In Greco-Roman antiquity, monodía (from mónos, “alone,” “solitary,” and odḗ, “song”) originally meant a “solo song” or a monologue, and was mostly known from Greek tragedy and comedy. Plato mentions monody in connection with sung performances of epic to lyre, kithara, and aulos (double flute) accompaniment. He distinguishes it from choral singing and discusses how an instrumental accompaniment could benefit monody but too many instruments could dro…