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The Discovery of an Ancient Mesopotamian Theory of Music Accessed: 10/10/2014 15:28 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org. . http://www.jstor.org American Philosophical Society is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society. |
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THE DISCOVERY OF ANANCIENTMESOPOTAMIANTHEORY OF MUSIC ANNE DRAFFKORN KILMER Associate Professorof Assyriology,Universityof California,Berkeley (Read November15, 1968; subsequentlyrevised) SOME NINE years ago, the late Benno Lands- vocabularies, bilingual lexicons topically ar- At that time,a particularcuneiformtext3con- interpretedas musical notations. Landsberger, ;g and H. Klzilyay, Zwei altbabylonischSechulbuichearus Nippur (Turk Tarih Kurumu Yayinlarindan VII, Seri No. 1 2 For an excellent, though brief,descriptionof these texts,see A. L. Oppenheim,A ncientMesopotamia (Chicago, 1964), pp. 244-248. 3KAR No. 4. 4Collected and discussed in G. A. Reisner,Sumerische- babylonischeHymnennach ThontafelngriechischerZeit (Berlin, 1896), pp. xvi-xvii. Cf. CT 42 (London, 1959), 35, Ankara, 1959): pp. 97-116 (cf.pp. 66-76). der Wissenschaften1924: pp. 120-123). “Observations ofa Lexicographeron Classes and Class Consciousness in Sumero-Babylonian Society” (delivered in Philadelphia, Tuesday, April 20, 1961). pl. 1, no. 1. 9Inbeingcalled(DINGI R.)NAR “themusician(-god),” the littleknowngod Dunga is explained as Ea s’a nari “Ea of the musicians” (CT 25 (London, 1909), pl. 48, line 10). however,proved beyond a doubt in an article5 appearing in 1933 that concerned the “So- called Babylonian Musical Notation,” that the “Aameme” text was indeed a bona fide lexical text,one,moreover,thatwas relatedinsteadto a comprehensivescholarlycollectionofpersonal names. The collection began with shortened names like A-a. A subsequent publication in 1959treatingthissamegenreoflexicaltext,6has servedto furtherhisrepudiationofthetheoryof Sumero-Babylonianmusic,aside fromwhat ob- servationscould be made fromthe picturesof musical instruments,archaeological finds, the many names of instrumentsnot always identi- fiable, and a veritable sea of Sumerian and Akkadian termsrelatingto choral and instru- mental music. In short, we have been com- of that esteemed art whose divine patron was the god of the wateryabyss, the god Enki/Ea,9 always closely associated with magic, with wisdom,and withthe arts and crafts. The past decade, however,has broughtto light foursinglecuneiformtextsand a fifthtextgroup that reveal not only the concernof the ancient scribes,orscholars,withmusicaltheoryat least 5 Benno Landsberger, “Die angebliche (Cambridge, 1937), pp. 43-48 and 99-104; reprintedby StrasbourgUniversityPress, 1955. SOCIETY, VOL. 115,NO. 2, APRIL 1971 131 |
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132 ANNE DRAFFKORN KILMER [PROC. AMER. PHIL. SOC. as earlyas thefirsthalfofthesecondmillennium the BerlinMuseum.13 In it, the patrongod of B.C., but that also provide us with the proper Sumerianwords a, and itsAkkadianequivalent pitnu,likewisestand for”string,””note,” and “interval,” and may refer to “mode,” and “tuning.” textual informationfor a Sumero-Babylonian theoryofmusic. The most importantor key passage is part of The Philadelphiatablet1″is a listofcoefficients instrumentswas only a small part of the whole, relatingto a varietyof mathematicalproblems. however, was still imperfectlyread, and had Whereaslistsofthiskindare wellknownforthe receivedlittleattention. For mypart,onlyone Old Babylonian period of the early second thing was absolutely certain: that the lines millenniumB.C., the Philadelphia text deviates fromthestandardformatin thatit includes materialnotusuallyfound,and dates,ifnotto the Kassite period (middle second millennium B.C.), to the Neo-Babylonian (middle to late firstmillenniumB.C.). The second passage is partofa bilingualtextfromthecityofUr,now in the British Museum.12 It is part of the encyclopedicworkentitledNabnitu(“Creation”) which deals with human actions and activities of all kinds; this passage belongs to its 32nd tablet, devoted entirelyto musicologicalterms. The third passage was found in an Akkadian catalogofsongtitlesarrangedaccordingtotype; it is fromAssur, and is now in the collectionof 10The close association ofthestudyofmathematicsand music is also well attested in the Edubba (“Tablethouse”) literature; e.g., lines 24 and 27f. of the Old Babylonian bilingualExaminationTextA(soontobepublishedby ProfessorAke Sjoberg): “(As to the various types of s i r- songs,) do you know how to divide theirverses, to recite the antiphon(s) and the finale?” “Multiplication, frac- tions, to divide an inheritance,to make boundaries in the fields,doyouknowhow(todoallthat)?” “(As tovarious musical instrumentsand their parts,) do you know how many there are, (or how) to identifythem by name?” “1CBS 10996. Published by A. D. Kilmer, “Two New Lists of Key Numbers for Mathematical Operations,” Orientalia 29 (1960): pp. 273-308 with P1. LXXXIII. 12 U.301 1. The pertinentlinesare presentedon pp. 264- 265 ofA. D. Kilmer,”The StringsofMusical Instru- ments: Their Names, Numbers, and Significance,”AS 16, pp. 261-268. dealingwiththemusicalstringswereas valuable as theywereobscure. In 1960,thepertinent linesofthemathematicaltextwererenderedas follows: music,Ea, is mentionedrepeatedlyin therefrain “May Ea command thy (the singer’s) life.”14 These threetexts,a mathematicaltext,a lexical It was ProfessorLandsberger,who knewso well his thousandsof lines of lexical texts,who firstrecognizedthesimilaritybetweenthebroken section of the lexical text (U.3011) and an obscurepassageinthemathematicaltext(CBS 10996). He broughtthese two passages to the writer’sattentionin 1959 in connectionwith anotherlistofcoefficientbseingstudiedat the time. In 1960 the two mathematicaltextswere 10′. r21?Fr41 4, 3 CBS 10996 Transliteration Obversecolumni (at leastfivelinesbroken away at beginning) rSA x xl-tum salia-turnum 15′.SA3!-s`uSIGIuSA3-s”uu’h-ri3,4SA em-bu-bu NIM.MURUB4 GlS.NIM.MA MURUB4-tu 13 Published as KAR No. 158. The pertinentlines are presentedanddiscussedbyA.D. Kilmer,ibid.,pp.267f. 14 dEa bala(ka liqbi. 15See footnote11. 4, 6 |
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VOL. 115, NO. 2, 19711 ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIAN THEORY OF MUSIC 133 SA d’-a-Dt 2, 4 SA x SA 4 uh-riuzSA 3-s’uSIG 6, 3 S[A ] SA 3-svuSIG u’SA 5-vu[3],[] (remainderof columnbroken) Translation Obverse column i (five or more lines broken) “Ea-made(-it)” stringand forestring4, 1 . . .string fore string and third thin string 5, 2 “Elamite” string . . .stringand secondstring5, 2 “middle” string second string and “Ea-made(-it)” string 2, 4 “. . . middle” string fourth-behinsdtringand thirdthinstring 6,3 [ ] thirdthinstringand fifthstringp31,[ ] third-behindstringand [ ] “Ea made(-it)” string[ ] (remainderbroken) 20′. SA s’ad-GE6 MURUB4-tu r2],r41 4, 3 3, 6 7, 4 . . . string “covered” string Fortunately,the otherwisecompletelyobscure numeration of the strings as “behind” was elucidatedby the lexical text (U.3011) whichin- formsusthatninemusicalstringsare numberedas follows:1st,2nd,3rd-thinG,od-Ea-made-it,5th, 4th-behind,3rd-behind,2nd-behind,1st-behind. Therefore,atleastitwasclearthat,forexample, thestringcalled “4th-behind”was the6thstring, and so on. Or, moresimply,strings123456789 werenumbered123454321.Thelexicaltextalso contributed,though in broken lines, three of the other terms,namely: i.sartu”upright,” or “normal”; “bridge of the i.sartu”; and kitmu “cover.” The text of U.3011 (Nabnitu tablet 32,col. i) is: 10′. 4, 6 15′. 5. 10. basket”string . . .string “upright”string forestringandfourth-behindstring2,6 “third” string 3, 4 “flute”string “fourth”string s a . d i sa. di.*5(text4) sa .4 .a .ga .gu 1 sa. 3. a. ga. gu1 rsa. 2 . a. g a1. g u 1 Esa. 1]. a . ga .gu1.1a [9] . s a. a 16 In AS 16, the writerattempted to collect referencesto the word pitnu, and distinguished between a) GIS.NA5 = pitnu, (parts of) wooden furnishings,very likely indi- catingrungs,staves,etc. (p. 262); and b) SA = pitnu,the musical string. (The semantic relationshipof these two meaningsappears to liemintherowoflong,narrowstrings/ staves. Note that the pictographof the NA5( = 9A) sign is 1, perhaps a kind of comb or scraper.) Add the referencex. a d . g i . g a z . z a = pitnu sa AD.KID “the pitnu of the reed-craftsman”(Antagal A 156, see CAD sub atkuppu); it may referto a cuttingor smashinginstrument. To the discussion of the playing of the pitnu (AS 16, p. 263) may be added: asar [it-t]a-az-z[a-ma-ru pit]-nu a-lu-uz”where pitnu alu’ are sung/played” (Gilgamesh) I v 9, see CAD A p. 37). (Cannot the alu’ be a stringed instrument? qud-mu-u[m] sa-mu-su-um sa-al-svuqa-a[t-nu] A-ba-nu-[u] ha-am-[su] ri-biuh-ri-i[m] sal-siuh-ri-im si-niuih-ri-im uih-ru-um 9 pi-it-nu’l pi-is-mu i-svar-ti fore(string) next(string) third,thin (string) fifth(string) 20′. fSumerian: fourth,small tAkkadian: Ea-creator |
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134 ANNE DRAFFKORN KILMER [PROC. AMER. PHIL. SOC. [ ] [] [] ul-ur i-var-tum [~~~~~~~~~t]i-Ft … bridge, 15.[ ] [] [ki-i]t-mu cover Even twiceblessedwithsuch informationt,he passages remained elusive, to say the least. Certain observations and corrections of the thepresentation. Dr. Duchesne-Guilleminpub- lishedherconclusionsin 1963.’7 The writer,convinced of the correctnessof [xy-u]m … (remainderofcol. 1 broken) mathematicaltextweremade,anditwasnoted muchofherhypothesis,thoughtroubledwith that the stringswere presentedin an orderly someofherassumptionson philologicalgrounds, sequence from1 to 7. The fact that the im- examinedthe passage in the mathematicaltext mediatelyprecedingand followingsectionswere in consultation with Professor Hans Gustav broken did not furthercomprehension. Un- fortunatelyunschooled in matters of music, I couldonlyconjecturethatthedesignatedstrings describedchordson a stringedinstrumenta,nd that the chords might be named after other musicalinstrumentasccordingto thesound they produced. But to what purpose I made no guess. Guiterbockof the Oriental Institute, and with ProfessorSamuel Noah Kramer,curatorof the tabletcollectionoftheUniversityMuseum. I am happytosay thatas a resultofDr. Duchesne- Guillemin’sanalysis, not only were many read- ings greatlyimproved,but we were able to re- store the precedingbroken section to such an extent that the progressionfromone through seven and again to one was firmlyestablished. A year or so later,a Belgian musicologist,Dr. [a. 1,5 [b. 7,5 [c. 2,6 [d. 1,6 [1. 3,7 [2. 2,7 [3. 4,1 [4. 1,3 [5. 5 2 SA nis GAB.RI] SA se-e-ru] SA SUB MURUB4 CBS 10996columni latable, it was clear that the names of musical intervals were technical musicological terms. Accordingto Dr. Duchesne-Guillemin’sinter- pretation,theintervalsare offifthsf,ourthsa,nd whichwasnow(1965)revisedasfollows(included here, for the sake of convenience,are several correctedreadings which did not become ap- parent until the discovery of the third text, |
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VOL. 115, NO. 2, 1971] ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIAN THEORY OF MUSIC 135 SA ti-turMURUBJ-tum SA kit-mu SA mus-DU 6, 3 S[A kit-mu] 7, 4 SA pi-tum] 4, 6 SA mus3-du] 8,22: titurisartum”bridge,normal” 10,24: mustu”comb(?)” 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. F2,4 6, 3 3,5 7,4 4, 6 SA qud-mu-u SA 3 uh-ri SA sa-GE6 SA qud-mu-u SA 3-suiSIG SA sd-GE6 SA dJ-a-D1 SA qud-mu-u SA 5-su SA sa-GE6 SA 4 uh-ri SA 3-su SIG SA3-su uh-ri SA d_-a-D u?SA 5-s,u uzSA 5-su iu SA dE-a-DI (remainderofcol. i destroyed) The morecertainchangesinthetranslationof termswere: lines c, 13: is’artum”normal” 1, 15: embfibu”flute” fourth/fourths/fourth” 5,19: qablitu”middle” 6, 20: titurqablitu”bridge,middle” 7,21: kitmu”cover” 18 The cuneiformsigns nis and man, and gab and ga, are similar in appearance. 19 See AS 16, p. 266 n. 44. 20 Cf. AS 16, p. 266 with n. 49 forthe old reading and a hint at the new. NIM.MURUB4 must now definitelybe read SUB.MURUB4 = nid qabli “fall of the middle” (see footnote 64 below). With little doubt, too, the same “mode” is indicated in the descriptionof thunder in the commentaryto the astrological text Enuma Anu Enlil: Adad rigimsukima pitni inaddi(,UB) // pitnu sa SUB!(looks like DU).MURUB4 “if Adad thunders (lit. ‘his noise falls’) like a (whole) scale(?) // (that means) a scale (?) ofthefall-of-the-middl(e-type)” (textcitedAS 16, p. 263 with n. 19). Note also that this octave-species alone is that named in each repeated summary-refrainof the Hurrian hymn-catalogsfromRas Shamra (discussed below): anna zam(m)arfi sa nid qabli “these are the songs of the nid qabli (mode).” With the subsequent inclusionof two other termsnamedin thelexicaltext,thoughunknown in the mathematical text, Dr. Duchesne- Guilleminwas able to elaborate her discussion of the Babylonian scale and enlarge the little corpusofnamedintervals. The entiresystem, in her estimation,has separate names for the octave,forsixths,fifthsf,ourthsa, tritone,major and minorthirds,and possiblyfora singlewhole tone. The names of the intervalsdifferaccord- ing to whichstrings,or “notes” ifyou will,form the startingand stopping point. She adduces for Mesopotamia a heptatonic scale that is Lydian as to species,supposinga half-toneto lie betweenthe thirdand fourthstringson the oftheappellationforthethirdstringas “thin.”21 The interpretationosf Dr. Duchesne-Guillemin (RM 52 (1966): pp. 160 & 152) werethe follow- ing (the Akkadian is here slightlyrevised or corrected): 21M. Duchesne-Guillemin, “A l’Aube de la Theorie Musicale: Concordancedetroistablettesbabyloniennes,” RM 52 (1966): pp. 147-162 (manypointsalreadyexpressed in her 1963 article; see footnote17). basis |
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136 Nine strings Octave (?) Sixths Fifths Tritone Fourths ANNE DRAFFKORN KILMER [PROC. AMER. PHIL. SOC. 123456789 pismu lalsatum -RT, — F-A 1 3. 2 – A- – I “third” rebutum “fourth” nis GAB.RI igartum embubu pitu nid qabli qablitu kitmu Major Thirds GI.NIM.MA multu seru Minor Thirds titur gabli or Trihemitones titur i’artum lalsatum “third” rebuitum ” fourth” Tone (?) x-x-x kitmu22 22 M. Duchesne-Guillemin’s rejection (ibid., p. 159) of writes ti-tiu-urin line 13. For acceptance of a [ti-til-ur] the restoration[titur] kitmuon the basis of x x x being one kitmu,see below, p. 32. |
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VOL. 115, NO. 2, 1971] ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIAN THEORY OF MUSIC 137 nig GAB.RI salsatum _- _ nid aabli titur qabli _~~~~~ seru isartum embuibu rebutum __ GIT’NIM. MA kitmu= muhtu .e. thewritertojust sucha context. tainty fromthe outset was the Akkadian word embu7buw,ell knownas the name of a flute,and S titur iWartum cycle reconmences Thus far,ourinformationhad comefromtwo usedtodescribetheintervalofa fifthextending andmostcommonly,thewordmeans”straight,” fromthethirdstringto theseventh. In a rather contexts, together with other named instru- under the word esertu “shrine” had been fileda ments; but lists of instrumentswere not fruitful formypurposes. Oneofthereferencewsastoa 23KAR 158(seefootnote13). lineina long-knowncatalogofsongtitles.23The composition appears to have been written in honorofthepatronofmusic,thegod Ea. Anothertermused to describethe intervalof string,was the word isartu. This word, an adjectivederivedfromtheSemiticrootwiththe meaning”to be straight,”was knownelsewhere as descriptiveof a harp,and had been translated as “upright,” for “upright harp.” Otherwise, “normal,” “direct,” and so forth. Again, aside fromitsoccurrenceinlistsofinstrumentsI,had vainlysearchedforthewordin a musicalcontext. However, it was true that the word isartu may |
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138 ANNE DRAFFKORN KILMER [PROC. AMER. PHIL. SOC. card recordinga linefromtheverysame catalog of song titles. With high hopes, and a preju- diced assumption,then,thatmyisartuand the catalog’s esertuwereonlyvariantpronunciations of the same word,and that a meaning”shrine” mightbe incorrectand thus incorrectlyfiled,I turnedto the catalog itself. This catalogofvariouscategoriesoflyricshas KAR 158 col. viii CBS 10996 col. i 45. 23iratusae-4ir-tAekkadsKI linesc,13 very beginningof my workon the two comple- mentarypassages, had thoughtthat the word “behind” mightreferto four,perhapsharmonic, stringslying under the firstfive,she has ad- vancedtheideathatapentatonicscaleunderlies this numeration,and that the stringscalled “behind” are, then, the “octaves” of the first four. This is especiallyattractive,accordingto “23 lovesongs,ofthe’normal'(type), Akkadian” Though the names of the intervalswere all read, not all wereto be translatedwithsecurity. In myopinion,theveryexistenceofthisdupli- cate passage, quite unrecognized before Dr. Duchesne-Guilleminadvanced her hypothesis, was firmsupportofa coherent,cyclicaltheoryof music,even ifit did not lend itselfas proofof the kindofscale in use. But perhaps more interestingthan the still shadowynamesoftheintervals,is theirpurpose ina catalogofcultlyrics. The exactcontext,as given above, must be interpretedas containing descriptions of love songs. Though I had thoughtonly in termsof the differentkeys in whichthesongsmightbe sung,26Dr. Duchesne- Guillemin,in a postscriptto our joint contribu- tion,suggestedthatthesetermsmustdescribe modes,27whichis obviouslymoreto thepoint. She has also paid particularattentionto the significanceof the numberingof the nine strings 17 iratusa ki-it-me 7, 21 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 51. 52. 25 See Kilmer,AS 16,p. 268 withn. 59 (and notealready, Langdon, Jour.Royal Asiatic Soc. 1921: p. 187) and correct the lapsus in the statement referringto the sequence of intervals in KAR 158; it should read: “Just as in CBS 10996 i, seven intervals appear, though here the sequence starts with the second and ends with the 5th.” symmetry”of tonal compositionwhen one startsat each endoftheninestringsand works inward.28 Only the central,fifthstringis left outofthesymmetry.Shehasfurtherattempted to explain the mathematicaltext’s passage as reflectingthe point in time at which the penta- tonic scale gave way to the heptatonic,that change being the raison d’etreof the passage. That is, its purpose was the conversionof the stringterminologyfrompentatonicto heptatonic use. 24 iratusa eb-bu-be 1, 15 9, 23 3,17 a, 11 5,19 4 iratusa pi-i-te [ [ [ ” ] iratusa ni-idMURUB4 love songs,of the . . . (type)” ] iratusa ni-*is (copy: irlT) GAB.RI ] iratusa MURUB4-te (= qablkte) TlhoughI can followmusicologicalargument onlywiththegreatestdifficultyI,am notcon- vincedthatherassessmentofthepurposeofthe mathematical text is correct,if for no other reason than the date of the text, which I originallyplaced in the middle of the second millenniumB.C. That would mean that the passage presumablyattestinga conversionfrom pentatonism to heptatonism would be some 26 Kilmer,AS 16, p. 268 n. 60. 27 M. Duchesne-Guillemin,AS 16, p. 272, and RM 52 (1966): pp. 154-157. 28 M. Duchesne-Guillemin,RM 52 (1966): p. 162. lovesongs,ofthe’middle’ (type)” [naphar x iratuAk-ka-d]u-ui “total ofx love songs,Akkadian” 25 Why is the term”breast” used fora love song? Is it 24 |
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VOL. 115, NO. 2, 1971] ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIAN THEORY OF MUSIC 139 “bridge, normal” (or”bridgeofthe normal”) “opening/open”38 “comb”(?)39 seven or eight hundred years older than the lexical text that expounds the pentatonically based numerationof the nine strings,a serious difficultyat best. More recently,Dr. Duchesne-Guilleminhas directed her effortstoward understandingthe Greek terminologyforthe notes on the scale by means of our Babylonian material,an area that looksratherseductive.29’30 6a. titzukritmu As of 1968, the full list of the names of 1. Ia. 2. 2a. 3. 3a. 4. 4a. 5. 5a. 6. nisvGAB.RI svru isvartu svalsatulsalsvtu “rise/breathof the 31 “morning”(?)32 “normal/upright/ straight”33 third” the musicological interpretations.Typically, the new texts will be seen to have helped to clarifysome of the uncertaintiesthat remained. Still in 1968, Dr. Edmond Sollberger,of the Department of Western Asiatic Antiquities of theBritishMuseum,discovered,in thecollection of unpublishedUr tablets, an Old Babylonian (i.e. firsthalf of the second millenniumB.C.) fragmentof a musical treatise (U.7/80). He turned it over to Professor0. R. embzbdu/ebbzTbu rebitu/reb6tu/rebfitu”a fourth/fourths/ Gurney of fourth” eIamu'(GlS.NIM.MA3 “Elamite” (?)31 qablitu “middle” titurqablctu “bridge,middle” (or “bridge of the middle”) kitmu “cover” (?)37 Oxford,who was keenlyinterestedbecause he was to publish the Nabnitu 32 tablet, U.3011, and because he had been in consultationwiththe musicologistM,r.DavidWulstan,alsoofOxford. Gurneypublishedthe tablet as “An Old Baby- lonianTreatiseon theTuningoftheHarp.” 40 This textutilizesthesevenprimary4ilnterval names (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 ofour listabove), as well as thenumberedstringnamesknownfromCBS 10996 and U.3011, forthe purposeof instruction in the tuningof the z a . mi /sammui instru- ment.42 The process involves changing43the stringsup or down a semitonein orderto obtain the desired “tuning.” This text providesaddi- tional proofof the heptatonicscale and of the use of the terms for the octave-species. It should be stressed that the age of this text is furtherevidenceforthe antiquityof the hepta- 29 M. Duchesne-Guillemin, “Survivance orientale dans la Designation des Cordes de la Lyre en Grece?” Syria 44 (1967): pp. 233-246. 30 The writer wonders why no one has discussed the association (or dissociation) of the Babylonian termswith the Sanskrit names of the alternationsof notes on the scale in the Indian system (see the New OxfordHistoryofMusic (London, 1957), pp. 208 f.): e.g., “fallen” and “not fallen” (cf. nidu); “common” (cf. i’sartu); “middle” (cf. qablitu); “hair-fine”(cf.sal.’u qatnu). “opponent” or “duplicate,” see CAD G; if one may read 32 se-e-rucould have other meanings,and it now appears to be a specifictechnical term. For discussion, see foot- note 62. 33Note that isartu is said of straight (as opposed to slanting) cuneiformhandwritingin Examination TextA, line 19 (see footnote10). 34 Embuibuis also the trachea. reading. 39 But see below forcorrectedreading. M. Duchesne-Guillemin,RM 55 (1969): pp. 10-11. confirmationof U.3011 rev. iii 21′: t u . I u = ne-Fe/)l[-T3 “to loosen (strings)” (Nabnitu XXXII), see the passages noted by J. Nougayrol in RA 61 (1967): p. 190, and see now the comprehensivecollection of material on t u . u by A. Sjoberg, Orientalia39 (1970): pp. 85-87. 7. pitu Since the presentationof this paper in 1968, much new material has appeared, including a cuneiformtreatise on the tuning of the harp, some thirty-onefragmentarycuneiformtexts, plus thirty-sixtinyfragmentsbearingthe same material-all hymn catalogs, and five articles, all of whichhappilycorroborateour findingsfor 38 The word pitu is also the name of a unit of garlic, |
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140 ANNE DRAFFKORN KILMER [PROC. AMER. PHIL. SOC. tonicscale.” This fourthtextis herepresented in translation.45 U.7/80 rightcolumn SectionI (tuningdownthestring) (a). [If the sammu-lyre/harpwas (tuned as) pitu, but]
15. you (then) altered the second and behind (= 9thstring),andso 16. the sammu2-lyre/hawrpas (tuned as) kitmu. 17. If the sammu2-lyre/harwpas (tuned as) kitmu,but and so embubu]. (remainderbroken) Mr. Wulstan, in the same issue,49providesa 4. If the sammu2-lyre/harwpas (tuned as) comprehensivemusicologicaldiscussion of the embuibub,ut
tuningof the harp on the basis of these texts, and also greatly expands the argumentscon- cerning the Babylonian octave-species.50 Mr. Wulstan reviews the texts and Dr. Duchesne- Guillemin’swork,disagreeswithherplacement altered,and thus]
kit[mu, but]
SectionII (tuningupthestring) string) lonian fourth string (“Ea-made-it”) and the Greek,4io-qa,ndthereforweithheridentification oftheBabylonianscaleas Lydian. Instead,he proposesthattheCBS 10996passage”seemsto be a catalogue containingall possible intervals except the tones, semitones,and sevenths,”51 that the Babylonian qablitu (“middle”) is more likelytobethecounterpartof,,52 andthat a Pythagorean series of tunings is involved53 when all the evidence is put together. We 13. If the sammu2-lyre/harwpas (tuned as) isartu,[but] 14. you played48(lit. “touc d”) an (unclear) here reproduce a portion of Mr. Wulstan’s qablitu(interval), 44 See remarkasbove. figure1 (p. 221): -H. Kiummel, Orientalia 39 below, footnote47. 46 Taking iz-za-kuas 12. (1970): pp. 255 f. Also see for playing a stringed instrument. gU . . . TAG and DU12(TUKU) are also used. For a recent treatment,see W. H. Ph. R6mer, Sumerische”Kdnigshymnen”der Isin- Zeit (Leiden, 1965), p. 271 as well as A. Sjoberg, AS 16, p. 64 n. 1. Add now H. Kiummel,op. cit.,p. 256 n. 1. 47 Provisional translationof [x?] NU.SU [y] based on lished” (= ulluhu, see CAD E p. 79, sub elehu.)] lupputu (TAG.TAG) are well attested as technical terms 64. 49David Wulstan, “The Tuning of the Babylonian Harp,” Iraq 30 (1968): pp. 215-228. 50 Wulstan’s last section (ibid., pp. 226-228) on the “thin string”mustbealteredwithreferencetothespeculationon |
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VOL. 115, NO. 2, 1971] ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIAN THEORY OF MUSIC 141 isartum- tuning kitmum- tuning embubum- Thetic notation Dynamicnotation ,_?_._______*_ -* S_ tritone = U$3- interval .new tritone nw ro new tritone = iXartum-interval = km*tv -kitmum-interval _ _ _ __ to D Moreover,heisable toexplainbywhatlogicthe of the scales presentedabove is the differencebe- same terms may stand not only for un-fixed tween the Greek thetic and dynamic nomenclature. intervals, but lend themselves then to the If we go furtherin our analogy of Greek practice namingofaspecificscale. Inhiswords(p.222), It cannot have escaped the readerfamiliarwith II III IV v VI VII VIII IX i’artum-interval igartum scale kitmumscale J kitmum-interval ,_ * —- embuibum-interval embabum-interIal i.e. ‘Starting-note’ ____*) andlookforthecharacteristicDoriansegment(E-B) in each ofthe Babylonian species it is foundthat this segmentis described by the same interval name as itseponymoustuningonlyonthebasisofthethetic D scale postulated on p. 220. In other words, if this scale is accepted as a basic matrix and the 7 _______ _________________ embuibumscale |
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142 ANNE DRAFFKORN KILMER [PROC. AMER. PHIL. SOC. Lastly, Mr. Wulstan discusses the Harmony of theSpheres,knownfromGreektheory,as having its origin in the Babylonian orderingof the octave-species. were unknown Hurrian words) which, if their transcriptionwere altered slightly, were un- questionablythealreadyknownAkkadiannames of intervals: kab-li-te,ti-tar-kab-lin,a-at-kab-li, The two most recent contributions(which and kit-me. All were followedby unexplained were in my hands only afterthis articlewas all numbers. Here, then, were five of the terms! butfinished)comefromDr. Duchesne-Guillemin The otherterms,afterthegroundworkhad been on “La Theorie Babyloniennedes Metaboles laid by Dr. Giuterbocka,nd witha fewsugges- Musicales,” 54and fromDr. H. M. Kummel of In an appendix to his article Dr. Kiimmel and are composed of many more fragments. makes the firstpublished,but brief,referenceto Each one appears to be a catalog of Hurrian themostrecentlydiscoveredgroupofcuneiform hymnsto gods; afterthe text of a hymn,a textsthatdisplayoursame corpusofterms. dividingline introducesa paragraphconsisting Examininghis advance copy of UgariticaV,56 of the known Akkadian musical terms (and a ProfessorGiiterbockmade a furtherdiscovery. few unknownones, see below) followedby a In Prof.E. Laroche’s chapteron Hurriantexts,57 number. Apparently, these are the musical in several fragmentarytexts with similar sec- several words (which, according to Laroche, For example,R.S. 15.30 + 49 [h.6]:59 lines:1-4. (thewordsofa hymn,inHurrian)
11. [an-nu]-uiza-am-ma-rusa ni-id-qib-lzia-[lu-zisa DINGIR.MES TA mUr-hj-a]SU mAm-mu-ra-pi tionsby thewriter,by Dr. Duchesne-Guillemin, and by Dr. Kiimmel,have now been recovered andmaynowbeseentobethesame,thoughina (“These are the songs of nid-qabli(-mode), hymns(?) of the gods; from(the collectionof the musician)Urhiya. Copied byAmmurapi(thescribe).”) 54 M. Duchesne-Guillemin,RM 55 (1969): pp. 3-11. liegenden Saiten ausgehen, nicht dagegen Intervalle Duchesne-Guilleminmustbeassumedtohavegivenupher speculation on the mathematical text CBS 10996 as being the point in time at which pentatonism gave way to heptatonism, since she recognizes the old age of hepta- tonism (p. 4). She disagrees with Wulstan on many points, especially his use of Greek theory to explain the cuneiformdocuments, which she considers “un anachro- nism dangereux” (p. 7). She concludes (p. 10): “Ob- servons, en guise de conclusion a cette analyse, que la gamme de base babylonienne est semblable, compte non tenu du temperament,a notre gamme de do majeur et que l’ordredes alterationsdans les metabolesest le meme que celui de nos bemols et de nos diezes. Est-ce tradition ou coincidence de structure tonale? Le probleme reste ouverte.” 55H. M. Kuimmel,”Zur Stimmung der babylonischen Harfe,” Orientalia 39 (1970): pp. 252-263. Kiimmel pre- fers the term “double stop” to “interval” since he feels that the Babylonian terms “lediglich von der Lage der Saiten innerhalbder Harfe und der Zahl der dazwischen- akustisch als deren Schwingungsverhaltnissemeinen” (p. 252 n. 1). His explanations (pp. 259ff.) of the use of the same Akkadian terms for “interval/double stop” on the one hand, and the different”tuning” on the other,which usage became obvious throughU.7/80, are ingenious. He feels it is not necessary to explain these phenomena through ancient Greek theory. 56 Jean Nougayrol et al., Mission de Ras Shamra X VI: Ugaritica V (Paris, 1968). 57 E. Laroche, “Documents en Langue hourriteprove- nant de Ras Shamra,” in ibid., pp. 448-544. 58 ProfessorH. G. Guiterbock’sresults will appear in the article “Musical Notation in Ugarit” in a forthcoming- number of RA 64 (1970). To our chagrin, a few of the same fragmentswere already published by Laroche in J. Nougayrol, Mission de Ras Shamra VI: Le Palais Royal d’ UgaritIII (Paris, 1955), pp. 327-335. 59 UgariticaV,p.463. |
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VOL. 115, NO. 2, 19711 ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIAN THEORY OF MUSIC 143 With the help of these texts,a correctedlist of interval/tuningnames (but one may doubt that thiswillbe thefinalredaction!)maybe presented: Standard Akkadian (Sumerian logogramsin parentheses) CBS 10996, KAR 158, U.3011, U.7/80 1. nis mihri/gabari (GAB. RI) la. 2. isartu CBS sru salsatu 10996 Barbarized Akkadian formsin Ugaritica V not attested60$ sahri nid-qibli) esgi qablite titi/ar-65qabli kitme titi(m)isarte65 not attested68 zirte Translation60 rise of the antiphon/ duplicate6l (main themeofa) song62 normal/straight66 fourth throwstick/lot open66 2a. 3. 3a. 4. 4a. 7. 7a. ebbuibu/embiubu nid qabli (SUB64.MURUB4) rebuitu(643-tu) esqu/isqu (GIS.SUB.BA) titurqablitu titurisartu s/zirdu 64 pitu 60Cf.footnotes31-38. Doesseru,asthenameofaninterval,refer,thereforet,o 6qa Butcf.footnote72withfootnote61. theSumerian”mode” inwhichtheresponsiverepeatsof 61 The most likely reading here is GAB.RI = mihru, b a 1a g (and other?) compositions were performed? It usually “equivalent,” instead of GAB.RI = gabaru'”dupli- cate, opponent,” but mihruis to be understoodin its well- attested meaning “antiphon, response” as in mihirzamari (see CAD sub zamaru, and AHw sub mehru),even though the usual Sumerian equivalent for mihru, when said of songs, is GIS. (GI4.)GAL. Contrast footnote 72, and see footnote62. 62 In Akkadian, the word seru is a technical term de- scribinga particular musical composition: zamar Sri. Evidence indicates that it is a composition consisting of (Wiesbaden, 1966), p. 34 for this reference,as well as for s i r . ha . m u n elucidation of the phonetically written hymn incipits in si r. t e’ s’. gal = sru ‘an’ “torepeatthesru” (seeA.Falkenstein,ZA sir.nam.ga1a NF 15,1949,pp. 104ff.);sincelongba 1a gcompositions sir.na m.na r (ofwhichtheer’semmamayonlyformanintroductory s1r.nam.sub section, see Krecher, op. cit., p. 29 with n. 59) are often sir.nam.ur.sag.ga dividedintoasmanyastenandfifteenkirugu’s,one sir.ra.nam.en.na “songoflordship” (Sumerian) b a 1a g and e r ‘se m m a, since this type of is led to thinkof that many “repeats” of the major section, called, then, the seru. Because Sumerian r u . g (u as verb is equated with Akkadian mhr (Falkenstein, loc. cit.), known to us in the musical context as mihru “response, antiphon” (see precedingfootnote),it is temptingto see k i . r u . g ui as “the place (in the song) of the antipho- nals,” that is, where the main composition, or theme, is repeated, perhaps responsively (by more than one singer, or chorus, with orchestration),perhaps with variations s i r. r a. n a m . n i r. ra “song of manly valor” has agreed to contributethe followingremarksregarding the relation of Akkadian se,ruto the Semitic root SCr: “The Semitic root SCrrelatingto poetryand song is found in a variety of formsin the languages of the ancient Near East. In Arabic it maintains its originalformand mean- ing,viz.saCir’a poet.’ But at an earlyperioditunderwent in Akkadian the change typical of roots containing a laryngeal,where the loss of Cayinis reflectedin the long e (anidin particularoctave species?), and wherea particular thetextwiththesubscriptgi’s. gi4. ga1.bi.im”it Sumerianatthisearlyperiodandisthesourceofthe is its antiphon” (see Krecher, op. cit.,p. 32). common Sumerian word s i r ‘song, poetic composition.’ is probably significantthat this word is the name of the interval directly following the nis mihri “rise of the antiphon” -interval. What is the connection between Akkadian seru and Sumerian ‘si r ? The latter seems to be used as a general term for “song,” or a specific type of “song,” e.g.: [n .t] e. ni ‘sir. ra si1im. se mu un. e”(Shulgi) preistsich selbst im Liede” (Shulgi B 9, cited in C. Wilcke, Das Lugalbandaepos,Wiesbaden,1969,pp.161f.);itisthe base word on which many compounds are made, all names of musical compositions,e.g.: “song of the woman in travail” “great song” s i r . a m a . g a n a s r . g a “song of heroism” |
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144 ANNE DRAFFKORN KILMER [PROC. AMER. PHIL. SOC. The only other term that has been brought the termsare easily foundin the Hurrian texts. intothediscussionis pismu,fromU.3011; Dr. There are, however,several additional terms Duchesne-Guilleminhassuggestedthatitmay foundinthesamesections,fromwhichonemay be a termfortheoctave.70 As to a furtherterm, attemptto findthe counterpartsof termNo. 1 [ti-tui-urk]itmuofU.3011,positedbyWulstan,7′ and termNo. 7. These terms(mostare listed there is no corroborationfor it, and it may or by Laroche on pp. 484 f. in Ugaritica V) may maynotexist. be groupedas follows(the textsh.2 to h.5 are The Ras Shamra material,then,has brought in Mission de Ras Shamra Vi; h.6ff.are in us severalcorrectedreadings,and all but twoof UgariticaV1): GroupI. Group II. GroupIII. CompoundsmadeupofknowntuningsplustheHurrianwordsfor”high” (ashu) and “low” (turi)and followedbya number: turi vsahri Termsthatoccurwithouta numberfollowinga,ndthatmaydirectlyprecedea known term: (or,butunlikely,withthewordpitu?) pa-hi-takitme (h.2) ? sahri ashue wrinkled(?)”; 2. “matted”; 3. “chopped/broken”;4. “a metal object”; b) witha WestSemiticglossintheEl-AmarnaletterstoZAG “arm/force” (seeCAD); c)withAkkadianhamsu”five”;butthiswordoccursasname of string,not of interval,in our texts. As withotherculturewords,such as Sumerian (h) e g a 1 > West Semitic hekal, “si r entered the West Semitic lan- guages and is found there as a productive root: noun ‘ir ‘song,’ and verb ‘ir ‘to sing.’ The Ras Shamra spelling sa-ah-ri may be an attempt at realizing the cayin behind seru. (Cf. W. F. Albright, Journal of the Palestine OrientalSociety4 (1924): p.210andA.Salonen,Journalof Near Eastern Studies 9 (1950): p. 110, on the equation of Heb ;ir,Ar. sCr,and Akk. seru.)” [A.D.K.: Unless we are quite misled and should read, instead, sa uh-ri in the Ras Shamra text! If so, it means “behind,” is one of the stringnames, and we must compare the term habse (for hamse”fifth”?)of the same Ras Shamra text (see below).] The above appears to prove that the root of Akkadian seruissCr,thereforea,nd notshr”morning,”as frequently thought(see,e.g.,CAD zamarsri “morningsong”). 63The Ras Shamra reading irbuteleads us to conclude that the ordinal rebuitu”fourth” was intended,as well as the ordinal salsatu “third” (forsalustu). 64This reading became completely obvious when the Ras Shamra es-gi( = Akkadian isqu, isqu) could be equated with GIS.SUB(looked like NIM).BA; since then, all “NIM” signs in CBS 10996 could safely be read as SUB. See already Kiummel,op. cit.,p. 253 n. 2 and p. 263. 65 I.e., writtenin Ras Shamra as a singleword. Therefore,these antonymns,or natural pairs, may well be meant here. Duchesne-Guillemin’s most recent comment (RM 55: p. 8 with n. 1) suggestingthat we go back again to kitmu = “covered flute” (which never existed!) is completely circular and misses the point; see already AS 16, p. 267 n.54. Thesamecanbesaidforherinsistence(loc.cit.)on isartu as “upright lyre”; the old translation was only a guess, afterall, and our technical interval term may just as well be used to describe the particular lyre (the lexical passages forwhich the guess “upright” was firstmade, by Landsberger,are cited in CAD sub isartu and in AHw sub &arru). 67 Note that only CBS 10996 and U.3011 use this “secondary” interval name, and that U.3011 is unique (thus far) in its terminologysince it may continue, as Wulstan suggests (op. cit., p. 224), with [ti-tu-ur]kitmu, otherwiseunattested. See below and footnote22. 68 It seems that it must be there, but in what form? See below. 69 Though the reading (MU; and $IR are the same cuneiformsign) is now certain,the same cannot be said for the meaning; some possibilities (see CAD) are: (1) sirtu “firstrank”; (2) zirti”weak” (?) (a West Semitic gloss in the El-Amarna letters); (3) zertu “plaited”; (4) serdu “olive tree” should be out of the running,since the MU; sign is not used forsir, but only sir/zir. 70See AS 16, p. 264 n. 30 and p. 271; RM 52 (1966): pp. 158 f. 71 D. Wulstan,Iraq 30 (1968): p. 224. Cf.footnotes22 and 67 above. 65a Kummel, op. cit., p. 261 n. 2, suggests that perhaps we should understandthe termas meaninga “loweringof the middle.” But contrasthis remarkon p. 263. 66 The verb katamuis used of the legs as “to close,” that is, not walking,and is the opposite of petu'”to open,” said of the legs, walking, as discussed by W. G. Lambert, Babylonian Wisdom Literature (Oxford, 1960), p. 291. |
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VOL. 115, NO. 2, 1971] ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIAN THEORY OF MUSIC 145 Group IV. Group V. Group VI. The questionis whethertheseare to be understoodas compounds,orwhethertheterms pentammaand pa-hi-tastand alone, withouta number. Cf. the sequence nadqabli titarqabl2i inh.21,and [i]svartepu[garnu] inh.26. I believethatwemaynotexclude, thereforet,he termsthat seem to stand alone, withoutnumbers,fromthe names of intervals. Thefollowingroupisofthattype: Termswithoutnumbersfollowingo,rwithfollowingnumbersnotpreserved: e-ta-m[a] be-ni-in-ni-m(afollowsazzamira,see below) pu-gar-nu ud-ga-[ ] songs of the ‘fall of the middle(-tuning).’ Words that may be Akkadian: az-za-mi-ra Do not connect (as does Laroche, p. 484) with Hurrian azzami “figurine,”butreadinstead:a(z)zammira”I willsing”fromzamdru? us-ta-m/ba-a-ri72Connect with Akkadian marui”to be slow”? If so, forusvtamarri “I make/incant(i.e.,thesongsaccordingtotheparticularinstruc- ak-ki-im za-lu-zi tions)slowly.” (II12 pres.) Or,connectwithAkk.s.utabru”‘to prolong,makelong-lasting,”henceusvtabarr”iI prolong(thesing- ing),” and cf. the bilingual passage describinga festival, IV R 18no.1,lines20f.:[…]s. gu.ed’ .bi.ta U4.ge6.bi m 1 . n i . i n . [z a 1] = [. . .] ni-gu-tamu-suu ur-raus-ta-ba[r-ri] t. . . the music,day and night,he prolongs.” A typicalpassage (hereartificiallyconflatedforthesake ofillustration)wouldthenbe: (wordsof hymn) a (z)zammirabeninnima7[3 ] qablite3irbute1. . .titimitsar1te0ustab/mari sassate4 s.ahri1 sassate2 s.ahri1 sassate2 irbute2 annu zam(m)aruis.anid-qablizaluzi DINGIR.MES 10(-times?)I do slowly(?) ;74 (-interval)1 (-time?), third(-interval)2 (-times?),fourth(-interval)2 (-times?). These are the songs of the nid-qabli(-tuning);hymns(?) of the gods . . 72To seeinthiswritingthebarbarizedcounterpartof . . . 73IfAkkadian,onemightthinkofaformlikebiniannu (see CAD) “form,figure.” 74 If this were correct,then some of the lines include an |
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146 ANNE DRAFFKORN KILMER [PROC. AMER. PHIL. SOC. Itshouldbenotedthat,justastheKAR 158 musicmighthavesounded. Itwillbeinterest- catalog utilizes our terms for Akkadian songs exclusively,and verylikelyonlyforlove songs, the Ras Shamra texts appear to fall into the same category,viz. Hurrian “hymns” that are cult love songs. Note that the Hurriancontexts ofthehymnsreferto severalgoddesses,to Hebat, the consortof Teshub, and to “love,” “heart,” “maiden,” “sister,” “gifts,” and other such topics., ing to see what the musicologistswill do with thesenewpiecesofinformation. For myAssyriologicalpart,I plan to continue the study of the song catalog, eager to learn whetherthe many other terms,Sumerian and Akkadian,usedtodescribethevariouscategories of hymnsand songs,may also hide among them technical musicological terms. My study has thus faryieldedonly threeotherpertinentlines, againrelatingtoAkkadian,notSumerian,songs. Ifitcouldbe truethattheseRas Shamratexts 75 Though it is true that one can be over-enthusiastic,it is just possible that another very obscure and very broken group of Ras Shamra texts relatingto the goddess’ cult, writtenin the Ugaritic alphabet, and deemed “Akkadian?” might contain musicological material similar to that discussed in this paper. Not disregardingthe heroic effortsof E. Dhorme to read them in Akkadian (RA 37 (1940): pp. 83-96), we may have a West Semitic text containing the Akkadianmusicterms[UT =CyrusH.Gordon,UgariticTextbookA,nalectaOrientalia38(3v.,Rome,1965);Herdner = A. Herdner, Corpus des Tablettesen Cuneiformesalphabetiquesdecouvertesa Ras Shamra Ugarit de 1929 a 1939 = Mission de Ras Shamra X (Paris, 1963)]: UT 104 1. dmrkbltni [ ] \’zmrqablitu . . . 3. nll irbtryb [ ]I `iI irbutu -.ribu . . .” instead of Dhorme’s (pp. 89, 91 f.) z2mrkbltni[ ] zamraku beletni nll irbtryb[ ] ina liii erbetiriba . . . “le soir tu entresau couchant taz2mrmcnhw [ ] . azamur mcnh. [ADK note: IC-ni/i”uto answer” is notattestedinAkkadian. For its use in Heb. and Ugar. as “re- sponsive singing” see the note of F. I. Andersen, Vetus Testamen- tum16 (1966): pp. 108-112.] ms2tykltmkktm[t]. . . mulitikallatemukkatimt.i “de la nuit,fianceevoilee. btryblz2mrky ] -betir7baluzmurki. “tu entresau couchant. chanterai. phtnmt[ ] -phatina mati . . . UT 103 “‘elle se leve dans le pays . “(to exclaim), fourth(-tuning), (to augment)” 4. tadmrmcnhw [ ‘..’zm.r../…… .. ]d “you sing its response” 6. mttykltmktm[ ] .. … kitmu. . . .. closed(-tuning)” 7. btrybIdmrky[ ] pitu ‘Jriabulzmr. . . “topen(-tuning),’ridbu, for singing(?) . . .” [Note: pitupossibleonlyif Hurrian scribal habits apply] 21f.pht’inm(t) [ ] Econnectwith Ras Shamra pa-hi-ta ?] . . . ” ” P My colleague,TonasGreenfield,withwhomI havediscussedthesetexts,hasexpressedtheopinionthatmysuggestions are plausible. Je te |
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VOL. 115, NO. 2, 1971] ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIAN THEORY OF MUSIC 147 KAR 158 likethePhiladelphiatablet,I am afraidthatwe shall be unable to understandtheirsignificance. One must also wonderhow far back in time the a d .d uo. g a n u n d u m?. b uir. e b a l a g. g a’ sa.ni.ba.ke4 ad b a. ba. ni. ib. ‘sa4 “the sammZ-lyre, the algar-harp, the balaggu- instrument,the lilissu-drum, the harharru-strings,the sabitum (and miritum (-stringedinstruments),fillingthe temple, in good sound, releasingthelips (?) of the b a 1a g composition, in its own midst let it (= the music) resound; upon.” Note that H. Hartmann prefers the reading t ig i (NAR.BALAG) intheline67,thoughthemajorityoftexts seem to have n a r (Die Musik der SumerischenKultur (Frankfurtam Main, 1960), p. 87 n. 6). Note that M. Lambert refersto these as the “seven obligatorymusical instruments”(RA 55 (1961): p. 185 sub No. 15). Cf. the firstseveninstrumentsnamedinShulgiB (cf.UrExcava- tions-Texts VI (London, 1963) No. 81 rev. lines 7-11): gi;za.mi, gi;sa.XXX, gia1. gar, g sa. bi. viii 15 2 KIMIN s’a piteAkkads 13 sitru76-songosf, the”flute (-tuning),”Akkadian 2 DITTO, of the “open (-tuning),”Akkadian Unfortunately,the context of songs is poorly preservedin the body of the text; but some are songsofpraisefora god,lordofwisdom. One ofthetermsused fora secondaryinterval, seru, also appears in the summationsection of KAR 158 viii 19: naphar 11 zamarsvri “total: 11 svru-songs butthefactthatitisusedinconstructformation, with zamair,and that no word s.a “of” appears, suggests that no tuningor mode is indicated; rather,we have onlya typeofsongwhosecon- text is not preserved (the line followingis the same: 11 zamar alal’ Akkad’ “11 work-songs, Akkadian”). Ofallthesongcategoriesinthecatalog,there are eightdifferenstongsofSumeriantype,five othersthat may be Sumerianor Akkadian,and seventeen differentAkkadian types. Of all these,only two of the Akkadian song typesare supplied with the “modes,” viz. the sitru-type andtheirtu,orlove-type. Myguessisthatthe Sumeriantermsin particularshouldalso provide us with informationrelating to a theory of music.77 But unlesswe can findanothertablet 76 Doubtless from s’ataru “to write,” s.itru “writing”; but what should it mean here? Is siiru in an Old Babylo- nian Mari cult ritual (G. Dossin, RA 35 (1938): pp. 1-13, col. i 10 and col. iv 9, 27, 32) to be compared? There the context is an elaborate purification/dedicationritual done to instrumentalmusic and Sumerian songs (but called by the Akkadian term srum) of various types, sung by the kalh “cult singer.” Cf. footnote62. 77 In AS 16, p. 265 n. 34, I mentionedthe ratherobscure Sumerian musicological term t i g i . 7, and the possibility of its connection with the heptatonic scale; does it mean “instrumentalmusicintheheptatonicscale”? Here may be added several passages exhibiting the seven chief instrumentsplaying in unison, several t i g i . 7 passages, other pertinentt i g i passages, and another passage that may reveal the importance of the number seven in Sumerian music in general. I. The Seven Instruments turm . si. ga tum, 9 z8mi.rf.tum, *ur.za.ba.bi.tum, 9 iizi.Za (or was my AS 16 n. 5, correct?), (1922/23): pp. 161 ff.], lines II. t i g i . 7 passages 1) EriduHymnlines125f.: (-music), (and) which gives forth the magic spells; (with) holy song(s) (in) unison, the house that makes good the land.” [Note the following passages for t e s “unison” playing/singing:PBS 1/1, no. 11, iv, 84(= istenis, iii, 52); ED LU, MSL XII, p. 14, 1. 20: read te s-dv12; TCS III. p. 17, 1. 8: ‘sir-t6’s- g a 1- z u “your great unison song” (correctionof Sjoberg’s reading, courtesy W. J. Heimpel), in context describing large temple orchestras and full choruses that perform amidst feasting and otherentertainment.] 2) Shulgi B (A. Falkenstein,ZA 50 (1949): pp. 61-91; S. N. Kramer in The Ancient Near East, Supple- mentaryTexts and Pictures, J. B. Pritchard, ed. (Princeton, 1969), pp. 584-586) line 81: n a r. m u tigi.7.e ‘sir ba.ma.an.ne.es” manner.” forme the seven tigi-songs.”] 3) Ke. TempleHymn (G. Gragg, in A. Sjoberg, Texts fromCuneiformSourcesIII (Locust Valley, N. Y., 1969), pp. 155-188) line89: n u n. e ki. gar. ra tigi.da ar.ra E I balag gi’sa.bi.tum liliz.za gi’mi.ri. |
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148 ANNE DRAFFKORN KILMER [PROC. AMER. PHIL. SOC_ Sumerian musicological traditions may reach. as early as the middle of the thirdmillennium Againitisthelexicaltextsthatgiveusreasonto B.C., wehavetheEarlyDynasticlistsofprofes- believe in the highage of the traditions,forfrom “Temple foundedby the princewho . . . withthe tigi .” Note that text A has a variant reading sions (“Early Dynastic Lu”‘) which provide us with the core of the musicological terms for singersandinstrumentalistsb;ytheOldBaby- lonianperiod,thissame speciesofSumerianand Akkadian texts (especially Proto-Lu’ and the canonical LUI = sa) offerus nearly 100 terms concerningmusiciansandmusicologyt,heclosely relatedcult personnel,and entertainers.78 It is an understatemento say that we have only opened a door on Mesopotamian musical theory,andthatwecanbutpeekinwardthrough asmallclusterofmeaningfutlerms. Iamhope- ful that continuedAssyriologicalresearchwill supplythemusicologistswithan enlargedbody oftechnicalterms. The necessityofcooperation betweenthe two disciplinesis abundantlyclear. (For furtherinstances of tigi.nI.dulO, see A. Sjoberg, op. cit.,p. 101 n. 2.) IV. The NumberSeven lu’ dumu.ni 7.a’m igi bi'(.in).dU8.am igi NAM.IMIN(7).NI-da 173notetoline89). III. t i g i passages for tigi.da (ibid., p. 1) Shulgi A (Falkenstein, op. cit.) line 54: tigi.ni.dulo.ge si ba.ba.ni.sa liessichfroheWeisenspielen.” (ibid.,p.69) 2) Compare Falkenstein’s treatmentof Gudea Cyl. B X 9-11 (A. Falkenstein,SumerischeundAkkadische Hymnenund Gebete(Zurich, 1953), p. 174): ti.gi4. ni.dulo.ge si.sa.a.da kisaI.e’.ninnu vhu’I.a si.a.da “Dass die Pauke, die gute, recht gespielt werde, das sich der Hof des Eninnu mit Freude fiille.” 3) VAS II 4 rev. i 27-32 (A. Sjoberg, Der Mondgott Nanna-Suen I (Stockholm,1960), pp. 97-101): ki.sa.al.ma.he ninda.ba.ga.ra.zu ti.gi.ni5 (.in).du.ge siha.pa.ne.sa um.mi.na.na ti.gi dnanna ki.sa.al.ma.he mu.ra.an.du ninda.ba.ga. ra . z u hingesetztist, die Pauke ertonen. Compare, once again, Falkenstein’s translationof the pertinentline: Iasst dort die Pauken ‘des Guten’ ertonen” (ZA 50: p. 86). 4) Kes TempleHymnlines113-117: pa4.ses.e.ne kus mu.un.sig.ge.ne e.sub uru. sub(.a) mu.ni.in.be.e.ene bfi.du,s..a.m a.na.gim dub.6u s’.dingir.re.e.ne.ka ib.tus di.da gi s ba.tuku an.aka gi 8 g u . z a si.am.ma.ke4 gisal.gar.surx.ra tigi nun.dulo.ge gium.ga mi.ni.ib.za suh.sah4 mi.ni.ib.za mu.na.dul2.a “Did you see him who had seven sons?” “I saw.” “How does he fare?” “As a companion of the gods he sits on a chair and listensto music.” (Gilgamesh,Enkidu, and the Netherworld267-268, inAaronShaffer,SumerianSourcesofTabletXII of the Epic of Gilgamesh. Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pennsylvania, 1963. (University Microfilms63-7085) Note E. Gordon,SumerianProverbs(Philadelphia, 1959), p. 129: d i(. d i) “to play/sound (the b a 1a g)”; also J. J. A. van Dijk, Sumerische GotterliederII, Abh. der Heidelberger Akademie der Wiss., Phil.-hist. Klasse 1960/1 (Heidel- berg, 1960), p. 50: tigi za.am.z[a.a]m k i . d i. b i “‘wo Pauke (und) zamzam-Instrument erklingen”. See also footnote62 fordiscussionofseveralotherSumerian termsconcernedwith music. I take this opportunity to thank our very capable student, Daniel A. Foxvog, Cand. Phil., forhis assistance withtheSumerianmaterialutilizedinthisarticle,and for his help in preparingthis manuscript. 78 This material is now published in Materials for the Sumerian Lexicon XII: A Reconstructionof Sumerian and Akkadian Lexical lists (Rome, 1969). Note especially the SumeriantermsinOld Babylonian Proto-Lu,lines587-662. “The pdsis’u-priestsbeat on the (drum-)skin, theyrecitedthee.subanduru.s’ub (verses); the bull’s hornkept makingthe sound gum-ga, the drumsticks/plectrum(?s) kept making the sound suh-sah, In viewofthesyllabically-writtenVAS II 4 variant ni5-inforthemorecommonnt,maywe see inthe t ig i n u n . d u0o. ge of the Kes’ Temple Hymn line a simple variant of the much more frequent expression t i g i . n i . d ui0 . g e and translate all occurrences, therefore, as “good tigi(-music)”? |
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VOL. 115, NO. 2, 1971] ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIAN THEORY OF MUSIC 149 Following is a list of abbreviations used in the footnotes: 1967. “Survivance orientaledans la Designation des. AHw WolframvonSoden,Akka,discheHsandworterbuch CordesdelaLyreenGrece?” Syria44:pp.233-246.. (Wiesbaden, 1959-). Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, AssyriologicalStudies No. 16 (Chicago, 1965). CAD TheAssyrianDictionaryoftheOrientalInstituteof the Universityof Chicago (Chicago, 1964-). BritishMuseum (London, 1896-). 1969. “La Th6orie babylonienne des M6taboles. musicales.” Revuede Musicologie55: pp. 3-11. 1969. “La Harp A Plectre irannienne: son Origine et sa Diffusion”. Jour. Near Eastern Studies 28: pp. 109-115. 1970. “Note complementaire sur l’Instrument Algar.” Jour. Near Eastern Studies 29: pp. 200-201. GURNEY,0. R. 1968. “An Old Babylonian Treatise on on the Tuning of the Harp.” Iraq 30: pp. 229-233. Inhalts,WissenschaftlicheVeroffentlichungender GUTERBOCKH,.G. 1970. “MusicalNotationinUgarit” deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft28 & 34 (Leipzig, Revued’Assyriologie64: pp. 45-52. (Frankfurtam Main). 1919 & 1923). d’archeologie orientale (Paris, 1884-). Archdoloeie(Berlin. 1886-). SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY BARNETT, R. D. 1969. “New Facts about Musical InstrumentsfromUr.” Iraq 31: pp. 96-103. BIGGS, R. D. 1968. “The Sumerian Harp.” Amer. Harp Jour. 1: pp. 6-12. DUCHESNE-GUILLEMIN, M. 1963. “De’couverte d’une Gamme babylonienne.” Revue de Musicologie 49: pp. 3-17. — 1965. “Note complementairesur la Decouverte de la Gamme babylonienne.” Studies in Honor ofBenno Landsberger= Publications of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago Assyriological Studies No. 16 (Chicago), pp. 268-272. for Mathematical Operations.” Orientalia 29: pp. 273-308. 1965. “The Strings of Musical Instruments: their Names, Numbers, and Significance.” Studies in Honor of Benno Landsberger= Publications of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, AssyriologicalStudies No. 16 (Chicago), pp. 261-268- KtMMEL, H. M. 1970. “Zur Stimmung der babylo- nischenHarfe,” Orientalia39: pp. 252-263. RIMMER, J. 1969. Ancient Musical Instruments of WesternAsia in theBritishMuseum (London). STAUDER, W. 1967. “Ein Musiktraktat aus dem zwei- ten vorchristlichenJahrtausend.” FestschriftWalter Wiora (Kassel), pp. 157-163. 1970. “Die Musik der Sumerer Babylonier und Assyrer.” OrientalischeMusik=Handbuch derOrien- talistik,Erste Abt: Der Nahe und der MittlereOsten, Erganzungsband IV (Leiden), pp. 171-243. 1966. “A l’Aube de la Theorie Musicale: Concord- Musicologie52: pp. 147-162. Harp.” Iraq 30: pp. 215-228. in Use Today.” Iraq 31: p. 103 withpl. XVIII. |
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