tibia (reedpipe)
{{Infobox instrument
| name = Tibia
| image = Man playing tibiae, detail from Choregos actors MAN Napoli Inv9986, cropped.jpg
| image_size = 200px
| alt =
| caption = Man playing tibiae, detail from Choregos actors MAN Napoli Inv9986.
| background = woodwind
| names =
| classification = woodwind
| hornbostel_sachs = Reed aerophones: 422.111.2 and 422.121.2
| hornbostel_sachs_desc = Double reed instruments – There are two lamellae which beat against one another, single oboes with fingerholes and double oboes with fingerholes.
| inventors =
| developed = Roman Tibia likely developed from or were closely related to Greek aulos and also related to other reedpipe instruments from antiquity.
| timbre =
| volume =
| attack =
| decay =
| range =
| pitch =
| related =
| musicians =
| builders =
| articles =
}}
Tibia or tibiae (Latin, singular and plural) were musical instruments of ancient Rome equivalent to Greek aulos (αὐλός).{{cite book |first=Sibyl |last=Marcuse |title=A Survey of Musical Instruments |publisher=Harper & Row |place=New York |date=1975 |entry= Tibia |page=521 |quote= Tibia (Lat.: shinbone), 1 Lat. equivalent of aulos, literally: pipe; 2. bone flute; 3 in late med. times a reed instr. in general, a shawm in particular...}} In Roman culture, the word stood for reedpipes and possibly duct flutes and trumpets.{{cite dictionary |title= The illustrated companion to the Latin dictionary, and Greek lexicon : forming a glossary of all the words representing visible objects connected with the arts, manufactures, and everyday life of the Greeks and Romans |last= Rich |first= Anthony |entry= Tibia |date= 1849 |publisher= Longman |place= London |pages= 662–664 |url= https://archive.org/details/illustratedcompa00richuoft/page/662/mode/1up |quote= [note: characteristics of instruments such as being sounded by reed, trumpet mouthpiece or fipple are implied by both description and picture in the dictionary.]}} The word is similar to the English word pipes, in that — while it describes instruments that are blown through at the musician's mouth and have fingerholes to choose notes — the word lumps together different instruments which today would be put into different classes. Pipes in English can mean either reedpipes or duct flutes.{{cite book |first=Sibyl |last=Marcuse |title=A Survey of Musical Instruments |publisher=Harper & Row |place=New York |date=1975 |entry= Pipes|page=412|quote= Pipes are sounded by a whistle head, reed or mouthpiece... }} Similarly, single-reed clarinets, double-reed shawms, duct flutes and lip sounded trumpets are all possibly described by the word tibia.
Tibia were used for religious ceremony in ancient Rome.
The family of single and double-reed tipped instruments includes the aulos, arghul, balaban, bülban, cifte, dili tuiduk, diplica, dozaleh, duduk, launeddas, mey, pilili, pku, sipsi, triple pipes and zummara, as well as modern reed instruments such as bassoons, clarinets, oboes and shawms.
Construction
Tibia were constructed of materials which were naturally hollow tubes or could be hollowed out, including "reed, cane, box-wood, horn, metal, and the tibia or shin-bone of some birds and animals."
The name is related to the word for bones of birds and animals, and possibly came from use of these in musical instruments. This practice is still in used in the Middle East and Central Asia in the Ghoshmeh.{{cite news |title= (Translation: Linguistic analysis of the word "Ghoshmeh" - Dr. Hassan Satayesh) |author= Səid Baykal |publisher = AznewsTV |date = 1999 |url= https://www.aznews.tv/%D9%88%D8%A7%DA%A9%D8%A7%D9%88%D9%8A-%D8%B2%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%B4%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%AE%D8%AA%D9%8A-%D9%88%D8%A7%DA%98%D9%87-%D9%82%D9%88%D8%B4%D9%85%D9%87-%D8%AF%DA%A9%D8%AA%D8%B1-%D8%AD%D8%B3/ |quote= Regarding the name of Ghoshmeh in the book of North Khorasan music by Houshang Javid, it is stated: This instrument is made of reed, wood, pen of Derna or falcon and the best type of it is made of "Ghosh" wing bone and for this reason "Ghosh Reed" It has been named, which over time has evolved into a colloquial and slang word "Qushmeh" and "Qushmeh" (p. 121)... But the word Ghoshmeh is specially made from the Turkic culture of North Khorasan. "Qawsh" / qoʃ / Ibn Mazareh from the source Qoshmagh / qoʃmaɣ / means to pair and join together, and Qushmah is grammatically placed in the category of nouns of the passive noun type; It means "paired and connected" which has been chosen as the name for the musical instrument in question in this region.}}
Tibiae and aulos were played with double reeds, kept in a separate box.
''Tibia curva'', reedpipe
File:Tibia 6.1 - Anthony Rich, Illustrated Companion to the Latin Dictionary, and Greek Lexicon, p. 663.jpg|Tibia curva (ἔλυμος). Boxwood body with curved section "like a horn" attached to the end. "Phrygian pipe. Used in ceremonies of Cybele.
File:Jeduthun, playing a musical instrument with King David, from the Vivian Bible, Paris, Bibliothèque nationale, Latin 1, folio 215v.jpg|845 A.D., Carolingian Empire. Tibia curva.
File:Rilievo con corteo funebre, 20 ac-20 dc ca., da amiternum, 06 musici.jpg|Roman soldiers with cornus and a tiba curva.
File:Tibia 6.2 - Anthony Rich, Illustrated Companion to the Latin Dictionary, and Greek Lexicon, p. 663.jpg|The tibia curva sometimes was illustrated with a "double branch". Possibly an instrument like the zamar, two double pipes bound together.
File:Zammar.jpg|Zamar, used in parts of Morocco and Algeria
File:Maenad with tibia.jpg|Circa 220 A.D, Cologne, Germany (former Roman Empire). Image of a maenad playing a tibia curva as part of a pair of tibia. Dionysosmosaik "Römisch-Germanisches Museum", Cologne, Germany.
File:Tibia curva, from Lares and Genius, fragment, Pompeii, Archaeological Park, House of Cipius Pamphilus Felix (VII. 6. 38)., Fourth style, 69—79 CE, Inv. No 8905.jpg|69-79 A.D., Pompeii. Tibia curva, from House of Cipius Pamphilus Felix (VII. 6. 38). Inv. No 8905
''Tibia pares'', double reedpipe
File:Danseurs et musiciens, tombe des léopards.jpg|475 B.C., Italian peninsula, Etruscans. Among those who became part of the Roman Empire were the Etruscans, who had their own double reedpipes. Same style as the Greek aulos.
File:Tibia 7.1 - Anthony Rich, Illustrated Companion to the Latin Dictionary, and Greek Lexicon, p. 663.jpg|Tibiae pares (ζεύγη). "A pair of pipes, of equal length and bore, both of which produced the same tone, viz. both base or both treble."{{cite book |first=Sibyl |last=Marcuse |title=A Survey of Musical Instruments |publisher=Harper & Row |place=New York |date=1975 |entry= Tibia pares|page=522 |quote= syn. of tibiae serranae}}{{cite book |first=Sibyl |last=Marcuse |title=A Survey of Musical Instruments |publisher=Harper & Row |place=New York |date=1975 |entry= Tibia serranae|page=522|quote= divergent double pipes of ancient Rome, of equal length and with identical fingerholes}} These were held, one in each hand and played together by that musician. Had a double reed bundle, inserted into the pipe's end.{{cite book |first=Sibyl |last=Marcuse |title=A Survey of Musical Instruments |publisher=Harper & Row |place=New York |date=1975 |entry= Aulos |page= 26 |quote= }}
File:Palestra grande di pompei, affreschi di Moregine, primo triclinio , IV stile, epoca neroniana, le muse 05 euterpe.jpg|Middle of the 1st century A.D., Pompeii. Euterpe with tibiae. The reeds are visible in one of the instruments.
File:Tibia MET DP314168.jpg|circa 1-500 A.D., Syria. Tibia of silver and ivory. A single pipe of a tibiae pares pair. Side view.
File:Tibia MET DP302569.jpg|circa 1-500 A.D., Syria. Tibia of silver and ivory. A single pipe of a tibiae pares pair. End view, where the 2-reed bundle was insterted.
File:Raphael - Attributed to - Female Figure with a Tibia, and Ornamental Studies (recto), 88.GA.90.jpg|Tibiae pares in the hands of a female musician.
File:Tibia, ca. 290–300 AD., Tuscany, from the Sarcophagus Apollo Marsyas Louvre Ma2347.jpg|Circa 290–300 AD., Tuscany. Tibia in the style of the metal tibiae, from the Sarcophagus Apollo Marsyas Louvre Ma2347
File:Roman sacrifice Louvre Ma992.jpg|Tibia pares, pipes of equal length. These are short, giving higher (treble) pitch.
File:Pompeii - Villa del Cicerone - Street Musicians Detail 2 - MAN.jpg|Street musician, Pompeii. Apparent reed or wood-bodied instrument.
File:Tambourine aulos players Louvre CA6819.jpg|2nd-3rd century A.D., Roman Syria. Tibia and tambourine players
File:Terracotta figurine of a musician playing a tibia, Nea Paphos, Cyprus-DSC09994.jpg|58 B.D. - 395 A.D., Cyprus
File:Wall painting - concert - Herculaneum (ins or II - palaestra) - Napoli MAN 9021.jpg|Actress singing, actor playing tibiae, girl playing cithara. Antique fresco in Herculaneum. Tibia appears to be wood or reed-bodied, without raised fingerholes of metal tibiae.
File:Detail of the Vichten mosaic depicting the mythological and literary theme of the nine Muses, Euterpe Muse of music and lyric poetry, c. 240 AD, National Museum of History and Art, Luxembourg.jpg|Circa 240 A.D. Euterpe playing tibiae.
''Tibia impares'', double reedpipe
File:Tibia 8.1 - Anthony Rich, Illustrated Companion to the Latin Dictionary, and Greek Lexicon, p. 663.jpg|Tibiae impares were two pipes of different lengths, the longer Tibia dextra creating bass notes, the shorter Tibia sinistra producing treble notes.{{cite book |first=Sibyl |last=Marcuse |title=A Survey of Musical Instruments |publisher=Harper & Row |place=New York |date=1975 |entry= Tibia impares|page= 522 |quote= the left pipe is longer than the right and terminates in an upturned bell of horn}}
File:Tibia 9.1 - Anthony Rich, Illustrated Companion to the Latin Dictionary, and Greek Lexicon, p. 663.jpg|Tibia dextra (αὐλός ἀνδρήϊος), the bass pipe held in the player's right hand, "made from the upper part of the reed or cane." Tibia sinistra (αὐλός γυναικειος), the treble pipe held in the player's left hand, "made of the lower part of the reed or cane near the roots," produced sharp or treble notes (acuto tinnitu).
File:Lyon 5e - Musée Lugdunum - Exposition SPECTACULAIRE - Reconstruction d'une tibia.jpg|Recreation of tibia pipes of slightly different lengths.
File:Coffin floorboard depicting Isis being served wine by the deceased, Egypt, Roman Period, 30 BC - AD 324 - Royal Ontario Museum - DSC09735.JPG|30 B.C. - 324 A.D. (Roman period in Egypt). Reedpipes of unequal length. Tibicen performing for Isis in funerary art from Roman Egypt (Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto).
File:Tibia, from the Mosaic of the Female Musicians, Mariamin.jpg|4th century A.D., Mariamin, Syria (part of Byzantine Empire). Tibia, from the Mosaic of the Female Musicians, Mariamin
''Tibia obliqua, tibia vasca'', reedpipe
File:Tibia obliqua, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Object Number 89.4.1797.jpg|100 BC–200 AD?, Rome. Tibia obliqua. Double reed, bone body, 1 foot 2 inches long, Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1889, object Number: 89.4.1797
File:Tibia 4.1 - Anthony Rich, Illustrated Companion to the Latin Dictionary, and Greek Lexicon, p. 662.jpg|Tibia vasca. Like the tibia obliqua but shorter, body made from reed or cane, mouthpiece perpendicular to body at the end, reed mouthpiece shaped to modulate tones.
''Monaulos''
File:Tibia 1.1 - Anthony Rich, Illustrated Companion to the Latin Dictionary, and Greek Lexicon, p. 662.jpg|Monaulos (μοναυλος) single aulos.{{cite book |first=Sibyl |last=Marcuse |title=A Survey of Musical Instruments |publisher=Harper & Row |place=New York |date=1975 |entry= Monaulos |page=342 |quote= single pipe fingered with both hands...Surviving specimens have 2 groups of four fingerholes separated by one thumbhole, the other [thumbhole] being below the top fingerhole.}} Played in Ptolemaic Egypt. Possibly this was a duct flute, "something like the modern flageolet."
File:Bas relief from Arch of Marcus Aurelius showing sacrifice.jpg|Tibia player in scene of Bas relief from Arch of Marcus Aurelius showing sacrifice
Other tibia
File:Tibia 5.1 - Anthony Rich, Illustrated Companion to the Latin Dictionary, and Greek Lexicon, p. 663.jpg|Tibia longa. Illustrated with an apparent trumpet mouthpiece (which would make it a tuba), that could also be the holder for a double-reed bundle. Instruments could be as long as the musicians. "Employed in religious ceremonies, in the temples, and at the sacrifice, to emit a loud and solemn strain during libations."
File:Tibia 2.1 - Anthony Rich, Illustrated Companion to the Latin Dictionary, and Greek Lexicon, p. 662.jpg|Tibia gingrina (γίγγρας) or gingras, simple reed pipe (single reed), shrill note like a fife, used in Phoenicia and Egypt. Egyptian tomb discoveries are 9 to 18 inches in length.
Classes of tibia-playing musicians
File:Tibicen 1.1 - Anthony Rich, Illustrated Companion to the Latin Dictionary, and Greek Lexicon, p. 664.jpg|Tibi'cen (αὐλητης), tibia pipers, formed professional corporation, played at festivals and religious "solemnities." The musician wears a capistrum (also called phorbeiá and peristomion), a band that covered the musician's mouth and cheeks; the band supported the musician's cheeks as he breathed through the nose (pushing air through his cheeks, even as he breathed in).
File:Tibicina 1.1 - Anthony Rich, Illustrated Companion to the Latin Dictionary, and Greek Lexicon, p. 665.jpg|Tibi'cina (αὐλητρίς), female pipers, hired for "dinner parties and festive entertainments."
File:Mosaic depicting female Tibi'cina (tibia player) from House of Dionysus in Volubilis Morocco, modified for color 3.jpg|3rd century A.D. Mosaic depicting Tibi'cina or maenad from the House of Dionysus in Volubilis Morocco, part of the Roman Empire.
File:Rilievo con corteo funebre, 20 ac-20 dc ca., da amiternum, 07 portantina.jpg|Late 1st century B.C. - early 1st century A.D., Amiternum, Tibicens playing in procession.
References
- {{cite dictionary |editor=William Smith, D.C.L., LL.D. |title=A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities |first= James |last= Yates, M.A., F.R.S.
|pages= 1130‑1131 |publisher= John Murray |place= London |date= 1875 |entry= TI′BIA (αὐλός) |url= https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/SMIGRA*/Tibia.html}}
{{reflist}}
{{Double reed}}
Category:Ancient Roman musical instruments