Episode 3: Richard Dumbrill: Music in Mesopotamia: Show notes

12/10/2020

Richard explains what we know about music from Mesopotamia, and how we know it. Hear his reconstruction of a Hurrian song that’s more than 3000 years old. He talks about his work with colleagues in the Middle East, using music to drive positive change.

2:41 How do we know anything at all about music in Mesopotamia?

6:00 Babylonian system of music

12:10 What kind of music do we know about? Are they solo works or were there orchestras?

15:16 What kinds of instrument did they have?

21:10 The Hurrian hymn

25:17 What do we know about the musicians? Who were they? What training did they have?

27:12 Plans for the future

28:47 The cultural festivals at Babylon



Head of a Sumerian lyre from Ur. Image courtesy Dr Osama Shukir Mohammed Amin FRCP(Glasg)
Sumerian lyre from Ur, decorated with a golden head of a bull
Sumerian lyre from Ur. Image courtesy Dr Osama Shukir Mohammed Amin FRCP(Glasg)

ICONEA: International Conference of Near Eastern Archaeomusicology



Music by Ruba Hillawi


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