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'''Synaulia''' is a team of musicians, archeologists, paleontologists and choreographers dedicated to the application of their historical research to ancient music and dance, in particular to the ancient Etruscan and Roman periods.<ref>[http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1P2-1907079.html ''Encyclopedia'']{{dead link|date=May 2016}}</ref>
== History ==
[[image:Fresco Apollo kitharoidos Palatino Inv379982 n2.jpg|160px|right|thumb|Apollo citaredo. Painted plasterwork, Roman work from the Augustan era. From the Scalae Caci on Palatinum, Rome]]
The name comes from the [[Ancient Greek]] "συναυλία" ({{transliteration|grc|ISO|sunaulía}}), which in ancient [[Rome]] referred to a group of instruments consisting mainly of [[wind instruments]].{{clear|left}}
The group was founded and at first sponsored by the [[Rijksmuseum van Oudheden]] in [[Leiden]], [[Netherlands]] in 1995 by Italian paleorganologist [[Walter Maioli]] and choreographer and anthropologist Natalie Van Ravenstein.<ref>[http://www.kultunderground.org/articoli.asp?art=714 ''Walter Maioli''] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100621142245/http://www.kultunderground.org/articoli.asp?art=714 |date=June 21, 2010 }}</ref>
In the beginning the Synaulia's task was mainly educational: the reconstruction of ancient musical instruments for the Dutch archeological center, Archeon.<ref>[http://www.archeon.nl/ ''Archeon'']</ref>{{failed verification|date=May 2016|reason=Synaulia not mentioned in source article}} Later the scope was widened to include a more profound study into Italy's [[Music of ancient Rome|music and dance focusing primarily on ancient Rome]]. The fruits of Synaulia's intensive study were used as material for films, serials and documentaries about ancient Rome (among them ''[[Gladiator (2000 film)|Gladiator]]'' by [[Ridley Scott]] and the television series ''[[Rome (TV series)|Rome]]''), the use of the instruments for scholastic purposes, as well as in the publication of numerous articles on the subject.<ref>[http://www.exovedate.com/the_real_gladiator_one.html ''Gladiator'']</ref>{{failed verification|date=May 2016|reason=Synaulia not mentioned in source article}} {{clear}}
== The archeological-musical research work ==
[[image:Syn1.jpg|150px|left|thumb|Ludovisi Throne: Woman playing [[Aulos|aulòs]] or double pipes (5th century BC, Rome, National Roman Museum)]] {{clear|right}}
In the absence of a system of musical notation for the period in question, the reconstruction and study of ancient musical expression was based on comparative studies of [[iconography]], textual analysis, social studies and customs, also drawing from paleorganology, [[ethnomusicology]], [[archeology]] and [[historiography]].
The richness of the iconographic documentation, the abundance of tested theories and numerous literary connections facilitated the study and reproduction of a wide range of antique musical instruments, helping to determine, among other points of interest, their melodic and harmonic possibilities and acoustic quality.
[[Image:Boscoreale fresco woman kithara.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Fresco representing a woman playing the “cithara”. H Room of the P. Fannius Synistor [[:it:Boscoreale|Boscoreale]], around 40–30 AD.]]
Armed with this historical information, the group's research was then subdivided into several main research branches.
The first branch was dedicated to wind instruments. The research led to the reconstruction of instruments such as [[Pan flute|syrinx]], fistulae, [[aulos|tibiae]], [[Cornu (horn)|cornu]], [[Roman tuba|tuba]], [[bucina]], iynx, and rhombus.
The second branch dealt with string instruments: among others the [[Lyre|lyra]], [[cithara]], [[Sambuca (instrument)|sambuca]], cordae and [[pandura]] were reconstructed.<ref>[http://etc.usf.edu/clipart/galleries/arts/roman_musical_instruments.php ''Roman Musical Instruments'']</ref>{{failed verification|date=May 2016|reason=Synaulia not mentioned in source article}}
The [[Greeks]] and [[Ancient Rome|Romans]] did not invent string instruments, but rather improved and created variations on the existing ones. The first mentions of [[antique]] [[string instruments]] such as [[zither]]s, [[lyre]]s and [[harp]]s were documented in the area from the [[Nile]] to [[Mesopotamia]] around 3000 BC. The lyre in particular had an essential role in Greek-Roman life. The Greek [[lyre]] was a strongly symbolic instrument made of [[tortoiseshell material|tortoise shell]] (representing the intermediate life between Sky and Earth), a piece of stretched leather (a symbol of sacrifice) and two horns to which the cords were affixed (representing the celestial Bull). This instrument represented a symbolic altar, uniting Sky with Earth.
In many representations other instruments often accompany the string instruments. The most common duo is the lyrae et citarae drawn together by the [[Pan flute]]. Other frequently represented combinations are stringed instruments and tibiae, double instruments with reed and double pipes with the [[Timpani|tympanum]] and other [[percussion]] instruments.
The third branch was dedicated to percussion, and work was undertaken to reconstruct the [[Timpani|tympanum]], [[cymbal]], scabillum, [[sistrum]], rasum and other celebrated instruments from the late imperial period, the so-called “[[Golden Age]]” (aurea aetas).<ref>[http://www.fsmitha.com/h1/ch21.htm ''Golden Age'']</ref>{{failed verification|date=May 2016|reason=Synaulia not mentioned in source article}}
== Scientific collaborations ==
Other collaborators as consultants and collaborators of the project are Nathalie van Ravenstein, Luce Maioli, Ivan Gibellini, Anna Maria Liberati ([[Museo della Civiltà Romana]], Maurizio Pellegrini ([[Museo Nazionale Etrusco]] di Villa Giulia, [[Rome]]) Romolo Staccioli e Maria Grazia Iodice (Università La Sapienza, [[Rome]]), Paola Elisabetta Simeoni (Museo Nazionale delle Arti e Tradizioni Popolari), Maria Grazia Siliato, Marcus Junkelmann Ratzennhofen ([[Germany]]), Carlo Merlo (Clesis, [[Rome]]), Magdi Kenawy (Accademia d’Egitto, [[Rome]]), Werner Hilgers ([[Rheinisches Landesmuseum Bonn]], Germany), il H.P. Kuhnen (Rheinisches Landesmuseum, Trier Germany), Maria Paola Guidobaldi (Sovrintendenza di [[Pompei]]), Febo Guizzi ([[Milan]]), Gerard Ijzereef ([[Amsterdam]]) e Fabrizio Felice Ridolfi ([[Rome]]).
== Discography ==
*'' Synaulia, Music of Ancient Rome, Vol. I'' – [[Wind Instrument]]s – [[Amiata Records]] ARNR 1396, Florence, 1996<ref name="RomaV1">{{cite web |url=https://www.amiatarecords.com/index.php?lang=en&toc=681&page=La%20musica%20dell'antica%20Roma%20vol.%20I |title=Synaulia — La musica dell'antica Roma vol. I |language=en |publisher=Amiata Records |access-date=May 14, 2019}}</ref>
*'' Synaulia, Music of Ancient Rome, Vol. II'' – [[String instrument]]s – Amiata Records, ARNR 0302, Rome, 2002<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/music/2005/jan/23/classicalmusicandopera ''Guardian'']</ref>
== Filmography ==
[[Image:Suonatrice di cimbali.jpg|100px|right|thumb|Female cymbal player. Particular fresco, Villa dei Misteri, 60 AD. ca. Pompei]]
Compositions and variations of ''Synaulia, Music of Ancient Rome'' vol. I and vol. II were used in soundtracks of documentaries, games, and films, like:
*''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999 film)|A Midsummer Night's Dream]]'' by [[Michael Hoffman (American director)|Michael Hoffman]], 1999
*''[[Gladiator (2000 film)|Gladiator]]'' by [[Ridley Scott]], 2000
*''Carvilius – Un enigma dall’antica Roma'', Discovery Channel, 2002
*''The Village'' by Night Shyamalan, 2004
*''Lo sport tra Grecia ed Etruria'', 2004
*''Empire'', TV series serie produced by Touchstone Television/Abc, 2005
*''[[Rome (TV series)|Rome]]'', TV series produced by BBC-HBO, 2005–2007
*''[[Alexander (2004 film)|Alexander the Great]], Beyond the Movie'', National Geographic, 2006
*''Storia del teatro Italiano'' by Giorgio Albertazzi and Dario Fo, Rai 2, Rai trade, 2006
*''La donna si fa bella, moda costume e bellezza nell’Italia antica'', 2006
*''[[The Nativity Story]]'', New Line Cinema, 2006
*''Demetra e il Mito'', by Maurizio Pellegrini and Ebe Giovannini, 2007
*''La via Clodia'', by Ebe Giovannini, 2007
*''Storia del vino nell’età antica'', Ministry of Cultural Activities and Heritage, Supervision for Archeological Heritage of the Southern Etruria, 2008
*''Sid Meyer's Civilization VI,'' as main and Ambient themes of The Roman Empire.
== Bibliography ==
*'' Bonanni, Filippo'' (1964). Antique Musical Instruments and their Players, Dover Publications reprint of the 1723 work, Gabinetto armonico
* ''Boethius, Anicius Manlius Severinus''. De institutione musica.(English edition as Fundamentals of Music. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1989.)
* ''Grout, Donald J., and Claude V. Palisca'' (1996). A History of Western Music, New York: W.W. Norton.
* ''Pierce, John R'' (1983), The Science of Musical Sound, New York: Scientific American Books.
* ''Scott, J. E.'' (1957). 'Roman Music' in The New Oxford History of Music, vol.1: 'Ancient and Oriental Music,' Oxford: Oxford University Press.
* ''Smith, William'' (1874). A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities. New York: Harper.
* ''[[Suetonius]]. Nero'', xli, liv.
* ''Ulrich, Homer, and Paul Pisk'' (1963). A History of Music and Musical Style. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanoich.
* ''Walter, Don C'' (1969) Me and Music in Western Culture, New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
* ''Williams, C. F.'' (1903). The Story of the Organ. New York: Charles Scribner & Sons.
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
== External links ==
* [http://www.soundcenter.it/indexeng.htm Centro del suono]
* [http://www.archeon.nl/ Archeon]
* [http://www.amiatarecords.com/ Amiata Records]
* [http://www.musica-romana.de/ Musica Romana]
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Ancient music]]