The scripture is filled with references to music. One of the most powerful is the refusal of the Israelite exiles to sing for their Babylonian captors in Psalm 137. We are left wondering what that music would have sounded like. It is hard to reconstruct ancient Israelite, or Babylonian music since we don’t have the melodies.
Thankfully Stef Conner and the Lyre Ensemble, have recently released a new album called the Flood which seeks to resurrect ancient Babylonian music as far as they are able. Stef Conner sings ancient lyrics in ancient Sumerian and Babylonian, including significant potions of the Gilgamesh Epic.
From the project’s webpage:
Based on Mesopotamian texts from as early as the 4th millennium BC and composed for voice and the Lyre of Ur (a reconstructed 4500-year-old instrument excavated in the early 20th century from the Royal Graves at Ur), the album is the first ever CD of new music sung entirely in Sumerian and Babylonian. The incredible texts have inspired some of the strangest, rawest and most gripping, otherworldly songs you will ever hear, as well as some fun, amusing and often downright bizarre little excursions into the ancient Mesopotamian world, which reveal that in many ways, people in that remotest of times were actually a lot like us!
I have included some of the music below. It’s haunting, beautiful, and a rare treat. Stef Conner is on vocals, and Andy Lowings is on lyre. The album is produced by Mark Harmer. I suggest you pick up a copy. It’s one of the most interesting musical projects I have run into all year. It would have made a great Christmas gift, but the full album won’t be out until January. Find out more at Stef Conner’s webpage.
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