Ancient Roman Music - Musica Romana - Pugnate IX

Tracks "Seikilos" and "Bacchus" from Pugnate album.

Musica Romana is a well-known, internationally-acclaimed music ensemble dedicated to recreating the Ancient Roman music. Among other things, their music was featured the Europa Barbarorum, a video game mod for Rome: Total War. The Pugnate (Latin: fight!) album recreates the music at the gladiatorial games of Imperial Rome.

I do not claim any part of this video is mine and this music belongs to Music Romana. I have noticed YouTube lacks any examples of their work, so I thought it would be splendid if more people discovered this cultural treasure. If you like this music, be sure to support Musica Romana by purchasing their albums here: http://tinyurl.com/ykxboxx (Google Translated from German) or by emailing at preorder@musica-romana.de for information on how to order from the US. Remember, the more we support the group, the more successful and productive they can be!

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Greek
• Roman
• Hellenic
• Classical
• Antiquity
• history
• ancient
• civilization
• music
• Musica
• Romana
• Pugnate
• Symphonia
• Panica
• Mesomedes
• Rome
• Army
• war
• empire
• legion
• legionary
• Europa
• Barbarorum
• Romani
• Total
• War
• re-enactment
• reconstruction
• Gladiator
• arena
• Coliseum
• Senate
• Alexander
• Macedon
• Carthage
• Sparta
• phalanx
• battle
• flute
• aulos
• hydraulis
• lyre
• water
• organ
• harp
• lute
• game
• reed
• song
• soundtrack

[ex0pos]

The Song of Seikilos is Greek through and through. It was laid down with Greek lyrics, in Greek notation, on a Greek tombstone, in Greek lands.

I do understand that we have essentially nothing of Roman music apart from what they might have imported from Greece. But the fact that Romans might have enjoyed Greek music hardly makes it "Roman."

- ex0pos, BA, Classical Studies (w/emphases on Ancient Greek language, literature, and music), Brandeis University.

[generalpatton3]

@ex0pos

And I also did not put the song titles for the other videos, such as Synaulia. My apologies :(

On another note, it is very pleasing to see a fellow of student viewing these videos :D - what are you doing now, if I may ask? I was thinking of going for a doctorate and possibly professorship, but when given the thin prospects of a job, I decided to go to law school and become an attorney(immigration), as my father did. The alt. was probably teaching high-school with a PhD in history x(

[ex0pos]

@generalpatton3

Belated reply here... I thank you for your comments. I think we're mostly on the same page here. What am I doing now, you ask? We're on the same page there as well -- like you, I went on to do the law school thing. Just about the only practical use for an impractical degree (estate planning & tax). I used to do employment law (as my mother did), but that field is far too cantankerous. I've considered doing immigration as well... but I don't know square one about it.

[generalpatton3]

@ex0pos

Immigration law :) - at least to me, it never gets dull, something which I feared as I got into law school. Eventually my father says he will try to start out own firm, and as far as competition goes, US does not appear to have a particular excess of immigration lawyers. With a little favour from Fortuna, it may just well succeed. I hope.

I am Russian, BTW, and I moved to US when I was 13. My father was corporate lawyer in Russia, but switched upon getting a US law degree. Go figure.

[disturbederik]

this is roman not greek guys....

[xxpowwowbluexx]

biblicalulpan . org/pages/Common/greek_songs.h­tml

biblicalulpan . org

[diagreen]

cool.keep it coming.

[generalpatton3]

@violatione

This is true, but partly so, as anything in history, for that matter. Yes, I would not want to be a gladiator, but interestingly enough, there were a great deal of willing, volunteer gladiators. (testosterone poisoning xP )Three F's: fame, fortune and most of all, fornication drove (young) men to take such risks.

Additionally, just as all slaves, the non-free gladiators were expensive, and hundredfold if they were good fighters. Mortal combat (hehe, puns...) was relatively rare.

[generalpatton3]

@ex0pos

I explained a bit of this in my video descriptions of De Organographia music (see my other videos), mainly the fact that the Romans listened to Greek music. Perhaps I should add a similar note here. Indeed, I have been lazy here. I did not even put video descriptions for the Sumerian music (which is even more authentic than this, given the records we have of the Hurrian Hymns - yes, I know they are from a later period of a different culture - but the music remained the same)

[generalpatton3]

@ex0pos

The people simply want to experience something the Romans did. Musica Romana in their booklets do mention this fact, so it is not as if they are misrepresenting their product xP. Not to mention, the album Pugnate ('Fight!') features music that was likely played during the gladiatorial fights.

I am as inclined towards historical pedantism as you may be, but honestly, most people do not care for the details of the origins - Seikilos and Hymn to Nemesis are but two songs after all.

[generalpatton3]

@ex0pos

Well, it depends on how you look at it. The common peoples may have listened to 'folk' music, but the equites and the patricians, the culture of Rome listened to Greek and only Greek music, as far as we can determine. This *is* Roman music in the sense that it is what the ancient Romans listened to. The point of Musica Romana is to illustrate what the Romans listened. And they have a legion of mostly German professors, historians & museum curators on their side.