Deductions about the music of the ancient Celts of the La Tne period and their Gallo-Roman and Romano-British descendants of Late Antiquity rely primarily on Greek and Roman sources, as well as on archaeological finds and interpretations including the reconstruction of the Celts' ancient instruments. Most of the textual information centers on military conflicts and on maybe the most prominent Celtic instrument of its time, the carnyx.

The sound of the carnyx was described as lugubrious and harsh, perhaps due to the loosened tongue of the bell,[14] which shows that the instrument must have been a discrete enhancement of the Etruscan lituus, the sound of which was mostly described as bright and piercing.[15] The carnyx was held vertically so that the sound would travel from more than three meters above the ground. Reconstructions have shown that the instrument's embouchure must have been cut diagonally as an oval opening, so the carnyx could be played in a similar fashion as a modern-day trumpet, i.e. with vibrating lips, however blown from the side.[16] Due to the absence of valves and crooks, melodies were created by producing harmonics with overblowing techniques, as the reconstructional work by John Kenny has convincingly shown (see External links for a recording sample).[17] The fairly wide bell guaranteed a very high playing volume, and the instrument itself must have had a considerable dynamic range. The best surviving bell of a carnyx was found in North East Scotland as part of the so-called Deskford Carnyx and featured a movable tongue. In addition the bronze jaw of the animal head may have been loosened as well in order to produce a jarring sound that would surely have been most dreadful when combined with the sound of a few dozen more carnyces in battle.[18] The demoralizing effect of the Gallic battle music must have been enormous: When the Celts advanced on Delphi under Brennus in 279 BC, the unusual echoing effects of the blaring horns completely overawed the Greeks, before even a single fight could commence.[19]

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Since most ancient Roman sources are based on bellicose encounters with the Celtic chiefdoms, the carnyx is today mostly seen as an instrument used during warfare, as Polybius e.g. reports for the battle of Telemon, Gallia Cisalpina, in 225 BC, where the Gauls used the instrument together with other brass instruments to frighten the Roman enemy.[20] The limitation to acoustic or psychological warfare is however erroneous. Brass instruments were regularly used as a means of communication during battle, relaying orders for troop positioning, movement and tactics, also by the Gauls.[21] Other sources confirm that the Gauls kept their military order even in situations of military mishaps. The musicians of their army camps played their horns to ensure a cohesive and controlled retreat.[22] After the victory of Marius near Vercellae, his Roman rival Catulus Caesar reserved a Cimbrian signaling horn from the loot for himself.[23] Music, musicians and instruments were strategically important elements for the Roman and Celtic armies alike.

Apart from the Scottish Deskford Carnyx found in 1816 on the shores of Moray Firth in Aberdeenshire, fragments of only four other carnyces had been found (e.g. the Glanum Carnyx in the Bouches-du-Rhne region), until in 2004 archaeologists discovered a foundation deposit of five well preserved carnyces from the first or second century AD under a Gallo-Roman fanum at Tintignac (Corrze, France), four of which feature boar heads, while the fifth exemplar appears to have a serpent bell.[25] The fact that the carnyces were deposited on a holy site underlines the sacrificial importance of the instrument in Gallic culture.[26] The archaeologists responsible for the Tintignac excavation assume that the carnyces were offered to a deity identified with the Roman god Mars. There is still debate on the dating, because parts of other finds discovered in the deposit seem to be older than the first century, possibly dating to the first century BC, which means that some of the musical instruments may have been stored inside the sanctuary long before being buried.

The Celtic trumpet was similar to the straight Roman tuba and probably came in different lengths. A Celtic musician is depicted playing the instrument on a late Greek vase.[29] A related instrument could be the early mediaeval Loch Erne horn that was found in Ireland.

Not much is known about the ancient Celtic lyre, only that it was used by Celtic bards since the 8th century BC and that it was later well known in Rome, where it was called lyra.[41] Its resonator was made from wood, while only few components were made from bones. The instrument's strings were made from animal intestine. The Gauls and other Celtic peoples regarded the crwth[42] as a symbol of their independent musical culture,[43] although they had probably received it from the Ancient Greeks. The Goths invoked their tribal gods with prayers and chants, which they accompanied by lyre play.[44] By the time of the Barbarian Invasions in the 5th century AD the lyre had become the most important stringed instrument of the Germanic tribes[45] and was a six-stringed wooden lyre with hollow ledger arms and wooden vortices in the ledger rod. The original Celtic lyre however came with different numbers of strings, as the Lyre of Paule,[46] which is depicted on a statue from Ctes d'Armor in Brittany, apparently had seven strings.[47] The remains of a stringed instrument thought to be a lyre were found on the island of Skye in Scotland in 2012, dating from c. 300 BC.[48]

Since many Celts like the Gauls and Germans became part of the Roman army, they must have also used Roman instruments, especially during battle. However, only one source seems to have been passed down: At the time of emperor Claudius' inauguration, the troops stationed in Germania and Pannonia mutinied. When an unexpected lunar eclipse commenced, the insurgent Pannonians feared the wrath of the gods and ordered their musicians to play against their perdition aeris sono, tubarum cornuumque concentu, i.e. with their tubae and cornua.[49]

The Roman sources on Germanic chants are not based on ethnographical topica, but originate from actual experiences. The primary attributes of Germanic singing can be derived from the accounts on the Germanic tribes by Publius Cornelius Tacitus. As scant and recapitulatory Tacitus' observations might be, it is possible to deduce two discrete music genres: the war chant (barditus/barritus/baritus), and the heroic songs.

According to Tacitus, among other heroes and gods, the Germans especially worshipped Heracles as their god of war with their battle songs,[59] which may have inspired Hecataeus of Miletus to use the name tag_hash_124 (Keltoi) for the Celtic Hallstatt tribes of Western and South-Western Germany,[60] since Celtus was the son of Heracles and Keltine in Greek mythology.[61] The warriors "sung under their shields" and inferred the outcome of the battle from the character of the so-called barditus[62] and also accompanied their cries with the beating and rattling of their weapons and armour. The most important aspect was namely the intonation before the battle,[63] and the abrupt start of the barditi doesn't speak for music with words. The characterization as an acoustic crescendo rather points at noisy battle clamor than a normal song with lyrics.

The Germans fighting for Aulus Vitellius Germanicus went into battle singing, after they had been surround by Othonian enemy forces.[64] In his account of the Batavian rebellion led by Gaius Iulius Civilis the author Tacitus contrasts the hesitant attitude of the Roman soldiers with the sullen Batavian chants.[65] The writings of Ammianus specify that the descriptions of the raw, dull and thundering battle songs, which were also given by Tacitus, allude to the music of the Germans fighting on the Roman side.[66] The fact that he actually mentions "Romans" intoning Germanic songs clearly shows how extensively the Roman army had been enforced with Germanic troops.[67]

The Romans were acquainted with Germanic heroic songs, e.g. from the poetic and musical Nachleben of Arminius.[70] The Tacitus source can be seen as the first testimony of early Germanic heroic songs.[71] Festive singing is also attested for the night of the Roman advance in the Ems region in 15 AD.[72] In 26 AD the insurgent Thracians were surprised by the attack of the Roman consul and general Poppaeus Sabinus during a feast with dance and singing. The Sicambri, who fought for the Roman side, countered the situation with defiant songs of their own,[73] which could be evidence that the Celts knew improvisation as well as the ancient tradition of singing contests, which are e.g. reported by Virgil.[74] The Goths sang heroic songs to worship their ancestors,[75] and their tradition of tribal songs is well attested.[76] After the battle of Campus Mauriacus the Goths were heard singing dirges for their defeated king.[77]

This article incorporates material from the Citizendium article "Ancient Celtic music", which is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License but not under the GFDL.

What can we say about Celtic music? I love it! True it is that what we hear today is not the same as what they played in the early Middle Ages. Modern musicians have borrowed, reshaped, and made the ancient music their own. The instruments today present a wider range of sounds and options. But I think we can still get a flavor for what they must have listened to in ancient times.

Mark is the author of The Bonfires of Beltane, a novel of Christian historical fiction set in ancient, Celtic Ireland at the time of St. Patrick. To learn more about his book, follow the link above. 0852c4b9a8

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