The Death of Enkidu: English-language version from the Gold Lyre of Ur project Lyre of Ur 2020-09-02 | The Epic of Gilgamesh, from Mesopotamia 3000 BC, contains some of the finest dramatic moments in the whole history of the written word. Recent advances in the study and pronunciation of the words pressed onto clay tablets, allow us to bring these texts to you, for the first time ever.Dramatised in film.The Gold Lyre of Ur Project is proud to present this version in English with Cuneiform subtitles. You can also see one spoken in Akkadian, with subtitles here: youtu.be/2qlMQtxg-JAWe acknowledge the assistance of expert help, without which this would not have been possible.Visit the project at www.lyre-of-ur.com - and feedback is welcomed info@lyre-of-ur.com
Pipes and Gold Lyre - Barnaby Brown & Bill Taylor Lyre of Ur 2025-10-20 | This is an upscaled version of a video originally made in 2008. It is a duet between the reconstructed Lyre of Ur and some reconstructed silver pipes found in the same grave. Although the lyre strings didn't survive the intervening years, we can reconstruct a musical scale from the position of the holes in the pipes. The original lyre and pipes were excavated by Sir Leonard Woolley at Ur, Mesopotamia. They were deposited in museums at Baghdad and Philadelphia. The replica of the Lyre was made by Andy Lowings and friends. The Silver pipes were evaluated and made by Bo Lawergren.Video by Mark Harmer.
The Lyre Ensemble at the Union Chapel, Islington Lyre of Ur 2025-10-19 | This is the first ever complete showing of the Lyre Ensemble’s concert from the Union Chapel, using Sumerian and Babylonian texts and performed on instruments authentically reconstructed from ancient Mesopotamia.“Come Sit Closer” is a modern invitation written for the group; it evokes distant times and asks us to draw near and listen to the voices of the lyres“Balbale to Nanse” pictures the life of the sea and the sea-goddess Nanse“The Flood” depicts the destruction of the world and the anger and shock of the gods"Dumuzid's Dream” explores themes of foreboding through dream interpretation,“Love Song” is a tender encounter between the singer and her loved one and"Ištar's Descent” depicts the goddess Ištar's journey to the underworld and her rage at the gatekeeper for blocking her way. It’s a spine-chilling finale to our concert.The majority of Mesopotamian texts are used with permission from the website of the University of Oxford Electronic Corpus of Sumerian Literature http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk (Oxford 1998–2006), and the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) Babylonian and Assyrian Poetry and Literature Archive of Recordings http://www.soas.ac.uk/baplar The Lyre Ensemble's work aims to foster a deeper understanding of Mesopotamian history and its cultural legacy through music, encouraging listeners to connect with the past in meaningful ways. Together with the Lyre of Ur project and its painstakingly-recreated Lyres using authentic materials and methods, we explore ancient music and its potential to inspire contemporary artistic expression.Andy Lowings invites you to get in touch about the instruments and the Lyre of Ur project 0044 1733 253063 / andylowings@gmail.comStef Conner is a composer and performer interested in creating music that forges channels of empathy between people separated by vast expanses of time: stefconner.com/the-lyre-ensembleJennifer Sturdy has played a significant role supporting and publicising the Lyre of Ur project and during the concert introduced and played percussion on a selection of items.Mark Harmer reconstructed this concert after the original concert media files were lost. He is also a performer and teacher: markharmer.uk
Union Chapel - about the concert Lyre of Ur 2025-10-19 | A taste of the 2015 concert of music based on Babylonian and Sumerian texts which goes live at 1830 UK time on Sunday 19th October. The concert is at youtube.com/watch?v=FZmbo-K-ROA
The Death of Enkidu: Akkadian version from the Gold Lyre of Ur project Lyre of Ur 2020-09-02 | The Epic of Gilgamesh, from Mesopotamia 3000 BC, contains some of the finest dramatic moments in the whole history of the written word. Recent advances in the study and pronunciation of the words pressed onto clay tablets, allow us to bring these texts to you, for the first time ever., dramatised in film.The Gold Lyre of Ur Project is proud to present this version spoken in Akkadian, with subtitles. You can see the English version with Cuneiform subtitles here: youtu.be/vUdllauhlvM We acknowledge the assistance of expert help, without which this would not have been possible.Visit the project at www.lyre-of-ur.com - and feedback is welcomed info@lyre-of-ur.com
