Eleonora Rocconi and her contribution to the study of ancient Greek music need no introduction. As a co-founder of MOISA (International Society for the Study of Greek and Roman Music and its Cultural Heritage), she has devoted her career to the study of ancient Greek music and its reception.

This small book is a remarkable synthesis of the topics she has addressed in her work. It contains 117 pages of speech, followed by 30 pages of notes, 35 pages of bibliography, and a general index. The book opens with a few historical reminders, in particular the role of Cardinal Bessarion in the knowledge of Greek music. Two questions then emerge: what is the basis for the reception of Greek music and what is the main contribution of Greek music to Western musical culture? To answer these questions, the author presents a four-part work. First, she recalls the unbreakable link between the Muses and music, where the Muses represent all aspects of music. She then highlights the transition from music as tekhne (‘art’) to music as episteme (‘science’), as a part of the quadrivium. Recent musicological studies have focused on the performative aspects of ancient Greek music, which are essential for understanding the musicality of Greek poetry.

The author also addresses issues relating to music education in antiquity, which is well documented as having been practised for ethical purposes and to develop individual and civic virtues. Furthermore, studies on the link between music and medicine are booming, thanks to new neuroscientific approaches. Issues related to ancient Greek music are therefore being addressed through new prisms, no longer solely from a philological or historical perspective.

Thus, the rediscovery of ancient music is divided between inspirational essays and scientific studies of ancient concepts. Since the Renaissance, various composers have appropriated the ancient heritage, imitating, reinventing, and adapting it. This music continues to carry within it, particularly as a result of the theories that have analysed it, a fascination with the search for cosmic harmony and musical transcendence.

Neuroscience has provided a better understanding of the basis of certain aesthetic experiences. These fields of study make it possible to examine and better understand issues related not only to the central concept of mimesis (‘imitation’) but also to the search for beauty and its canons, as well as the expression of emotions provoked by music.

The last part of the book highlights a number of continuities in the issues raised by music: the quarrel between the Ancients and the Moderns is a very old theme, revealing that music goes far beyond the realm of artistic expression to become a civilisational issue. Just as there is morally appropriate music and decadent music, there is also music for educated people and music accessible to all, music imbued with otherness and music that reveals Greek identity. Music thus becomes a fully political object.

In conclusion, the author takes stock of the Western heritage linked to Greek music and shows that this field of study is not only at the crossroads of different research disciplines but also an ideal terrain for new scientific approaches.

One might object that this book gives pride of place to an essentially Western heritage, and not enough to a universal one, reducing its title to a single cultural area of heritage. This is certainly not the right way to read it: Greek music in its entirety, theory and practice, has fuelled Western thought without interruption since antiquity, particularly through Latin authors. Its conceptual heritage spread first and foremost throughout the European sphere of influence and, as far as we know, did not penetrate other intellectual or cultural spheres in the same way. The possibility of opening up additional fields of study to other musical legacies remains relevant and will certainly yield excellent results. This book encourages us to do so. It is a remarkable synthesis, both highly accessible and very precise, of the current state of research and what it still promises to deliver.

Finally, it clearly demonstrates that ancient Greek music is a multidisciplinary field of research, ranging from the history of textual transmission to musical reconstruction, via philosophy and the history of science. The bibliography provided in the index allows readers to explore in greater depth any of the themes covered in the book. The final section, devoted to current developments in musical reconstruction, provides a wealth of audiovisual resources that can be used in the classroom. Here, the author makes a highly specialised field of research accessible to a wide audience, particularly to teachers who wish to introduce their students to ancient Greek music and its legacy.