even bought a bill hook which was a medieval tool used by archers so that I could sharpen a stake as they did at Crécy, Poitiers and Agincourt.

I always write in the first person. I feel comfortable with that style and I understand its restrictions. I like to get inside the minds of my heroes. The drawback is that you can only see events through their eyes but it does allow many opportunities for surprise. I am, at heart, a storyteller. I taught English for 40 years and I know that my work is not great literature. I want my reader to be reluctant to put the book down as they want to know what happens next. In fact, many of my readers have told me that they read my 90000 word books in a day or two so compelling are the stories. I like those reviews because they tell me that I have been successful.

John Hawkwood is a character who has a long journey ahead of him. He marries but he also has mistresses. He fights for and against popes. This will be a journey for me too. As with all of my books, I know where I will get to, at the end, but not how I will get there!
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Here is a photograph of some the armour I use to help me with the writing of the books.

From the bottom up:
Norman Helmet
The Earl Marshal Sword (circa 1180)
Coif, worn under the helmet
Blackthorn staff

I included the last one as it demonstrates how I write. My hero (in War in the West- Border Knight series) is stranded in Wales and he cuts down a blackthorn branch with his sword. I have blackthorns and I made certain that I could do it. Later in the book he has to defend himself with the blackthorn staff and an enemy slices off the end. I replicated that- hence the short nature of the stick.
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I also use metal figurines to aid my combats. It is great fun but helps me give that edge of realism.

:
Griff Hosker's Bio

I was, for forty years, a teacher in the north east of England. I always loved writing and would regularly send my efforts, typed on a portable typewriter, to publishers who, inevitably, rejected them. My early success was in the musicals I wrote for the young people I taught. I suppose my most successful venture was when the Millennium Dome opened in 2000 and a musical I co-wrote was showcased there for one performance.

It took retirement to spur me to try once more to be published. I wrote The Sword of Cartimandua in 2012 and this time used the Arts Council to get it published in paperback. They had a programme called Feedareed. The book did not sell well but I had my work in print. I then stumbled upon Kindle and that changed my life. When I uploaded it, I began to sell more and more. I wrote, very quickly, the next six nooks in the series and then moved on to a series about the Battle of Hastings. It took my son to help me make the leap from having a small and select audience to the wider one I now enjoy. He found a design company and they re-did all of my covers. That was in 2014 and my monthly sales went from 1700 to 4000+ and kept rising until they hit the 20000 mark.

I now have one series, Lord Edward’s Archer, with Lume, a traditional publisher and W F Howes publishes my audio books but the majority of my work is still self-published. My readers are mainly in the English-speaking world, but I sell well in Germany and Europe.
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I write 5000 words a day and I have a strict writing regime which starts at 6.30 a.m. I know that I am a lucky man and, at 70 years of age, I am living the dream but I have 40 years to make up for!

Amazon Book link:
Crécy: The age of the Archer