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Back in the attic it was time to try a piece of music and see if the colors were beautiful together. I decided to start with the first music I could find that was written down. At this time I did not have a computer as it was in the 70's so I had to go to the library and see what I could see. It was all very interesting and I discovered that although there probably was music in Egypt and Rome there is no recorded history of notation that has been found. There is however notation from the Greeks. This is one of the most marvelous things about music, that there is notation that allows us to see exactly what notes any given composer has in mind from hundreds of years ago and reproduce the music today.
Here is eight measures of the music I chose and the translation of all the words. You might like to listen to the music as you read the words. You'll notice that all the notes are very close in tone, nothing very high or very low and the notes flow into each other without a pause. This is typical of early music. It holds together because of the tones, rhythm is not very important.
https://youtu.be/FZK4OFPEqEg
Compose a tearful melody,
weeping in elegy;
a time for lamentation has come,
a time that steals joys.
At this eclipse sorrow’s night
distorts what we see;
Let sadness rule, for the
cause of sorrow stands in the watchtower.
The star of the Rhine
casts Latium into ruins;
the star tumbles, and the star’s fall
holds the lands in darkness.
The truly Italian region
lies concealed, afraid to be seen,
For darkness is the friend of sin
and crime seeks his old haunt.
O what a definitive demonstration
of the falsity of the world!
Through experience Truth proves
what the world is;
it delights in disasters
and is constant in its inconstancy;
Death, the prince of this terrible law,
rules without pity.
https://youtu.be/FZK4OFPEqEg
Here is eight measures of the music I chose and the translation of all the words. You might like to listen to the music as you read the words. You'll notice that all the notes are very close in tone, nothing very high or very low and the notes flow into each other without a pause. This is typical of early music. It holds together because of the tones, rhythm is not very important.
https://youtu.be/FZK4OFPEqEg
Compose a tearful melody,
weeping in elegy;
a time for lamentation has come,
a time that steals joys.
At this eclipse sorrow’s night
distorts what we see;
Let sadness rule, for the
cause of sorrow stands in the watchtower.
The star of the Rhine
casts Latium into ruins;
the star tumbles, and the star’s fall
holds the lands in darkness.
The truly Italian region
lies concealed, afraid to be seen,
For darkness is the friend of sin
and crime seeks his old haunt.
O what a definitive demonstration
of the falsity of the world!
Through experience Truth proves
what the world is;
it delights in disasters
and is constant in its inconstancy;
Death, the prince of this terrible law,
rules without pity.
Top notes of Tange (rests are white)
Bottom of Pange
Whole Pange Melos Lacrimosum
I have taken the liberty of softening the edges of the colors a bit to echo the way the music is performed.
https://youtu.be/FZK4OFPEqEg
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