Ancient Greek Music in Early Modern Italy: Performance and Self-Representation

The transmission of musical heritage from the ancient world to the medieval and early modern West was part of a broad process in which antiquity was preserved, revised, altered and revived. This process, spanning more than ten centuries from Late Antiquity or Early Middle Ages to the time of the Scientific Revolution, was crucial for the cultural life of European countries and influenced the transmission of knowledge and behavioural models, as well as the dissemination of ideas and relevant symbolic representations through texts, images and artefacts. This chapter, dealing in particular with 15th and 16th century Italy and its medieval roots, presents two case studies in which the appeal of ancient Greek music concerns, on the one hand, the public of readers of musical evidence looking for clues in the texts and, on the other hand, the audience of the first performance of a Greek tragedy in Modern Age. In both these examples, the cultural reasons for the revival of ancient music intersect and intertwine with self-representation and cultural propaganda. Through them, it is possible to outline a cultural history of the reception and transmission of ancient Greek music. This study offers new research insights that will contribute to the future developments of the field, outlining new interdisciplinary approaches to investigate the importance of performing arts in the ancient world and its reception in modern culture.