6,000 Years of Music History
Music of a
New Age
The Dawn
Musical
Tradition of China
Harmony of the Worlds
Ancient Records of Musical Tradition from Egypt
Human Education
Musical Tradition of the Babylonians
Musical Tradition of the Hellenes
Gift of the Gods
“The
man
That hath no music in himself,
Nor is not moved With concord of sweet sounds,
Is fit for treasons,
Stratagems, and spoils...”
William Shakespeare
The Queen of Arts
The
history of music spans almost 6,000 years. Throughout this span of time the
“Art of the Muse” often changed its costume but, just as in ancient times,
it continues to resound
in perfection.
Today in a new age, at the dawn of a new day in the history of mankind, the Queen of Arts shines into our world like the light of the sun and wins the friendship of those who love life.
Even at the first glimpse of dawn the lucid shape of this queen appears to us in the depth of her nature so familiar that we are reminded of ancient records that praise the power of her perfect beauty.
From ancient records we know that the Chinese considered music to be the source of their love of truth, of their knowledge of truth, and that they even looked upon music as the underlying power of the cosmos.
Thus, to the Chinese, music elucidated the natural order of the world and the standards of their cultural evolution – from man’s arduous quest for the meaning of life to the spiritual height of human perfection.
To the Chinese, music was the principle underlying all world harmony; to them, music determined the balance of human-divine development as well as the equilibrium of physical forces.
In ancient times the Egyptians thought music to be of divine origin. So, music was the authority on Egyptian ethical teaching, and it represented the comprehensive foundation for their human education.
To the Egyptians, music was the great gift promising individual freedom to the young striving for perfection.
Thousands of years ago, the Babylonians, too, recognized the cosmological purpose of music. And, like the Chinese, they realized that in true classical music they could find the principles of an all-embracing world order fulfilled.
In
Greece, music was a gift of the gods given to man. It was also the golden
key for gaining highest human knowledge.
To the Hellenes, music, like no other art, displayed human feeling and character
both at their highest level of perfection. And accordingly, they employed
music as a means to glorify the human-divine revelation.
Today, the blissful ecstasy, which they experienced during the boisterous festival of Dionysos, appears to us like a fertility rite. To the ancient Greek, however, this festival was devoted to the supreme human experience, the principle of duality on the level of unity – an idea we will later find realized in the symphonies of the great classical composers.