Just curious to know, what with the sudden rise of interest in publishing Rome based sourcebooks, and full RPGs set in Roman times, I was interested to see if anyone had any musical suggestions for the time period.
 
Movie soundtracks, interspersed with period-sounding music all welcome.

Quote from: Lawbag;453384Just curious to know, what with the sudden rise of interest in publishing Rome based sourcebooks, and full RPGs set in Roman times, I was interested to see if anyone had any musical suggestions for the time period.
 
Movie soundtracks, interspersed with period-sounding music all welcome.

I occasionally listened to a number of things when writing BRP Rome...

Spartcus Soundtrack
Ben Hur Soundtrack
Rome TV series Soundtrack

and

Synaulia - Music from ancient Rome

They put me in the mood. Even though the 50's & 60's soundtracks were less than authentic, the dramatic music still evoked childhood memories of watching classic Roman movies.

Does the Gladiator soundtrack do it too, or did it suck? I don't remember off the bat, but have my doubts now that I think of it. Thinking of the way Commodus was portrayed gives me shivers...

Gladiator is a given soundtrack.

A lot of the music in TV series/films is based on the assumption that that is what WE think the music from the era should sound like, rather than what it actually does sound like.

Something like this.

Back in the '90s, before Borders cut back on its CD selection, I was able to pick up stuff like that any time I wanted.  I have a ton of ancient music, a lot of it is quite beautiful.

Music by the band Dead Can Dance might be something you want to check out. Particularly their albums Aion and The Serpent's Egg.

I like the idea of mixing modern interpretations with classical Roman music, and both Dead Can Dead / Lisa Gerrard works well.

They made soundtracks for the Total War games.

Check out the soundtracks for Rome: Total War.  Awesome and epic.

As there are no direct sources of Roman music we will never know what "actual Roman music" sounded like. The best we can get is educated reconstructive interpretations as can be heared on some of the sources mentioned.

Quote from: Blackhand;453420They made soundtracks for the Total War games.

Check out the soundtracks for Rome: Total War.  Awesome and epic.

It sure doesn't sound bad, but it's nigh indistinguishable from OSTs for fantasy CRPGs. - Case in point: this sounds like a lesser version of this. Not to mention the Latin pronounciation in this song makes me cringe.

Just to repeat: it's not bad music, it just doesn't strike me as (for want of a better word) immersive. So while we're at genre-defying music, I'd also recommend having a go at this.

Quote from: Benoist;453401Does the Gladiator soundtrack do it too, or did it suck? I don't remember off the bat, but have my doubts now that I think of it. Thinking of the way Commodus was portrayed gives me shivers...

It's usual Hans Zimmer fare, who did much, much better in his later years (Dark Knight, Inception - which are absolutely awesome). That said, the last song on that soundtrack is beautiful.

And oh, who cares about Commodus - I was impressed they made a bare two lines towards the end of Aurelius' Meditations into an ok-ish protagonist (Maximus).

Aren't the Romans were fond of pan pipes and flutes?

Drums were used on Galleys, probably in the regular army as well.

Trumpets and horns were used and appear in military, parade and band illustrations.

The Romans used Organs, powered by bellows.

The Kithara, a stringed instrument was the most common musical instrument.

For vocals opera style singing was the norm, and Roman Choral music was renowned in the Mediterranean.

... and they used Harps, of course. Carryover from ancient times.

Quote from: Windjammer;453543And oh, who cares about Commodus - I was impressed they made a bare two lines towards the end of Aurelius' Meditations into an ok-ish protagonist (Maximus).

When Gladiator came out, I had just finished writing a college paper on the meditations. Was really cool to find out there was a new sword and sandals film with Aurelius in it.

Quote from: BedrockBrendan;453548When Gladiator came out, I had just finished writing a college paper on the meditations. Was really cool to find out there was a new sword and sandals film with Aurelius in it.

Actually, the most impressive reference was the scene in which Commodus strangles Aurelius, and we get prolonged shots at a bust of Socrates. Those shots, and the dialogue which precede them - in which Aurelius and Commodus contrast (what they take to be) their representative virtues, climaxing in Aurelius hugging Commodus with the words 'Your failure as a son are my failures as a father' - is a subtle reference to Plato's dialogue Meno (sections 94a and following), in which Socrates queries why fathers fail to pass on their virtues to their sons, naming the (obvious) example of Pericles and his two sons. That reference is impossible to get if you aren't already quite familiar with Plato's works. But if you are, that's a real treat, right there.

Damn, just accidentally deleted a post full of links. Basically, look up Euripedes' Orestes and the Song of Seikilos. Also some drama students did the Parodos from Agamemnon in a reconstructed Attic accent which gets across the chanting rhythm of the piece.