"The modes of ancient Greek music are of interest to
us, not only as the forms under which the Fine Art of
Music was developed by a people of extraordinary
artistic capability, but also on account of the peculiar
ethical influence ascribed to them by the greatest ancient
philosophers. It appears from a well-known passage
in the Republic of Plato, as well as from many other
references, that in ancient Greece there were certain
kinds or forms of music, which were known by national
or tribal names—Dorian, Ionian, Phrygian, Lydian and
the like: that each of these was believed to be capable,
not only of expressing particular emotions, but of reacting
on the sensibility in such a way as to exercise
a powerful and specific influence in the formation of
character: and consequently that the choice, among
these varieties, of the musical forms to be admitted into
the education of the state, was a matter of the most
serious practical concern. If on a question of this kind
we are inclined to distrust the imaginative temper of
Plato we have only to turn to the discussion of the same
subject in the Politics of Aristotle, and we shall find the
Platonic view criticised in some important details, but
treated in the main as being beyond controversy.
The word harmonia, 'harmony,' applied to these forms
of music by Plato and Aristotle, means literally 'fitting'
or 'adjustment,' hence the 'tuning' of a series of notes
on any principle, the formation of a 'scale' or 'gamut.'
Other ancient writers use the word tropos, whence
the Latin modus and our mood or 'mode,' generally
employed in this sense by English scholars. The word
'mode' is open to the objection that in modern music
it has a meaning which assumes just what it is our
present business to prove or disprove about the 'modes'
of Greek music. The word 'harmony,' however, is
still more misleading, and on the whole it seems best
to abide by the established use of 'mode' as a translation
of harmonia, trusting that the context will show
when the word has its distinctively modern sense, and
when it simply denotes a musical scale of some
particular kind.
The rhythm of music is also recognized by both Plato
and Aristotle as an important element in its moral
value. On this part of the subject, however, we have
much less material for a judgement. Plato goes on to
the rhythms after he has done with the modes, and
lays down the principle that they must not be complex
or varied, but must be the rhythms of a sober and brave
life. But he confesses that he cannot tell which these
are (poia de poiou biou mimêmata ouk echô legein), and
leaves the matter for future inquiry."
MONRO, D. B. The Modes of Ancient Greek Music. Oxford: At the Clarendon Press, 1894.
