Our acquaintance with the Assyrian instruments has been derived almost entirely from the famous bas-reliefs which have been excavated from the mounds of Nimroud, Khorsabad, and Kouyunjik, situated near the river Tigris in the vicinity of the town of Mosul in Asiatic Turkey.

The Assyrian harp was about four feet high, and appears of larger size than it actually was on account of the ornamental appendages which were affixed to the lower part of its frame. It must have been but light in weight, since we find it not unfrequently represented in the hands of persons who are playing upon it while they are dancing. Like all the Oriental harps, modern as well as ancient, it was not provided with a front pillar. The upper portion of the frame contained the sound-holes, somewhat in the shape of an hour-glass. Below them were the screws, or tuning-pegs, arranged in regular order. The strings were perhaps made of silk, like those which the Burmese use at the present time on their harps; or they may have been of catgut, which was used by the ancient Egyptians.

The largest assemblage of Assyrian musicians which has been discovered on any monument consists of eleven performers upon instruments, besides a chorus of singers. The first musician—probably the leader of the band, as he marches alone at the head of the procession—is playing upon a harp. Behind him are two men; one with a dulcimer and the other with a double-pipe: then follow two men with harps. Next come six female musicians, four of whom are playing upon harps, while one is blowing a double-pipe and another is beating a small hand-drum covered only at the top. Close behind the instrumental performers are the singers, consisting of a chorus of females and children. They are clapping their hands in time with the music, and some of the musicians are dancing to the measure. One of the female singers is holding her hand to her throat in the same manner as the women in Syria, Arabia, and Persia are in the habit of doing at the present day when producing, on festive occasions, those peculiarly shrill sounds of rejoicing which have been repeatedly noticed by travellers.

The dulcimer is in too imperfect a state on the bas-relief to familiarize us with its construction. The slab representing the procession in which it occurs has been injured; the defect which extended over a portion of the dulcimer has been repaired, and it cannot be said that in repairing it much musical knowledge has been evinced.

The instrument of the Trigonon species was held horizontally, and was twanged with a rather long plectrum slightly bent at the end at which it was held by the performer. It is of frequent occurrence on the bas-reliefs. A number of them appear to have been generally played together. At any rate, we find almost invariably on the monuments two together, evidently implying “more than one,” “a number.” The left hand of the performer seems to have been occupied in checking the vibration of the strings when its discontinuance was required. From the position of the strings the performer could not have struck them as those of the dulcimer are struck. If he did not twang them, he may have drawn the plectrum across them. Indeed, for twanging, a short plectrum would have been more practical, considering that the strings are placed horizontally one above the other at regular distances. It is therefore by no means improbable that we have here a rude prototype of the violin bow.

The Lyre occurs in three different forms, and is held horizontally in playing, or at least nearly so. Its front bar was generally either oblique or slightly curved. The strings were tied round the bar so as to allow of their being pushed upwards or downwards. In the former case the tension of the strings increases, and the notes become therefore higher; on the other hand, if the strings are pushed lower down the pitch of the notes must become deeper. The lyre was played with a small plectrum as well as with the fingers.

The Assyrian trumpet was very similar to the Egyptian. Furthermore, we meet with three kinds of drums, of which one is especially noteworthy on account of its odd shape, somewhat resembling a sugar-loaf; with the tambourine; with two kinds of cymbals; and with bells, of which a considerable number have been found in the mound of Nimroud. These bells, which have greatly withstood the devastation of time, are but small in size, the largest of them being only 3¼ inches in height and 2½ inches in diameter. Most of them have a hole at the top, in which probably the clapper was fastened. They are made of copper mixed with 14 per cent. of tin.

Instrumental music was used by the Assyrians and Babylonians in their religious observances. This is obvious from the sculptures, and is to some extent confirmed by the mode of worship paid by command of king Nebuchadnezzar to the golden image: “Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages, that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up.” The kings appear to have maintained at their courts musical bands, whose office it was to perform secular music at certain times of the day or on fixed occasions. Of king Darius we are told that, when he had cast Daniel into the den of lions, he “went to his palace, and passed the night fasting, neither were instruments of musick brought before him;” from which we may conclude that his band was in the habit of playing before him in the evening. A similar custom prevailed also at the court of Jerusalem, at least in the time of David and Solomon; both of whom appear to have had their royal private bands, besides a large number of singers and instrumental performers of sacred music who were engaged in the Temple.

The Hebrews.

As regards the musical instruments of the Hebrews, we are from biblical records acquainted with the names of many of them; but representations to be trusted are still wanting, and it is chiefly from an examination of the ancient Egyptian and Assyrian instruments that we can conjecture almost to a certainty their construction and capabilities. From various indications, which it would be too circumstantial here to point out, we believe the Hebrews to have possessed the following instruments:

The Harp. There cannot be a doubt that the Hebrews possessed the harp, seeing that it was a common instrument among the Egyptians and Assyrians. But it is uncertain which of the Hebrew names of the stringed instruments occurring in the Bible really designates the harp.

The Dulcimer. Some writers on Hebrew music consider the nebel to have been a kind of dulcimer; others conjecture the same of the psanterin mentioned in the book of Daniel,—a name which appears to be synonymous with the psalterion of the Greeks, and from which also the present oriental dulcimer, santir, may have been derived. Some of the instruments mentioned in the book of Daniel may have been synonymous with some which occur in other parts of the Bible under Hebrew names; the names given in Daniel being ChaldÆan. The asor was a ten-stringed instrument played with a plectrum, and is supposed to have borne some resemblance to the nebel.

The Lyre. This instrument is represented on some Hebrew coins generally ascribed to Judas MaccabÆus, who lived in the second century before the Christian era. There are several of them in the British museum; some are of silver, and the others of copper. On three of them are lyres with three strings, another has one with five, and another one with six strings. The two sides of the frame appear to have been made of the horns of animals, or they may have been of wood formed in imitation of two horns which originally were used. Lyres thus constructed are still found in Abyssinia. The Hebrew square-shaped lyre of the time of Simon MaccabÆus is probably identical with the psalterion. The kinnor, the favourite instrument of king David, was most likely a lyre if not a small triangular harp. The lyre was evidently an universally known and favoured instrument among ancient eastern nations. Being more simple in construction than most other stringed instruments it undoubtedly preceded them in antiquity. The kinnor is mentioned in the Bible as the oldest stringed instrument, and as the invention of Jubal. Even if the name of one particular stringed instrument is here used for stringed instruments in general, which may possibly be the case, it is only reasonable to suppose that the oldest and most universally known stringed instrument would be mentioned as a representative of the whole class rather than any other. Besides, the kinnor was a light and easily portable instrument; king David, according to the Rabbinic records, used to suspend it during the night over his pillow. All its uses mentioned in the Bible are especially applicable to the lyre. And the resemblance of the word kinnor to kithara, kissar, and similar names known to denote the lyre, also tends to confirm the supposition that it refers to this instrument. It is, however, not likely that the instruments of the Hebrews—indeed their music altogether—should have remained entirely unchanged during a period of many centuries. Some modifications were likely to occur even from accidental causes; such, for instance, as the influence of neighbouring nations when the Hebrews came into closer contact with them. Thus may be explained why the accounts of the Hebrew instruments given by Josephus, who lived in the first century of the Christian era, are not in exact accordance with those in the Bible. The lyres at the time of Simon MaccabÆus may probably be different from those which were in use about a thousand years earlier, or at the time of David and Solomon when the art of music with the Hebrews was at its zenith.

There appears to be a probability that a Hebrew lyre of the time of Joseph (about 1700 B.C.) is represented on an ancient Egyptian painting discovered in a tomb at Beni Hassan,—which is the name of certain grottoes on the eastern bank of the Nile. Sir Gardner Wilkinson, in his “Manners and Customs of the Ancient Egyptians,” observes: “If, when we become better acquainted with the interpretation of hieroglyphics, the ‘Strangers’ at Beni Hassan should prove to be the arrival of Jacob’s family in Egypt, we may examine the Jewish lyre drawn by an Egyptian artist. That this event took place about the period when the inmate of the tomb lived is highly probable—at least, if I am correct in considering Osirtasen I. to be the Pharaoh the patron of Joseph; and it remains for us to decide whether the disagreement in the number of persons here introduced—thirty-seven being written over them in hieroglyphics—is a sufficient objection to their identity. It will not be foreign to the present subject to introduce those figures which are curious, if only considered as illustrative of ancient customs at that early period, and which will be looked upon with unbounded interest should they ever be found to refer to the Jews. The first figure is an Egyptian scribe, who presents an account of their arrival to a person seated, the owner of the tomb, and one of the principal officers of the reigning Pharaoh. The next, also an Egyptian, ushers them into his presence; and two advance bringing presents, the wild goat or ibex and the gazelle, the productions of their country. Four men, carrying bows and clubs, follow, leading an ass on which two children are placed in panniers, accompanied by a boy and four women; and, last of all, another ass laden, and two men—one holding a bow and club, the other a lyre, which he plays with a plectrum. All the men have beards, contrary to the custom of the Egyptians, but very general in the East at that period, and noticed as a peculiarity of foreign uncivilized nations throughout their sculptures. The men have sandals, the women a sort of boot reaching to the ankle—both which were worn by many Asiatic people. The lyre is rude, and differs in form from those generally used in Egypt.” In the engraving the lyre-player, another man, and some strange animals from this group, are represented.

The Tamboura. Minnim, machalath, and nebel are usually supposed to be the names of instruments of the lute or guitar kind. Minnim, however, appears more likely to imply stringed instruments in general than any particular instrument.

The Single Pipe. Chalil and nekeb were the names of the Hebrew pipes or flutes.

The Double Pipe. Probably the mishrokitha mentioned in Daniel. The mishrokitha is represented in the drawings of our histories of music as a small organ, consisting of seven pipes placed in a box with a mouthpiece for blowing. But the shape of the pipes and of the box as well as the row of keys for the fingers exhibited in the representation of the mishrokitha have too much of the European type not to suggest that they are probably a product of the imagination. Respecting the illustrations of Hebrew instruments which usually accompany historical treatises on music and commentaries on the Bible, it ought to be borne in mind that most of them are merely the offspring of conjectures founded on some obscure hints in the Bible, or vague accounts by the Rabbins.

The Syrinx or Pandean Pipe. Probably the ugab, which in the English authorized version of the Bible is rendered “organ.”

The Bagpipe. The word sumphonia, which occurs in the book of Daniel, is, by Forkel and others, supposed to denote a bagpipe. It is remarkable that at the present day the bagpipe is called by the Italian peasantry Zampogna. Another Hebrew instrument, the magrepha, generally described as an organ, was more likely only a kind of bagpipe. The magrepha is not mentioned in the Bible but is described in the Talmud. In tract Erachin it is recorded to have been a powerful organ which stood in the temple at Jerusalem, and consisted of a case or wind-chest, with ten holes, containing ten pipes. Each pipe was capable of emitting ten different sounds, by means of finger-holes or some similar contrivance: thus one hundred different sounds could be produced on this instrument. Further, the magrepha is said to have been provided with two pairs of bellows and with ten keys, by means of which it was played with the fingers. Its tone was, according to the Rabbinic accounts, so loud that it could be heard at an incredibly long distance from the temple. Authorities so widely differ that we must leave it uncertain whether the much-lauded magrepha was a bagpipe, an organ, or a kettle-drum. Of the real nature of the Hebrew bagpipe perhaps some idea may be formed from a syrinx with bellows, which has been found represented on one of the ancient terra-cottas excavated in Tarsus, Asia-minor, some years since, and here engraved. These remains are believed to be about 2000 years old, judging from the figures upon them, and from some coins struck about 200 years B.C. having been found embedded with them. We have therefore before us, probably, the oldest representation of a bagpipe hitherto discovered.