4500 year old music...
Posted: October 10th, 2007, 7:50 am
I had a thread about this in the past about a project to recreate a lyre using a base model from a discovery from Ur archaeology digs. the lyre was completed a while back:
http://www.lyre-of-ur.com/
after much research and study, here is a youchoob (hehheehheh) video of some music, a duet, from the double pipe and lyre:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=LvgtAHV4mzw
so, comments of "it's not music to me" and "it hurts my ears" might happen, but when I watched and listened to this, I cried. are the instruments accurate? probably very accurate to the originals. is the music accurate? maybe, maybe not, but I believe that it is a good "reflection".
so, to many (most?), artifacts of stone and metals, etc may be cold, dead and ugly, or perhaps pretty if you reflect your own understanding of beauty with "shiny". but otherwise only maybe interesting in the sense of historicity.
to me, it is much more. it is an indirect contact with a people. a people, long ago, and yet not much different than us today. families, parents, children, grandparents, grandchildren. adults sitting by the shared fire talking about the daily issues. perhaps religious discussions. maybe political discussions of justice, and power.
After a long day's work, and after having some bread and meat for an evening meal, satisfied and ready to enjoy each others company. children and kids being kids - playing in the dirt. some have board games and some have only their imagination. playing, laughing, crying and being who they are.
a poet writes with his wedge on a clay tablet, a poem reflecting his awe of the El's creation and His wondrous power and they cycle of life through the recent harvest. reflecting on "adam's" connection to "adama", the understanding that we are nothing with out the wisdom of El.
some wifes and perhaps their close friends/slaves gathered at the communal oven fires, grinding grains and preparing the sustenance for the next day and days. A single child cries out. he is hurt, he was playing with the others and stumbled on a rock.
with his knee bleeding a bit, the mother leaves the group of the preparing and asks the rest to forgiver her absence - they all understand and nod her away. She wipes the blood and with the edge of her garment dips in a clay pot with rainwater, then wipes the knee further.
the boy sobbing still, is held by his mother. she leans over and kisses his knee. he is released from the pain and there is no more crying. he cherishes her hugs and cuddles. then without saying anything, looks at her asking to return to play. she, still not saying anything nods and he is off, still dirty from head to toe, and only a clean spot on his knee.
when I see a ziggurat in Ur, in picture and video, i don't see only a stepped pyramid. I see Babylon. a united people desiring to reach heaven. they are sincere. the want to be with God. the building continues and the leadership becoming more fully corrupted as each day passes. their desires spreading to be equal with the divine, not ust to be with Him, but to be "with" him.
the workmen doing what they are told on this massive public project. some sun-dried brick, some baked. the baked brick not coming fast enough, so compromises must be made in the design and building plans. the volunteers and slaves being whipped to increase production to satisfy a leadership that knows no enemy.
then back to the families by the shared fire. the people, God's creation. just like us, and yet not like us; but only in our perception of time.
http://www.lyre-of-ur.com/
after much research and study, here is a youchoob (hehheehheh) video of some music, a duet, from the double pipe and lyre:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=LvgtAHV4mzw
so, comments of "it's not music to me" and "it hurts my ears" might happen, but when I watched and listened to this, I cried. are the instruments accurate? probably very accurate to the originals. is the music accurate? maybe, maybe not, but I believe that it is a good "reflection".
so, to many (most?), artifacts of stone and metals, etc may be cold, dead and ugly, or perhaps pretty if you reflect your own understanding of beauty with "shiny". but otherwise only maybe interesting in the sense of historicity.
to me, it is much more. it is an indirect contact with a people. a people, long ago, and yet not much different than us today. families, parents, children, grandparents, grandchildren. adults sitting by the shared fire talking about the daily issues. perhaps religious discussions. maybe political discussions of justice, and power.
After a long day's work, and after having some bread and meat for an evening meal, satisfied and ready to enjoy each others company. children and kids being kids - playing in the dirt. some have board games and some have only their imagination. playing, laughing, crying and being who they are.
a poet writes with his wedge on a clay tablet, a poem reflecting his awe of the El's creation and His wondrous power and they cycle of life through the recent harvest. reflecting on "adam's" connection to "adama", the understanding that we are nothing with out the wisdom of El.
some wifes and perhaps their close friends/slaves gathered at the communal oven fires, grinding grains and preparing the sustenance for the next day and days. A single child cries out. he is hurt, he was playing with the others and stumbled on a rock.
with his knee bleeding a bit, the mother leaves the group of the preparing and asks the rest to forgiver her absence - they all understand and nod her away. She wipes the blood and with the edge of her garment dips in a clay pot with rainwater, then wipes the knee further.
the boy sobbing still, is held by his mother. she leans over and kisses his knee. he is released from the pain and there is no more crying. he cherishes her hugs and cuddles. then without saying anything, looks at her asking to return to play. she, still not saying anything nods and he is off, still dirty from head to toe, and only a clean spot on his knee.
when I see a ziggurat in Ur, in picture and video, i don't see only a stepped pyramid. I see Babylon. a united people desiring to reach heaven. they are sincere. the want to be with God. the building continues and the leadership becoming more fully corrupted as each day passes. their desires spreading to be equal with the divine, not ust to be with Him, but to be "with" him.
the workmen doing what they are told on this massive public project. some sun-dried brick, some baked. the baked brick not coming fast enough, so compromises must be made in the design and building plans. the volunteers and slaves being whipped to increase production to satisfy a leadership that knows no enemy.
then back to the families by the shared fire. the people, God's creation. just like us, and yet not like us; but only in our perception of time.
I guess that this is otherwise one of those geek things (referring to me, not you 
I love it. Many times I am moved by a single note, or a disonance of notes, whereas another listener will be unimpressed.