A Hurrian Cult Song from Ancient Ugarit

The most ancient example of written song. A hymn to Nikkal, wife of the moon god. The text is written upon a fragmented tablet and, therefore, is incomplete. The hymn has four stanzas, each with a refrain. Stanzas 1 and 4 are imitation, and stanzas 2 and 3 are identical musically. The singer is accompanied by a lyra. The lyra harmony is predominantly in thirds and sixths, a few fourths, and one fifth.

There are startling similarities between the Babylonian principles of music theory and those used by ancient Greeks. Moreover, the Babylonian principles antedate the Greek ones by more than a millenium.

The Babylonians seem to have used music exclusively in connection with religious observances and festivals. The names of lyra/kithara strings and musical pitches were related to their cult deities and to the planets in a cosmology similar to Greek philosophers' "harmony of the spheres."

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Ugarit

[extremeeXrement1]

thousands of years before its time and still better than justian bieber

[Foxboy106]

arguments on the internet make me lol

[MGUnit100]

What are the chords?

[MGUnit100]

I remember listening to this on my I-pebble.

[topx11]

this song dates back 1400 bc  Pritty cool :P

[SJJGautham08]

the accent makes me LOL

[EchoesOfTheDeep]

@extremeeXrement1 : The funniest comment about justin bieber on you tube XD

[evacrist]

Any information on the recording used here? Who is the artist? What is the name of the album/cd/what-have-you?

[ARARNR]

the song about HAYK

[nicolecolvett]

I am astounded at the kinds of arguments people get into on the internet. Especially under a video of someone singing an ancient hymn to a goddess.

[somesortanaughty]

best lols i have had in ages as far as arguments and comments on yt is concerned ..i think i will keep collecting music to my ancient music playlist for a while now, getting two treats in one go..ancient rock and good laughs.

[Sarezh998]

@bioLogickk Look it up.

The joke is still on you.