The Tale of the Eloquent Peasant (Egyptian Middle Kingdom 2000 BCE)
A poor peasant, Khun-Anup, is traveling to market with his donkeys heavily laden with goods to exchange for supplies for his family when Nemtynakht, a vassal of the high steward Rensi, notices the peasant approaching his lands and devises a scheme to steal Khun-Anup’s donkeys and supplies.
Alessia Carneval: The history of protest songs in Tunisia and their link to popular culture
In Tunisia, the protest song is called al-ughniya al-multazima in Arabic, or chanson engagée in French. Both literally mean “committed song” and put an emphasis on the political and social aim of this genre.
Video: Euripides – Choral Song from ‘Orestes’
The earliest surviving musical document preserves a few bars of sung music from fifth-century BC tragedian Euripides’ play Orestes. You can see the papyrus fragment below, written around 200 BC … Continue reading
Audio: “Hurrian Hymn No. 6” (c.1400 B.C.E.) Ancient Mesopotamian Music Fragment
Here is an interpretation of a song, titled “A Hurrian Cult Song from Ancient Ugarit,” performed on a lyre, an instrument probably close to what the song’s first audiences heard. … Continue reading
