Monday, June 6, 2011

Hymn to Nikkal

For this Music Monday, we have the oldest song in the world. The Hurrian hymn to Nikkal (orchard goddess, wife of the moon god), circa 1400 B.C.E., Syria, is the oldest surviving (nearly) complete work of notated music in the world:


* This handout from San Jose State University shows a translation of the song and the Hurrian alphabet.
* A more technical description of the song, with various translations and links to versions of it.
* Did you know there's an International Study Group on Music Archaeology? Among other things, they offer links to artists who play ancient music.

Ancient music played on the lyre by Michael Levy:


1 comment:

Harry said...

Loved the lyre music...AND the great visuals that accompanied it.

What a wonderful surprise learning about the oldest song in the world.