istoryworld
Events relating to music
Neanderthals carve a flute from the leg bone of a young bear, in the region that is now Slovenia
The harp and the lyre are in use as musical instruments in Mesopotamia
Some ninety royal servants, including soldiers, grooms and female musicians, are buried alive in the tomb of a royal couple at Ur
A copper trumpet is in use in Egypt, forerunner of the brass instruments of the orchestra
The followers of Pythagoras discover the mathematical basis of the octave
Ritual intoning of the psalms, derived from Jewish synagogues, is formalized in Christian worship as Gregorian chant
Polyphony brings new complexity of interweaving vocal lines, in the choral singing of abbey or cathedral
Philippe de Vitry, in his Ars Nova ('New Art'), lays out the basis of musical notation
The keyboard of the organ is adapted in Germany to strings, thus providing the harpsichord - first mentioned in a manuscript of this year
Guilds of singers and song-writers develop in German towns, calling themselves Meistersinger, or master singers
The new pope, Sixtus IV, secures his name in history, establishing the Sistine chapel and the Sistine choir
Dafne is performed in Florence, becoming the first example of a new art form - opera
A performance in the Oratory in Rome, with music by Emilio de' Cavalieri, is in effect the first oratorio
Claudio Monteverdi presents Orfeo, the first opera to win a lasting place in the international repertory
The first public opera house, the Teatro San Cassiano, opens in Venice
Louis XIV establishes a royal dancing academy and soon follows it with a music academy
19-year-old Alessandro Scarlatti has a great success in Rome with Gli Equivoci nel Sembiante, the first of his 115 operas
Domenico Scarlatti gets his first teacher
In his opera La Caduta de' Decemviri, Alessandro Scarlatti introduces a new form of prelude, later known as the Italian overture, which is an important stage in the development of the symphony
A maker of harpsichords in Florence, Bartolomeo Cristofori, develops the piano ('soft') and forte ('loud') feature which leads to the piano
In a friendly keyboard contest in Rome between Handel and Domenico Scarlatti, the result is a draw – Handel being the winner on the organ and Scarlatti on the harpsichord
Handel's success in London with his opera Rinaldo prompts him to settle in Britain
The violinist Archangelo Corelli composes his Christmas Concerto, the best known of his influential group of twelve Concerti Grossi
