Famed composer and music educator Henry Cowell (1897-1965) presents an overview of the music of the Mediterranean region, which, he wrote, "has divulged more of the secrets of ancient music than any other region in the world." the range of styles comes from a long history of cultural exchange between Asia, Africa, and Europe, beginning in ancient Egypt and spreading through Greece, Rome, Byzantium, and eventually Western Europe. While singing styles vary dramatically from one region to the next, musical instruments are remarkably similar to their ancient counterparts; the fifes of France and Italy, for example, are almost identical to those found in Asia Minor over 7,000 years ago.