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More => Music, Movies, Politics, and Other Cheap Thrills => Topic started by: mwillems on April 18, 2014, 10:16:51 pm

Title: The Oldest Song in the World
Post by: mwillems on April 18, 2014, 10:16:51 pm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xERitvFYpAk

Well, it's the oldest complete song that's survived to the present day anyway.  The song was engraved on a tombstone in ancient musical notation (along with lyrics in Greek).  It was part of an epitaph for a man named Seikilos (or possibly by a man named Seikilos, the inscription is unclear), probably engraved around 100AD.

The vocal melody on the youtube link is a little embellished, but the instrumental melody is the actual engraved melody and the lyrics are the engraved lyrics.  More info at the wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seikilos_epitaph

Now when I look at my music by "year" in JRiver, I've got something for the year 100  8)

Title: Re: The Oldest Song in the World
Post by: InflatableMouse on April 19, 2014, 03:00:35 am

Very cool!

Thanks for sharing.

Title: Re: The Oldest Song in the World
Post by: TCube on April 23, 2014, 03:53:36 am

@ mwillems,

My true story.
A marble engraver friend of mine explained to me that inscriptions or epitaphs on a tomb should be accepted by the appropriate City Hall services (especially for foreign languages).
To his knowledge only a widow, known to be deceived for years by her late husband, managed to circumvent this requirement.
She etched a range of music and reading each note one could understand her revenge.

Rémi X - born 1936 - died 1992
Keys : "Ré - mi, mi - la - do - ré, si - fa - si - la - si - ré".

It's hard to translate in English as you give letters for keys. Sure ! few may get it  :(
TC