The following sources discuss Egyptian cheironomy, and include several
images depicting cheironomes:
"A Short Prehistory of Western Music (rough version 1): Chapter 3:
Riverine Civilisations", by Philip Tagg, Institute of Popular Music
The Black Book
http://www.theblackbook.net/acad/tagg/xpdfs/origins3.pdf [section on
Egypt at pages 3-7]
"Album Index for Album 0015: Music of Ancient Egypt" [images from
"Music and Musicians in Ancient Egypt (1991)" by Lise Manniche]
Johanan Rakkav's Home Page: John Wheeler's Photo Galleries
http://rakkav.tripod.com/galleries/0015/aindex.htm
"The Culture of Medieval Music Calligraphy: Ancient Egyptian
Cheironomy", by Louis W. G. Barton
The Neume Notation Project
http://scribe.fas.harvard.edu/medieval/history.htm#cheironomy
These sources indicate that Hans Hickmann was the leading proponent of
a set of rules for cheironomy. Several of Hickmann's works are cited
in Tagg's chapter (see the Bibliography at pages 39-40). You can view
some images derived from Hickmann's work in the Wheeler photo gallery.
According to Tagg (at page 5): "Some researchers have used the visual
connection between different cheironomes and particular fingering or
hand positions on different instruments to interpret the cheironomes
of Ancient Egypt in the following way. With the cheironomer seated on
the ground, thumb against index finger, elbow on knee and forearm at
45° meant 'tonic' or 'drone note'; the same hand sign with the forearm
at 90° meant the octave above; an open palm meant the melodic
'dominant' or main recitation tone and so on. On the rhythm side, an
open palm brought down on to the thigh has been interpreted as
denoting an accentuated beat or a long note, while other beats or note
values are thought to be signalled by bringing together the thumb and
each of the four fingers of the hand (Uddling 1976:318)."
An illustration of the hand and finger gestures and their musical
meaning is provided in this image from the photo gallery:
"Photo 4 of Album: Music of Ancient Egypt"
Johanan Rakkav's Home Page: John Wheeler's Photo Galleries
http://rakkav.tripod.com/galleries/0015/h0004.htm
I have assumed that you are interested in ancient Egyptian
cheironomes. However, if you are also interested in the cheironomy of
ancient Israel, here are two pages (again from John Wheeler) that
elaborate on the work of Suzanne Haik-Vantoura. Incidentally, the
first of these pages also discusses the cheironomy of ancient Egypt.
"'The Hands of David'" (updated October 2, 2002)
King David's Harp, Inc.
http://www.kingdavidsharp.com/pages/handsofdavid.htm
"The Biblical Chironomy" (updated October 2, 2002)
King David's Harp, Inc.
http://www.kingdavidsharp.com/pages/chironomy.htm
- justaskscott-ga
Search terms used on Google:
cheironome
chironome
cheironomy
chironomy |
Request for Answer Clarification by
dis-ga
on
19 Oct 2002 19:56 PDT
The word cheironomy (cheiro-nome ) is probably Greek. Does the meaning
of the word refers to the -nome of the hand, as movement,rule, measure
or standard? Why then there is no reference to any Greek sources or
pictures on cheironomy? The Greeks divised the word and therefore they
used it in their music.The second part of the word -Nome shall
therefor mean rules in music. I think I know it but I need the
referense which must be somewhere......
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Clarification of Answer by
justaskscott-ga
on
20 Oct 2002 11:28 PDT
I am unable to complete my research on your follow-up question at the
moment; I'm on the road today, and only have access to a slow Internet
connection. I think the answer is that the ancient Greeks did not
devise this word, at least with respect to musical hand gestures;
rather, someone at a later date borrowed the root and suffix and
introduced the term into English or French. If I remember correctly,
there is a footnote in the Tagg document that refers to the meaning of
this term, though I don't recall whether it answers your question.
I'll investigate further when I get back to a faster computer (either
tomorrow or Tuesday, I hope).
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Clarification of Answer by
justaskscott-ga
on
21 Oct 2002 20:14 PDT
The footnote I was thinking of is footnote 11 on page 5 of Tagg's
paper. The footnote explains:
"Cheironome derives from the Ancient Greek word kheironomia
(ceironomia), meaning 'measured motion of the hands, gesticulation'.
Kheironomia in its turn derives from the two words kheir (ceir)
meaning 'hand' and nomos (nomoV) meaning 'law, rule, order,
instruction' etc.) (Liddell & Scott: Greek-English Lexicon, London,
1871)."
So "kheironomia" -- spelled "cheironomia" on other web pages -- was an
ancient Greek word. However, a search for "cheironomia" on Google
shows that cheironomia related to dance and dramatic performance, not
music, in ancient Greece. (Specifically, the gestures symbolized
"certain actions or morals that were included in the dance.")
Search on Google for: cheironomia
://www.google.com/search?q=cheironomia&num=20&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&filter=0
"Theatre History 321: Greece: Lecture Four", by Professor Lloyd
Caldwell (Summer Semester 2002) [Section V(H)(1), about two-thirds
down the page]
The University of Mississippi
http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/OCEsite/Blkbrdfiles01/TheaHist321GreekLectFour.htm
Thus, it seems that the word "cheironome" was derived from the ancient
Greek word, but was applied to a different context.
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