Music is elemental. Music soothes us, it lifts us up when we’re down, and takes us higher when we’re up. Music makes us want to dance and we use music to comfort old and young, especially infants who do not understand language. In fact, many researchers now believe that music came before or developed alongside language. It is the one performing art that is found in virtually every culture. The oldest “built” musical instrument discovered so far is a 60,000-year-old Neanderthal flute made from a cave bear femur. Likely “found” drums—hollow logs and such—are far older. 

I can’t listen to music when I write. Too distracting. But I always include music in my stories. In Judging Noa: a Fight for Women’s Rights in the Turmoil of the Exodus, Noa’s friends and women relatives gather in a tent before her wedding, drinking beer and singing songs. In the Late Renaissance mystery trilogy I’m writing, there’s music: from genteel instrumentals in a Venice ghetto salon to bawdy sailor songs along the docks.

I use music to put me in the mood of wherever or whenever I’m writing about. On a trip to Ashland, Oregon, for the Shakespeare Festival, I stopped at a shop and saw a CD at the sales counter titled 1453. I bought it without thinking because 1453 is the date Ottomans conquered Constantinople. Although I’m writing about Istanbul 200 years later, I knew it would put me in the mood. And if anyone wants to give me a hard time about calling the sixteenth-century city Istanbul, not Constantinople, I’ll direct you to an earworm of a song with clever graphics. 

Below is a variety of music from different centuries and many parts of the world, mostly folk music. I haven’t included western classical music because 1. it’s more formal, less folk, 2. this post would scroll on forever. If you have music from a favorite historical time or place, mention or link it in the Comments section below. Alert: YouTube videos often start with seconds-long ads, but sometimes you’re given the opportunity to click “Skip Ads.”

Taiko! It’s thought that drumming was the first music humans made. Japanese have played Taiko drums for more than 2,000 years. The Taiko Center says that drumming came to Japan from Asia, perhaps from as far west as India. The sound of this coordinated drumming, with its compelling rhythms, is hypnotic…in a good way. And the drummers’ moves are dance-like. I bet playing taiko drums is great for body-building.

 

Bharatanatyam, a form of Indian classical dance, has its origins in Tamil Nadu, southern India, dating to about the sixth century. The music and the dance tell religious and spiritual stories of Shiva and other Hindu deities, often in relation to people. This is the one entry where the dance is so entwined with the music that I could not help but include it. I love traditional Indian dance/music.

Gregorian Chant was named for Pope Gregory I (circa 590). Influenced by Jewish prayer chants, it developed as plainchant in western and central European origins during the ninth and tenth centuries. When Canto Gregoriano Católico-Benedictine Monks of Santo Domingo de Silos was released in 1994, it became an instant hit.

Chinese Classical Music from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Played on mostly classical instruments, this is no folk music, but was played in the Ming Dynasty royal courtyards. The music has antecedents in Taoist music and Taoism, which posits that humans—all life—should live in balance with the universe.

Child Ballads are English and Scottish ballads from the eighteenth, seventeenth, and earlier centuries collected and numbered by Francis James Child in the 1800s. Joan Baez and others who started the folk-song revival in America included Child ballads in their repertoire. Here: “Geordie” and a link to listen to “Willie’s Lady.” Child ballads tell stories: evocative, often poignant, sometimes downright disturbing.

 

Ladino Music, from the fifteenth century and beyond come to life at the hands and voices of the acclaimed musical group, Voice of the Turtle. Ladino, a mix of Spanish and Hebrew, was the language of Spanish (Sephardic) Jews who fled the Inquisition. They scattered across Europe and the Ottoman Empire, taking their musical stories: romantic, lively, plaintive. They inform the Late Renaissance stories I am writing about now.

Classical Ottoman Music. The Ottoman Empire lasted six centuries (fourteenth to early twentieth centuries) and encompassed lands all around the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea. Sultans ruled from Istanbul, Turkey, which bridges Europe and Asia, making it a multicultural commercial center. It knew many cultures. Perhaps some who passed through added to Turkey’s classical Ottoman music.

 

Venetian Lute Music. When the Renaissance was at its pinnacle, lutes were the royalty of European instruments. The earliest lutes date back to circa 2000 BCE in Mesopotamia. Eventually, they spread as far west as Spain. In the 1700s, however, lutes were superseded by keyboard instruments. The dulcet sound of this early sixteenth-century lute music puts me in mind of Shakespeare, who believed that the sound of the lute had the power to transport the listener. Yes! The word “lute” may derive from Arabic al-ʿoud, which means “the wood.”

Traditional Irish Music. Guitar is not a traditional Irish instrument, but this toe-tapping music is. Although its musical roots date back to the eighth century, collections of Irish music emerged in the eighteenth century. Celtic drums are so compelling that I gave my musical and drum-loving sister one for her birthday. I bought it in Appalachia, where I lived for a decade and where you can find such music.

 

Sea Shanties, since a few of us write about ships in the Age of Sail. Irish sailors did not populate the sailing ships of the world, but most of the sea-shanty collections I found are Irish tunes. Sea shanties, no matter the language, had catchy choruses and short verses, made for both hauling sails and, afterwards, for drinking. Here’s also “Santiana” sung in Italian. And a Viking sea shanty, translated into English but “based on a poem composed by Egil Skallagrimson, a warrior, adventurer, poet and farmer who lived in Iceland at the height of the Viking Period.”

 

Classical Music of Mali, which lies southwest of Algeria in sub-Saharan Africa, is influenced by the ancient Mali Empire of the Mandinka (circa 1230-1600). Africa has many musical traditions, but none more famous than the music of Mali. Their annual music festival drew musicians and music lovers from around the world—until the invasion of radical Islamists muted its cultural festivals…muted them but could not eliminate it. For more contemporary Mali folk music, based on tradition, try Putumayo Presents: Mali. Putumayo has an entire series of folk music, much of it from Africa and Latin America.     

 Roaring Twenties Vintage Jazz Music. Ladies: put on your cloche hat and your long string of fake pearls; men: your boater and your double-breasted suit. Get ready to slink onto the dance floor. It’s the Roaring Twenties! Scroll down the list of thirteen tracks and click ones such as “Sweet Alabama” and “All of Me.” If you need more, here’s another group of selections—played during that time—including “Love Me or Leave Me” and “Always.”

The Blues. Much like jazz, which came later, blues was born in Black communities of the South. The first publication of blues sheet music was in 1908, but the blues arose much earlier, from field songs, spirituals, and other music. It engendered all sorts of subgenres, such as Delta Blues and Chicago Blues. Why Chicago? As told in The Warmth of Other Suns, Blacks migrated from the racist horrors of the South to a hoped-for better life in Chicago. They brought blues music with them. Howlin’ Wolf was one of many. This collection includes him, Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson, Son House, and others. Look on the righthand sidebar for the list of songs.

 

Bluegrass Music. When my husband got a job as head of biochem at East Tennessee State University Medical School in Johnson City, Tennessee, the first thing I thought was: the epicenter of bluegrass! The Carter Family Fold was about 30 miles up the road. The Carters were the First Family of bluegrass, and you can still purchase tickets to visit there and hear great bluegrass music. If you’re a clogger, bring your clogging shoes. These songs include “Can the Circle Be Unbroken,” “Keep on the Sunnyside,” “Wildwood Flower,” and more. And, if you love banjos, here’s two of the best: Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn.

MORE If you want to sample other world music, here are a couple more links: One Hour of World Music – Music From Different Cultures: Zanzibar, Bavaria, Paris, Himalayan, Caribbean, Brazil, China… World Instrumental Music: Lakota, Egypt, African Savannah, India, Japan, Ireland, Russian Czar, Inca Empire…

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