Musical Instrumental Culture in the System of Musical Ethos

The ancient concept of music as a phenomenon beyond the scope of art with the function of the organizer of cosmic spheres’ harmony, capable of connecting and balancing opposite principles in the “unity of much”, allowed ancient Greek thinkers to relate musical means and possibilities with the character of an integral human personality. The concept of "ethos" (ethos) in ancient Greek language means character, temper, custom. The parameters of scientific research are relevant in the light of identifying the "purity" of the artistic functions of modern academic instrumentalism. The article is devoted to the study of the essential ideological and aesthetic modes and the material possibilities of musical instrumentalism in the aspect of musical ethos. The methodology of the study includes the use of historical-cultural, logic-semantic, aesthetic, historical-logical, synthesis methods. The scientific novelty of the work is to expand the ideas about the development of academic instrumentalism, which is distinguished purely by the exclusiveness of artistic laws and techniques from the standpoint of the musical ethos. It is argued that the academic musical-instrumental culture actually developed in the framework of the musical and Christian ethos, finding melos, a space of harmony, form-building logic, polyphonic comprehensiveness of content. Being specially “created”, artificially (and skillfully) “made”, materialized instruments, musical instruments accumulate in their materiality, as well as “send” new intangible values to the address of their creators and listeners. The origins of musical instrumentalism in church and folk vocal and instrumental music are analyzed.