Salpinx - the Greek trumpet
A man playing a Salpinx. Wallpainting found at the Delos
Museum.
Salpinx
The instrument
used by the Greek trumpeters was called salpinx.
Used at
the Olympic Games
The ancient Olympic Games in Greece included contests of trumpet
playing in 396 B.C. These contests were judged not by musicality
but by volume of sound.
Among
famous
trumpeters who participated in the games was a trumpeter named Archias 1),
who won three times and to whom a column of honor was erected for his
achievement. Another contestant was Herodorus of Megas, whose
playing was so loud that many in the audience were stunned by the
concussion. He was a giant man, slept on a bearskin, and when
playing two trumpets at one time forced the audience to move back due
to the force of his immense sound.
Mention of the Greek trumpet
In the Aeneid, Virgil makes numerous references to the trumpet, most
notably having to do with Aeneas' comrade, Misenus. The Greeks and
Trojans of whom Virgil speaks made probably use not only of the conch —
a sea shell with a cut opening as a mouthpiece, but also the brass
trumpet
("...With breathing brass to kindle
fierce alarms...") or salpinx. A number of sources mention this
metal instrument (with
a bone mouthpiece) and they appear in vase paintings and wall paintings.
A preserved examle
A salpinx
is preserved in the Museum of Fine Arts
in Boston.
Length: 155 cm
Bell
diameter: 7.8 cm
Bone with bronze
ferrules and bronzebell.
Mouthpiece of
bone with no defined cup, throat, or backbore.
Sources:
Comments:
1) Tarr call him Achias, but Nikos Xanthoulis (ITG
Journal)
correct this to Archias
Thanks to:
Olaf
Brattegaard for photo from Delos.
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