Lament For GILGAMESH, The Gold Lyre Of Ur

This video is a performance of a Sumerian incantation and lament upon the death of the hero, GILGAMESH. For those who are interested, the translation and transliteration of the Sumerian cuneiform tablets can be found online at the University of Oxford website - The Electronic Text Corpus Of Sumerian Literature.

“The Gold Lyre of Ur” was unearthed by archaeologist, Sir Leonard Woolley, in the 1920’s during his excavations in the Sumerian city of Ur, in modern day Iraq. Unfortunately, as you can see from the photo at the top of the video, there was little left of the lyre because the Sumerians simply put it into the ground 5000 years ago and covered it over with tons of earth. In the intervening millennia, everything that was degradable turned to dust, and only the imprint of the instrument was left, along with the stone mosaic decorations, the four vignettes made of shell, and the gold.

Thanks to very careful measurements and photos taken by Woolley, museum curators have been able to reconstruct the fragile bits and pieces, and the instrument is now on display in Baghdad. What you see in this video is my own replica, made from cedar like the original. Needless to say, I used brass sheeting instead of gold, but it is unlikely that the ornamentation would change the basic sound of the instrument.

A lyre of this size, whose lowest note is the same as the lowest ‘C’ on a piano keyboard, would probably have been used as a drone instrument, and would not have been used to play melodies like a harp or a smaller lyre. The bench-shaped bridges used on these instruments, suggest that they probably “buzzed” like the modern Indian tamboura, or the Ethiopian “begena” lyre. The buzzing sound made possible by the wide flat bridge, greatly increases the volume output of the string, as well as the decay time of the vibration.

The large “balag” drum you see on my left in the video, is four feet (120 cm) in diameter, and was a common percussion instrument in Sumer, although there are none that have survived the ages. These drums were an integral part of ceremonies to summon the souls in the “Netherworld” because, as you can hear, they make enough noise “to wake the dead”! The belief in an afterlife was an integral part of Sumerian culture, and I highly recommend Dr. Irving Finkel’s wonderful book on the subject, THE FIRST GHOSTS.

The video of my full performance was too long, so I have edited it down to about 8 minutes (still too long IMO). Much of this sort of incantation was repetition, but I suspect the ancient Sumerians had a greater tolerance for long, drawn-out rituals than most of us do today. I chopped several minutes out of the middle.

We have the Sumerian cuneiform texts, as well as some of the musical instruments, but we do not have the melodies because the Sumerians didn’t write them down. I believe that the parts that were sung were probably largely improvised, just as they are today in the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent. Ancient Sumerian teachers did not write down their music because they taught mainly by memory and by ear.

From the standpoint of a singer, I have performed these texts in a loud, declarative style. The Sumerians did not have amplification, and singers had to be heard by large crowds at temple gatherings, or sometimes outside.

[pjssjr]

Making art on top of a 5000 year old poem with reconstructed 5000 year old instruments is very touching. It’s the essence of humanity.

[encendercolores]

I can't believe that lyre makes that sound, I only heard it in electronic music. So amazing that something so old makes such a sound. The music and singing are very loud and made it hard to look away. I'm amazed by the performance. How amazing it is to play an instrument that existed when man just started writing.

[angelzipp]

Gilgamesh (the epic) died thousands of years ago. Buried under the hot soil of Middle East, to be rediscovered by archaeologist and then brought back to life by musicians like Mr. Pringle. It's unbelievable that almost 4000 years after the epic was written in Sumer, I can listen to it, in a house in the middle of nowhere, in Northern Canada. No, Sir. The video is not too long. No one will be bored by the full length video.

[seepooha]

It's like a time singularity: millenia-old lyrics and instruments are reborn and spread via internet. I am in awe

[mistermistah]

You can almost imagine the lyre and drum reverberating in a palace hall made of stone... both eerie and majestic.

[TwilightLink]

A few days ago, the Pergamon Museum in Berlin, Germany had to temporarily close down due to building renovations. The museum features the original bricks of the Ishtar Gates as well as a reconstruction of the Babylonian street of processions. The museum held a concert during which a small orchestra played Western classical music from the 17th - 19th century. A performance like the one in this video would have been so much more fitting, capturing the haunting lament of having to bid the Mesopotamian collection farewell for the next 14 years, until the renovations are done.
Truly, a missed opportunity.

[tomsuiteriii]

Hearing Gilgamesh authentically performed, instead of simply reading it in a modern, Western format, is awe-inspiring.

[MrEnaric]

Just wow. The harp really sounds like the roaring 'Bull of Heaven' mentioned in Gilgameš. Closing a gap of 5000 years with the sound of this song is overwhelmingly direct. I touched 5000 year old Dolmen here in the Netherlands, but this a a new sensation altogether. Fantastic!

[MakaveliIITheDonKilluminati]

RIP Gilgamesh. 6000 years on we still remember you

[unicrongean]

The way he hit that drum after singing "Gilgamesh" 😭

[JamesRDavenport]

With the technology of the present age, Peter Pringle has become a kind of Court Bard of ancient memory to the whole world. And for this we are most grateful.

[AngelusNielson]

eight minutes of this isn't too long, in fact, it's not long enough.

This performance gave me goosebumps.

[harperreese]

DROP EVERYTHING! THE MAN THE MYTH THE LEGEND THE MASTER OF MUSIC HAS BLESSED US ONCE AGAIN

[gertrudeember]

Not only could we handle it but many of us would feel honored if you could grace us with your full long version of this spectacular, expressive musical storytelling.
It’s not only educational but moving as well. Glimmers of history brought to life with true human beauty and feeling.

[supaF]

Music archeology always hits different. Thank you.

[nlabonte]

When he said "𒁀𒈿 𒄷 𒉡𒈬𒂊𒁕𒀭𒍣𒍣" I really felt that...

[andreaugustoferreiradossan]

F for Gilgamesh, we just lost a real one

[nicholasmorgan]

Gilgamesh died thousands of years ago, yet he still found immortality in the hearts and minds of countless people, as they learn his story and pass it on to others in a variety of forms. Your performance was outstanding.

[MortarionCenturius]

I just wanted to tell you that i previously played you for my students. I tried to explain the importance of the first written word and how everything after is building off of it, of the teachings of Gilgamesh and Enkidu. In the end we are stories told to our children and their children; and if we are very lucky, we will live longer in story than we lived in life. I don’t know if they understood, but I can hope. Your use of the translations of man’s earliest songs has meant so much to me. In the end, we are only a story to those who come after us, those we will never know.

[chocapic]

God, I wish we taught our young history the way it was lived - by song, by story, by artifacts of past. Instead we give them dry books full of uninspired prose and then act surprised when so few of them truly feel the breathtaking, and sometimes heartbreaking, magnificence of our species' long, colorful past.

Your music is one of such wonderful windows into old history, Mr. Pringle. Listening to you recreate the epic of Gilgamesh like this truly makes it come alive, and I wish more people can experience this.