Why was the aulos the ‘instrument of tragedy’?
Ho Ting Chan
Athenian tragedy was ‘a musical event’. 1 It is accepted that the chorus was a fundamental element of tragedy with regard to the structure of tragedy and the physical presence of the chorus onstage. 2 However, the chorus was not the only musical element in tragedy. For choruses had an instrumental accompaniment, namely the aulos . In this essay I wish to explore the role of the aulos within tragedy. I shall briefly explain what the aulos is, before examining why the aulos was a most appropriate instrument for tragedy. In addition, I will argue that the aulos was more than a simple accompanying instrument, but was employed to create effects and emotions for the audience. Hence I address the word ‘instrument’ in two different ways: the first is the aulos’ capability as a physical instrument; the second is the aulos capability as an emotional instrument. I shall begin with a description of the aulos . The word aulos is translated from Ancient Greek as a ‘pipe’. The instrument is, in essence, a cylinder-shaped pipe with finger-holes and a double-reed mouthpiece. 3 Therefore, the common perception of the aulos as a ‘flute’ is incorrect because the flute is not played by means of a reed. The aulos should instead be categorised as an ‘oboe’ because they both use a double-reed. The instrument was usually made of wood, ivory, bone or metal 4 and probably consisted of two sections of pipe fitted together. 5 There were usually five finger-holes, including one for the thumb on the underside of the instrument. 6 . As for the reed, this was inserted into a holmos (a smooth, round object), which was a more bulbous section of pipe. 7 The aulos -player, called an aulete , usually played two auloi at once, one in each hand. The aulete wore a phorbeia , a strap designed to ensure that the auloi remained in the mouth to ensure easier playing. 8 The aulos was an ideal instrument for accompanying the chorus. The instrument’s sound was particularly penetrating and projected well, which meant that the music would have carried easily to the audience. The aulos would also have had enough sound to balance well with a chorus of up to 50 members without being overpowering. 9 As tragedies were performed outdoors, it is likely that the aulos was the only instrument capable of projecting music throughout the theatre, as instruments such as the lyre and the panpipe would probably not have had as piercing a tone. Another advantage of the aulos was that it had potentially a much greater range of pitch than the chorus. 10 It was capable of playing in registers much higher than the capabilities of a male chorus. As a result, the aulos may have been used to create an effect of female voices singing as well, if desired. I shall now turn to the aulos as an emotional instrument. The aulos’ sound was connected with the ‘sound of lamentation’, 11 making the instrument suitable for a genre in which grief and mourning were a prominent feature. The aulos could also create sounds of nature or even mechanical objects. 12 The aulete could also switch between musical modes 13 due to the invention of adjustable metal sleeves 1 Wilson 2005 p. 183. 2 Wilson 2005 p. 183. 3 Artistic and literary evidence suggests that a double-reed was used as opposed to a single-reed. A discussion of this is provided in West 1992 pp. 83-4. 4 West 1992 p. 86. 7 Wilson 1999 p. 69. 8 Wilson 1999 p. 70 9 The trumpet existed in Ancient Greece, but its loud volume might have overpowered the chorus. 10 Tragic choruses were usually all-male. There were different types of auloi , categorised by the registers within which they sounded. See West 1992 pp. 89-91. 11 Wilson 2005 p. 185 12 Wilson 2005 p.185 (Plato Laws 669c-e; Aristotle Poetics 1461b). 13 I will summarize what modes are in the next paragraph. 5 Neuman 1995. 6 West 1992 p.86.
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