A Musical Mash-Up of Phrynichus Tragicus and New Music in Aristophanes’ Birds

Abstract

I argue that in the ode and antode of Birds (737–52 and 769–84), Aristophanes presents a ‘mash-up’ of the early tragic songs of Phrynichus and the late fifth-century New Music. I analyze the comic presentation of both in Aristophanes and other comic poets to show that while they are contextually distinct, there is evidence of some musical congruity that renders them a fitting pair for combination in a mash-up. Regarding the ode and antode of Birds, I argue that despite the Phrynichean style of the songs, their meta-musical discourse shows a New Music poetics. I identify the New Musical aspect of the songs in the figure of the nightingale-aulete and the bird-noise refrains. Contextualizing the mash-up in the comic plot, I suggest that it constitutes a comic musical commentary on the play’s politics.