The oldest known melody…
A hymn to Nikkal, a Ugarit and Caananite goddess of fruit and wife of the moon god, Yarikh (and namesake of Jericho.)
All I know from memory about the Ugarit language is that it’s an ancient Semitic language that you could learn in the religion department at my alma mater, UGA (University of Georgia) and the co-incidence made me laugh.
But no youthful trifles here. This is a beautiful work, and fitting at high summer. If I only had grapes and figs and apricots. I am entranced by this music, nearly three and a half millenia on. (Thanks to hymnologist and Esperatist Leland “Haruo” Ross for posting this on Facebook.)
Not sentimentalize the past, which had its own share of horrors, yet it is inspiring to hear this ancient work of beauty and devotion. In our day of gun-fondling TEApublicans, and far too many other examples of how some become fearful and small-souled in the face of life’s challenges, it is wonderful to be reminded of the persisting greatness of the human spirit.