Music of the Crystal Empire · 4:12pm Mar 3rd, 2014
General:
Secular music included a rich tradition of instrumental court music and dance. In addition to official pieces such as the wordy Crystal-Imperial anthem, sung in a deliberately-archaic dialect, there were many compositions ranging from formal dirges to merry dances. Many were designed to be accompanied by singers singly or in chorus, the latter a tradition older than the Empire itself. Some of the tunes were highly-evolved and ritualized versions of melodies popular during the First Age of Wonders itself.
By the time of the Late Empire, composition had become a highly-formal art and innovation was discouraged. The composer’s art was seen as the increasing elaboration of existing styles. In the last century of the Empire, an Equestrian influence re-invigorated Crystal-Imperial music, though such stylings were seen as “abandoned” and “barbaric” by pure traditionalists. Ironically, the Empire's return at the start of the Second Age of Wonders was a major influence on the music of the 1st century of the Second Age of Wonders, thus returning the favor -- though musical purists did not see it in such a fashion.
Brass
Horns: Various kinds, mostly made of metal, ranging from hoof-trumpets all the way up to the elaborate Imperial Flugelhorns. Mostly played by Pegasi and Earth Ponies, both as a military instrument and for large public festivals. Two specific kinds deserve separate entries.
Imperial Flugelhorn: This is a complex brass instrument with multiple bells. The one we see Pinkie Pie play in "Crystal Empire" is actually one of the simpler varieties, as it has only two bells. Imperial Flugelhorns of three and four bells were common: ones with five even more bells were not unknown. Usable by all Kinds, though Unicorns played them best, and Earth Ponies were usually the only ones who could develop much volume with one possessing more than two bells. Pinkie brought a two-belled Flugelhorn back to Ponyville and became excellent on the instrument, but then the Pink Daughter of Paradise was an exception to many rules.
Legionary Bugle: A simple and rugged brass instrument meant for military signaling, it was often employed in march tunes. Playable by all Kinds, a requirement for its standardization. It was very loud.
Percussion
Cymbals: Usually employed as part of a semi-portable drum set.
Drums: Various kinds, both leather and metal. Primarily an Earth Pony instrument. Used both for accompaniment and to regulate military marching.
Tambor: A tamborine-like percussion instrument with the strikers being specially-grown crystals upon a leathern surface. Held in one hoof and either shaken or struck with the other hoof to generate several possible forms of accompaniment. Playable by all three Kinds, but especially favored by Earth Ponies. Highly portable, but deemed too frivolous for military purposes. Common at festivals of all sorts.
Strings
Harp: A large stringed instrument, primarily for Unicorns, though some talented Earth Ponies and Pegasi could play modified versions.
Mikro-Lura: A small lyre, manipulated directly by aura, played by Unicorns. Popular and a good instrument for showing off one’s personal versality. The Equestrian variant of this is the one that Lyra Heartstrings plays, the design is Crystal-Imperial, the orginal can be found in the Books of Megan.
Megas-Lura: A stringed and bowed lyre, played by Unicorns. Rather more professional in employment than was the mikro-lura. All Equestrian bowed instruments, including Octavia's double bass, are descended from the megas-lura.
Unique
Armonikon: A sort of organ made by arranging crystals with different resonance frequencies in order of pitches. Subtleties to tone could be generated by differences in the growth and arrangements of the crystals. Playable by all three Kinds, but especially Pegasi and Unicorns. Directly based on an instrument of the First Age of Wonders. Cumbersome and hence mostly for indoor performances.
Wind
Small-Pipes: An arrangement of several small pipes in harmonic sequence. Played by all three Kinds, with slightly different stop-arrangements for each one. These were called the “Hoof-Pipes,” “Wind-Pipes” or “Horn-Pipes” and had subtly different tonal characteristics. All three Kinds normally held them in hoof to play, though Unicorns sometimes showed off by playing them purely by horn-magic.
Pneumo-Organ: A kind of non-automatic pneumatic organ, played by Pegasi. An ancient device first employed in Derecho, but greatly modified with inspiration from the First Age of Wonders. Could be huge as in their church-organs, powered by a whole team of Peagsi, or small enough to be carried and operated by a single Pegasus. Due to the inherent cumbersomeness of such a device, almost always used for indoor music.
Sack-Pipes: Bone and leather wind instrument originally developed by Pegasi, though playable with modifications by the other two Kinds. Traditional to the Pegasus Tribe, and almost always a military instrument.
Comments
As the Three Tribes received much of their civilization from the Crystal Empire, the music of the Crystal Empire was immensely-influential on the music of early Equestria, an influence cemented by the many musicians who came to Equestria as refugees under the reigns of the tyrants Sthenarkos and Sombros. These stylings were overlain and forgotten in the ensuing millennia. When the Crystal Empire returned, in Year 2 of the Second Age of Wonders (remember that YOH 1500 and SAW 0 are the same year), music was no exception to the immense cultural explosion resulting from Equestrian access to the forgotten lore of the Imperial Library. This, and the increasing re-development of electronic music instruments and amplifiers in the 1st century SAW, made this a very musically-interesting period. As for the Crystal City, the new generation conceived after the overthrow of Sombros naturally-took to modern Equestrian music, and played a key role in the fusion of the two musical styles.
