The image of song

Iberian funeral monument from Pozo Moro. Image

This Iberian funeral monument from Pozo Moro displays a peculiar image on its northern facade. Strictly speaking, it is not musical, but rather symbolizes sound itself. A hero is carrying a large tree, whose branches poke other much smaller figures. From between the jaws of a cat-like animal, a series of lines clearly emerge, similar to rays, which possibly were intended to graphically represent the sound of a roar. The scene, which was framed within another cat-like animal in a similar pose, highlights the difficulty throughout history of representing sound through symbols when no musical instruments were present. Hence, it was often impossible to clearly represent song in many historical periods, in spite of the fact that song was the form of musical expression par excellence practically until the Modern Era.