Vrouw speelt op harp versierd met een zwaan.
Zuid-Italië, ca. 340 v. Chr.
Replica van lier met armen, juk en stemknoppen en plectrum.
Mythen ,mensen en Muziek
10 december 1999 t/m 12 maart 2000
Allard Pierson Museum
Oude turfmarkt 127
Amsterdam
Museum Het Valkhof
Kelfkensbos 59
Nijmegen
1 april t/m 18 juni 2000
It might not be rock 'n roll and Plato might have frowned a little, but things are certainly humming at Amsterdam's archaeological museum. The latest exhibition, Myth, Legend and Music, highlights the essential role of music in the daily lives of ancient Rome and Greece.
t Roman banquets and funerals, religious ceremonies, either at work or in heavy combat, everywhere was music , mostly connected with dancing and singing. Music at that time was also indissolubly interwoven with mythology. Well-known, for instance, is the story of the excellent and enchanted music of Orpheus and his ill-fated marriage to the lovely nymph Eurydice. Or, equally famous, are the myths of the god Hermes who 'invented' the lyre and the shepherd's god, Pan, who discovered the pan-flute. Legends that have been passed to us through generations: from Homer to Walt-Disney. But what did the Pan-flute really look like? What kind of piercing and ear-splitting sounds do string or wood instruments make? What Greek or Roman god played the oboe, trumpet or harp? And how has ancient music inspired others?
For the first time in many years through co-operation of two archaeological museums and extensive research, one can certainly explore the answer to these questions at the Allard Pierson Museum and later this year at the Museum Valkhof in Nijmegen. More than 120 objects are on show ranging from the richly detailed red-figured pottery pieces of Apollo playing the lute to battlefield instruments such as the trumpet and the tuba. Examples of different gods and musicians playing the magic notes of string instruments such as the lyre and the harp can be found throughout the exhibition. Objects relating to music such as coins and figurines are also on display. A highlight of the exhibition certainly includes a beautiful decorated mosaic of Terpsichore, the muse of Dance, playing a kithar. The mosaic was borrowed especially for the exhibition and dates from 230-240 BC.
For those interested in what sounds the players and their instruments produced, there are also small headphones where you can get an impression of the sound of each brass and string instrument. An easy accessible musiological interpretation is given at the end of the exhibition, for those interested in finding their way in the ABC of musical notes.
Apollo speelt op een kithara. In zijn rechterhand houdt hij het plectrum.
Athene, ca. 440-430 v. Chr.
In an age where most museums are accused of being too elitist, 'boring and stuffy old places', high electronics play an important part in exhibition design to change that image. It seems like some museum's long-term goals are geared nowadays only towards the educational mission often to satisfy current policy makers. In the midst of hosting popular sleepover parties and the plans to upgrade museum’s displays, the two other museum's functions of research and preservation are often forgotten or ratther are becoming underfunded. At present it is education and attracting school groups that set the museum’s agenda. But without the other two crucial ingredients of museums (research and preservation), the museum would not be 'fun' and challenging for those groups, but would soon turn into our history's graveyard. Our nation's attic for dress-up parties.
The Allard Pierson and the Museum Valkhof certainly shed new light on the emerging access debate in the Netherlands. With this particular exhibition, the staff has shown policy makers how important it is to support long term research for making successful and accessible displays for all. Towards the museum community, it tries to demonstrate how we can find a balance between education, research, and preservation and maintain a environment-friendly museum for all without losing touch with the museum’s actual mission. A tune that might just be as successful as Orpheus' lyre in today's highly competitive leisure market and hopefully may kindle a different stance in the museum world.
Michèle Jacobs
