to add to E's notes on Greek drama

"For the Greeks the noblest purpose of music was to enhance drama. Dramatists were frequently the composers of the music for their words. This music took the form of recitative in some of the dialogue, accompanied note for note by aulos or kithara or both. In this economy of accompaniment the words were perfectly understood by the audience. There were also lyrical passages and, at critical dramatic points, floods of music, by chorus, actors, and instruments. Consequently the modern scholar reading ancient drama gains only a fraction of the total result. As one modern writer puts it, 'to the Greeks the words are but part of a complex art form that weaves poetry, music, acting, and the dance into a profound and moving unity'" (Harry Partch, Genesis of a Music p. 10, quoting Will Durant, The Life of Greece pp. 379-380).

It makes sense that Greek dramatists often wrote both words and music, given that Greek was (probably) a tonal language: every word choice was also a musical choice.

Partch describes the development of opera in Italy circa 1600 as a "re-establishment of the Greek ideals" and points out that at the same time, in Japan, Kabuki was developing as "a re-establishment of Noh's original ideals" (Genesis p. 13).