| Contents |
The oldest records on music. Representations of musical instruments on ancient sculptures and paintings ; National music applied to ethnology ; Monumental records referring to Assyrian music ; The ruins of Nimroud, Khorsabad, and Kouyunjik ; The extent to which the characteristics of Assyrian music can be ascertained from the representations of the instruments ; The gradual development of music from its most primitive state, demonstrated by a comparison of the music of modern nations in different stages of civilisation ; The earliest musical instruments ; Examples of musical scales in use among nations in different stages of civilisation ; The earliest development of vocal music ; The degree of progress in music attained by the Assyrians ; Their accomplishments in other arts -- Musical instruments of the Assyrians. The harp ; Traces of the ancient Oriental harp in Europe ; The Assyrian lyre and the Nubian kissar ; The Assyrian dulcimer and the Persian santir ; The asor ; The tamboura or guitar ; The double-pipe ; The trumpet ; The drum ; Assyrian bronze bells found in the ruins of Nimroud ; Tambourine and cymbals ; Remarks on the dancing of the Assyrian musicians ; Traces of some other Assyrian instruments ; Conjectures on the antiquity of stringed instruments played with a bow ; Some peculiar similarities between ancient Asiatic and European instruments ; The names of musical instruments -- Assyrian musical performances. Various combinations of musical instruments ; Description of the Assyrian bas-reliefs in the British museum on which musical performers are represented ; Other representations of Assyrian musicians briefly described ; The characteristics of the performances ; Fondness of the Assyrians for music ; Their songs ; Music employed in their religious worship ; Court bands of the kings ; Rhythmical character of the music ; Oriental music of the present time ; Choruses of the dervishes ; Call to prayer of the Muezzin ; Character of the Assyrian instrumental accompaniments ; Harmony not entirely unknown to the Assyrians -- Musical system of the Assyrians. Resemblance of the Assyrian music to that of other ancient Oriental nations ; The pentatonic scale ; The present existence of the pentatonic scale in various Asiatic nations evidenced by tunes from China, Siam, Java, Hindoostan, Burmah, and Japan ; High antiquity of the pentatonic scale in Asia ; The order of intervals in which the Assyrian stringed instruments appear to have been usually tuned ; Traces of the pentatonic scale among the ancient Greeks ; The intervals of the Nubian kissar ; Subdivisions of the whole tone ; Diffusion of the pentatonic scale ; The pentatonic scale of the ancient American Indians ; Traces of the same scale in the music of the Scotch and other Celtic races ; The peculiar character of the Assyrian music ; The probable musical notation of the Assyrians -- Music of the ancient Egyptians. Egyptian instruments ; Various harps ; Bruce's harps ; Egyptian name of the harp ; The trigonon ; The lyre ; The tamboura ; Peculiar stringed instruments ; Pipes, flutes, double-pipes ; Trumpets ; Drums and tambourines ; Curious instruments of percussion ; The sistrum ; Crotala, cymbals, bells ; Vocal and instrumental performances ; The Egyptian musical instruments compared with the Assyrian ; Opinions of some musical historians -- Music of the Hebrews. Gradual development of the Hebrew music ; Musical instruments ; Diversity of opinion respecting the real nature of some of the Hebrew instruments ; Josephus's account ; The chatzozerah ; The shophar ; The magrepha ; Nebel and nofre ; The Hebrew lyre ; Vocal and instrumental performances ; Hebrew music of the present day ; Eastern origin of our own music. |
