Le anomalie della voce e i difetti dello stile cantato nella cultura musicale della Grecia antica

This study investigates the flaws of the singing voice in ancient Greek culture, focusing on the technical and aesthetic criteria that defined vocal performance in both choral contexts and solo recitals, with particular attention for the latter to the domain of singing in kitharoidia and tragedy. Central to this inquiry is the interplay between acoustic perception, technical mastery and cultural-stylistic dimension, illustrating how the evolution of a musical vocabulary mirrored the violation of fundamental principles and the codification of aesthetic standards in singing. The lexicon used to describe the singing faults – specific adjectivization and verbal forms – draws from diverse contexts, shaped by processes of semantic reuse, transformation, and metaphorical extension. Drawing on performative failures as recorded in literary sources, the research explores how particular anomalies – such as misintonation, timbral weakness, poor vocal modulation and rhythmic incoherence – were perceived as deviations from musical order that could reveal a broader inadequacy in musical awareness and expressive competence. Through a synthesis of theoretical discourse and practical critique, a conceptual framework emerges that condemns performance flaws and, by inversion, implicitly affirms the virtues of the ideal singing.