Re: [tuning] Re: Vikings and Music - was Scordatura - for Monz

Dear Monz

In relation to the interest in the ramifications of research into early Scandinavian music the
following might be of interest :-

A few months ago Radio Scotland, a source of many nuggets, had a documentary about one of those
intrepid adventurers who recreates and relives the journeys of various traders and explorers, you
know the sort. Bear in mind that I didn't take notes so I can't remember his name but the broad
outline of my information is correct. I had always associated the Vikings with migrations in a
westerly direction, ie, rape and pillage in Scotland and the odd foray into North America. This
gentleman maintained that the Vikings traded extensively down the great waterways of Russia and
the Ukraine and, via the Volga and Dnieper, into Asia Minor. His intention was to canoe the rivers
and carry the canoe between waterways to simulate the Vikings' trade journeys. It struck me when
you mentioned your interest in Scandinavian and North Germanic music that, spaeculatively, all
sorts of cultural as well as commercial trinkets would have changed hands over a sustained period
of trading. Who knows what music followed the Vikings back to Scandinavia?

Best Wishes.

--- In tuning@y..., Alison Monteith <alison.monteith3@w...> wrote:

/tuning/topicId_22148.html#22148

>
> Dear Monz
>
> In relation to the interest in the ramifications of research into
early Scandinavian music the following might be of interest :-
>
> A few months ago Radio Scotland, a source of many nuggets, had
> a documentary about one of those intrepid adventurers who
> recreates and relives the journeys of various traders and
> explorers, you know the sort. Bear in mind that I didn't take
> notes so I can't remember his name but the broad outline of my
> information is correct.

Thanks for this lead, Alison.

> ... I had always associated the Vikings
> with migrations in a westerly direction, ie, rape and pillage
> in Scotland and the odd foray into North America. This
> gentleman maintained that the Vikings traded extensively down
> the great waterways of Russia and the Ukraine and, via the
> Volga and Dnieper, into Asia Minor. His intention was to canoe
> the rivers and carry the canoe between waterways to simulate
> the Vikings' trade journeys.

Right, this is absolutely correct. "Russia" never existed as
a "state" when it was purely Slavic - the first Russian state
was founded by Vikings (with the capital at Novgorod, c. 900),
and so from the beginning was a mixture of the Slavic and
Germanic cultures.

> ... It struck me when you mentioned
> your interest in Scandinavian and North Germanic music that,
> spaeculatively, all sorts of cultural as well as commercial
> trinkets would have changed hands over a sustained period
> of trading. Who knows what music followed the Vikings back
> to Scandinavia?

In fact the Vikings are known to have sailed as far south
as Constantinople (which they called "Miklagard", modern-day
Istanbul, Turkey), as well as the north coast of Africa.

If they plundered Constantinople (which they most likely did,
but my historical knowledge is wanting here), they certainly
brought back unheard-of treasures, as Constantinople at that
time was pretty much the richest city in the world.

So perhaps the paradigm shift from 3-limit to 5-limit "3rds"
was really due to the influence of "Oriental" music? I had
speculated in my long post of 2 years ago that perhaps the
Vikings had even brought it back to Scandinavia from the
native North Americans.

-monz
http://www.monz.org
"All roads lead to n^0"