In Pennsylvania, researchers have made a rare discovery: they have found what are thought to be some of the earliest written notes in Western musical history.
The manuscript dates back to the 9th century and, according to experts, had remained "hidden in plain sight" for years, being kept in the hands of a private collector, The Guardian reports.
In the document, musical notes appear above the word "hallelujah," part of a Catholic liturgical sheet used during mass in Western Europe around the late 800s. The notes include characters and dots similar to short abbreviations that, according to researchers, represent instructions for raising and lowering the pitch, a visual aid for singers of the time.
While earlier forms of written music exist, such as the "Hymn to Nikkal," carved on clay tablets dating from 1400–1200 BC, these liturgical notes are considered among the first to mark the birth of modern Western music, researchers say.
Historian and collector Nathan Raab, president of the Raab Collection, who discovered the manuscript during his appraisal, said the notes had previously been misunderstood or overlooked. He spent months researching the document's origins and historical significance.
"This is remarkably early evidence of our modern use of musical notation and reminds us that such discoveries sometimes remain hidden, even when they are in plain sight," Raab said.
The document, thought to have been created in Germany during the second half of the 9th century, contains texts dedicated to Easter services. Raab estimates that the manuscript, with a market value of about $80,000, may be even older than other known documents in private collections.
The earliest examples of preserved music notation include the Laon Gradual manuscript in France and the Cantatorium of St. Gall in Switzerland, both dating to the late 9th or early 10th century. However, according to Raab, the document discovered in Pennsylvania may be the earliest and one of the oldest evidences of written music in the West.
"While music has been a constant of human culture, its written form has not always been present. This sheet stands among the earliest evidence for Western music notation, along with the Laon Gradual and the St Gall Cantatorium," Raab added.
The discovery has been hailed as an important event for the history of music, opening up new opportunities for studying the evolution of musical notation and understanding liturgical practices in the Middle Ages. /GazetaExpress/
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