ABSTRACT
One of the most distinctive characteristics of ancient Greek music theory was the idea that musical intervals could be expressed in mathematical ratios. Modern western musical traditions, for example, are composed almost entirely in two contrasting modes, major and minor. Al-Kindi was much more of a philosopher than a musician, and his view that the Byzantine modes were the source of all other modes may derive from his study of Greek writings on music theory. The musical modes were understood to be manifestations of the mathematical structure of music and the cosmos, and thus quite logically were thought to resonate with and affect the emotions of human listeners. Al-Farabi is a particularly rich source since he was one of the few theorists who also dealt with the practical details of musical performance. Finally, secular musical traditions in the medieval Mediterranean also shared a number of characteristics in terms of performance practices, beginning with the primacy of the human voice.
