The song has been hailed as the oldest song in the world “Hurrian Hymn”which, according to archaeologists, dates back to 1300 BC.
The text of the above-mentioned hymn, written in cuneiform in Hurrian language (the instructions were written in Akkadian), is supposed to concern fertility. Refers to sacrifices and the moon goddess Nikkal. The tablet with the text of the song was found in the ancient city-state of Ugarit (today’s territory of Syria).
According to historians, the mentioned city-state had a cosmopolitan character and was a large center of local trade.
The plaque with the song was discovered by the French during excavations in the 1950s. Currently it is located in National Museum in Damascus, Syria.
In 1883, it was found in Greece “Epitaph of Seikilos”, which is considered the oldest complete piece of music. The text and notes of the song were placed on one of the discovered pillars.
It was supposedly built around the 2nd or 1st century BC, and according to archaeologists, even though it is an epitaph, it may not have been about the tomb at all, and may have been built by himself. Seikilos to commemorate your skills.
“I am a tombstone, I am a painting. Seikilos placed me here as an eternal sign of immortal memory,” it was written on the pillar.
The song’s recording, discovered in 1883, is now found in… National Museum in Copenhagen.
What is the situation in Poland? Many people believe that the oldest song in our country is the one sung at Grunwald “Bogurodzica”. However, this is not true. It is the oldest poetic text with a melody, but the oldest work in Poland was already known Mieszko I
It’s about the song “Oh, hops.” According to Polish Song Library it was a song performed during wedding rituals, at the bride’s headdress.
“Therefore, only married women and married women could sing it. The content is usually treated literally as a reference to the plant from which wedding alcohol, i.e. beer, is made. However, it is also believed that the word ‘hop’ was used in the text as a metaphor, which also generates an additional assignment of the song to the genre of symbolic songs,” we read.
The piece was to be widely performed until the 19th century, when even the nobility sang it. Then only the peasantry did it.
The band created its own interpretation of the song Percival. You can listen to it below.