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what the syrinx was, its 'pulling' or 'bending' down or up would refer to the operation of its closing mechanism, and the apparent connection with the bending down of the reed, as mentioned by Theophrastus (above, p. 84), would be illusory. |
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The relation of the two pipes |
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It was, as we have said, the almost invariable ancient practice to play auloi in pairs. What was the point of this, and what was the relation between the two pipes? |
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Paired pipes are still widely used in the Balkans and across the Islamic countries from Egypt to the Far East, though they are almost always fixed together side by side so that the fingers can cover holes in both pipes at once, something never seen with Greek auloi. 'Frequently one of the two pipes has fewer holes than the other, to provide for all kinds of accompaniment from a plain drone to ingenious harmonic and rhythmic counterpoints.'89 In Antiquity too there may have been variety. We should not take it for granted that one single form of relationship between the pipes persisted unchanged through centuries in the course of which the aulos itself evolved considerably and skilled players were ever striving to impress the public with new feats of virtuosity. |
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In Archaic and Classical art the two pipes are constantly shown as equal in length.90 Moreover, the player's hands are regularly at equal distances along each pipe, generally between half-way and three-quarters of the way down, and the fingers of each hand are doing identical things.91 On a fifth-century vase where the holes on the two pipes are clearly represented, no difference in their number or spacing can be made out.92 All this suggests that both pipes played in the same register and (to a large extent, at least) the same melody. |
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The fragment of vocal score that we have for Euripides' Orestes contains a certain number of instrumental notes referring to the aulos accompaniment. They mostly occur singly, suggesting that |
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89 A. C. Baines in A. Baines (ed.), Musical Instruments Through the Ages (Harmondsworth, 1961), 224. |
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90 An oinochoe by the Nicosthenes Painter, Paris, Cabinet des Médailles 258 (Paquette, 41 A10, c.520 BC) forms an apparent exception, with the left-hand pipe seemingly about 15% longer than the right-hand. But possibly it is meant to be a pipe of equal length held at a lower angle. |
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91 See e.g. Paquette, 21 pl. IIb (all holes covered), 45 A21 (all uncovered), A22 (middle and fourth fingers down, index and little fingers up), 53 A38 (little fingers under the pipes). |
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92 London E 53 (Paquette, 45 A19). |
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