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Synaulia (Walter Maioli)

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Synaulia (Walter Maioli) · Walter Maioli, born in 1950 in Milan, is an Italian researcher, multi-instrumentalist and composer. He devoted himself to experimental archaeology and to the music of ancient civilisations. In the early 1970s he travelled around the Mediterranean and got to know Arabic, African, Eastern and European music there. In 1972 he founded Aktuala, a pioneer of world music with folkloric music from Africa and Asia. In the 1980s he shifted his attention to prehistoric instruments, and from 1994 he coordinated for a year and a half the music of the archaeological theme park Archeon in Alphen aan den Rijn.

Music and breakthrough

In 1995 he founded Synaulia, a group of musicians, archaeologists, instrument specialists and choreographers. They try to reconstruct ancient Etruscan and Roman music and dance, using copies of instruments from that time. They performed in the Netherlands and Germany and at archaeological sites in Italy, such as Ostia Antica, Villa Adriana and Pompeii. Maioli also provided the reconstructed instruments for the 1998 film A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Influence

The music of Synaulia is heard in films and television series. Two tracks were used in Gladiator. The group also worked for Rome by the BBC and HBO and for documentaries by, among others, the BBC and National Geographic. It remains reconstruction: nobody knows exactly how Roman music sounded, but Synaulia lets you hear how it may have sounded.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to Pompei by Synaulia. Notice which instruments you hear, such as strings, wind instruments and percussion, and how different they sound from a modern pop band.
Categories: ArtistsRoman music