[Encyclios]

Music in ancient Egypt

The Egyptian civilization is among the first civilizations of which we have evidence of musical expression. The music of ancient Egypt has very remote origins, so much so that the Egyptians are among the first civilizations of which we have musical evidence. The role of music, called hy (joy), was of great importance as it was considered of divine origin, in fact it was linked to Hathor considered goddess of joy, dance and music. The goddess Meret was considered the personification of music and with his gestures, almost like a conductor, governed the cosmic order and the flow of music.

Already in prehistoric Egypt music and singing were present in rituals related to magic and religion; later, in the predynastic period, music and dance had mainly propitiatory function in rites of fertilization and initiation. The first musical instruments were introduced, such as chopsticks, rattles, clappers, used in totemic rituals.

The numerous representations that have come down to us representing musicians, singers and dancers, testify to the fact that music played a role of great importance in Egyptian society; moreover, a considerable literary tradition and findings of various instruments are a confirmation of this.

Among the instruments used by the Egyptians, we find the crotales, the sistrum, linked to Hathor, the trumpet, used in war and sacred to Osiris, the drums, the lute and the flute, sacred to Amon. Other musical instrument very present and characteristic of the Egyptian civilization is the harp often equipped with a wide sound box. In ancient Egypt, music had religious functions, it was in fact used in sacred ceremonies, it was present during fertilization rites, in the celebration of funeral functions, and also in occasion of fun and entertainment.

Initially, in the most ancient period, were used mainly percussion instruments (sticks, clappers). The appearance of more sophisticated instruments had to wait longer. The first to be built after the percussion instruments were wind instruments (flute) and stringed instruments (lyre and zither), of which there are Greek, Egyptian and Mesopotamian testimonies prior to the eleventh century BC. These civilizations already knew the main intervals between sounds (fifths, fourths, octaves), used as the basis for some scale systems. A study by the German ethnomusicologist Sachs on harp tuning showed that the Egyptians used both a descending pentatonic scale and a heptaphonic scale.

In the Old Kingdom was created the custom of a composite instrumental formation, including various flutes, arched harps, with a large sound box and simple reed instruments, ancestors of the clarinet. Then there are the crotales, the sistrum, linked to Hathor, the trumpet, used in war and during funeral processions, for this reason sacred to Osiris, the drums, the lute and the flute, sacred to Amon.
During the Middle Kingdom were introduced the drum, the lyre and to the ritual dance was added the professional one which had the purpose to entertain the spectator. The typical Egyptian instrument, the sistrum, saw in this period an enlargement of its use. More sophisticated instruments had to wait longer.

The first to appear after percussion were wind instruments (flute, horn) and string instruments (lyre and harp), of which there are Greek, Egyptian and Mesopotamian testimonies prior to the tenth century B.C.; these civilizations already knew the main intervals between sounds (fifths, fourths, octaves), which were used as the basis for some scale systems.

Music was used in numerous situations and practiced at all levels of Egyptian society. During religious ceremonies it had an important role; professional dancers, singers and musicians, often only female roles, had special functions in every period of Egyptian history. Among the clergy linked to Amun there were female musicians of priestly rank.

In ancient Egypt, no feast or banquet was celebrated without the active participation of musicians and singers, roles often combined in the same person. Even in the houses of pleasure was performed music with interpreters often foreign, Nubian or Syrian, and were also performed dances accompanied by drums and tambourines.

During festivals in honor of the dead, an occasion when the family of the deceased gathered at the tomb, banquets were celebrated to the accompaniment of music, song, and dance.

The lack of musical notation has been the biggest problem faced by scholars; unfortunately, no score has ever been traced, so very little is known about the melodies or harmonic combinations of Egyptian antiquity.[8] Some musicologists have, however, attempted to reconstruct what tonalities might have been used by studying the ancient instruments, replicated so they could be played.

The musicologist Curt Sachs studying the tuning of harps and the relationship between the short and long strings of the same, has found that the Egyptians obtained from these instruments intervals of fourth, fifth and unison sounds, they also used a descending pentatonic scale and probably knew the heptatonic scale, in fact it was observed that an oboe preserved at the Egyptian Museum in Turin has the extension of two octaves.