Music in Ancient Egypt
Sources tell us that music was widespread among the popular classes. Both individual and group singing were practiced, with or without instruments.
The voice was considered the most powerful tool for connecting with forces from beyond.
In religion, the song was alternated between two priests or priestesses who performed together or alone. Halfway through the song, a priest sang a hymn to Osiris. Sometimes the singing was accompanied by instruments.
The instruments were used not only individually but also collectively as an orchestra. The timbales set the pace, and singing was done in unison or at the octave.
No musical notation from Egyptian music has survived. It seems that the Egyptians had a system of musical notation, but data have not been found. It is proposed that they could use a chironomic notation. The music theorist Ologo thinks they should have had some kind of notation to refine their music together and therefore some kind of pitch. Moreover, the use of the double oboe and double clarinet suggest the existence of a tonal concept. Fetish concluded that the Egyptians used a heptatonic or pentatonic system. This view suggests that their music was between two and a quarter octaves, and its tonal system was based on chromatic semitones and the fourth interval, so it is believed that this hypothetical Egyptian system is the origin of the Greek tetrachord.
Another hypothesis is that Pythagoras was educated in the temples of Egypt, where he learned their music system, and it is possible that this was similar to the Greek system.
Throughout history, Egypt has undergone many changes, so it is divided into the following periods:
- Neolithic cultures (6000 BC)
- Early Dynastic Period
- Old Kingdom
- 1st Intermediate Period
- Middle Kingdom
- 2nd Intermediate Period
- New Kingdom
- 3rd Intermediate Period
- Late Period
With the conquest of the Greeks (Alexander the Great), the Late Period ends. The Alexandrian period ends with the Roman domination, followed by the Byzantine and later the Arab periods.
Neolithic Period
In this period, Egypt was not unified. The first attempt at unification of the nomes occurred in Heliopolis. Later, two kingdoms were formed: Upper and Lower Egypt. Mesopotamian influences are seen by the similarity of the instruments. From this period, images of women dancing accompanied by men playing castanets have been found in graves.
The Egyptians believed in life after death, and so they sketched the highlights of the deceased’s life on their graves.
After hunting or fishing, the young women danced, and men accompanied them playing the castanets. The rattles were possibly used in the search for greater sonority than clapping and with less effort.
Early Dynastic Period
Upper and Lower Egypt were unified to form a single kingdom. They had a hieroglyphic writing system that was gradually perfected.
The music must have had a utilitarian character, always with the aim of helping to perform work.
Old Kingdom and First Intermediate Period
The period between the Third and Sixth Dynasties was one of great splendor. The famous pyramids were built. Dynasties VII to XI are the first transition period in which there was a division of the country: one state in the north (Heracleopolis) and another in the south (Thebes).
Reliefs with representations of instruments related to Mesopotamia have been preserved. These reveal how domestic music was practiced. We know that the harp was closely involved with the national worship of deities. The singers are represented with the left hand near the right ear and making chironomic gestures. Others, like the Oriental peoples, tighten their throats to produce a vibrato. Choreographic representations make us aware of the dances performed by the pharaohs. They show us dancers clapping or playing an instrument (finger cymbals).
Although we have a lot of data, we know more precisely what kind of harps were used (bow harps resting on the ground), very long flutes and double flutes, frame drums, etc.
During this period, singing with instrumental accompaniment was cultivated, and music went through a “golden age”.
The first known Egyptian musician is Ankh Khufu, a flutist.
Middle Kingdom and Second Intermediate Period
Mentuhotep II reunites the empire from Thebes. In the 2nd intermediate period, the Hyksos invaded Upper Egypt and established their capital in Avaris. These people assimilated higher Egyptian culture and therefore continued to cultivate the same instruments, but also introduced new ones.
There are high-fidelity representations that show us that the harpists played with both hands at once, and it follows that the Egyptians cultivated melody.
From the stage of the Hyksos domination, paintings have been found with foreign elements and new drums, finger cymbals, small harps, and new types of rattles. The rattles were particularly religious and accompanied dances. There is a painting that shows a lyre like those of Mesopotamia at the time.