zalzal
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The oldest known oud
http://www.belly-dance.org/oud.html
"The oldest known oud or lute was discovered by the Americans in the tomb of the famous Egytian musician, Harmosis, who lived around 1500 BC. The body
of this instrument is cut from one piece of wood. It resembles much the Morrocan guembri and evenso the soundboard is covered with an animal skin...."
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Hatem_Afandi
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Hi Zalzal,
This is a much better story than the one that states the inception of the oud comes from a dead body in Biblical Cain!!!
I just can't find any arguments against tons of stories claiming or crediting every great invention (from beer to computers) to ancient Egypt!!!
I hope that the majority of these claims is true simply because I am Egyptian!!!!!
Thanks for sharing an interesting story!
Hatem
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Dr. Oud
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I don't have a link to corroberate it, but archeological evidence exits of oud like images carved in rok by the Summarins, dated 5,500 years age. I
read about it in a book of Musical Archeology by Brown in the Music Library at the University of California at Berkeley.
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billkilpatrick
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i've been looking for documentation on-line but so far ... zip. what appeals to me about this account is that there's a identifiable person involved
- harmosis.
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zalzal
Oud Junkie
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What i do not understand is whether these physical rests of this real old oud are nowadays visible and touchable, whether this rest of oud (or
complete oud) is exposed somewhere or is just a supposition made by archeologists on a rotten piece of wood.
I would like to see a picture
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Dr. Oud
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here's http://www.dolmetsch.com/musictheory35.htm where mentioned is the UruK Lute, 4 milennium BC.
The History federation mentions that the lute was introduced to the Egyptians by the Semites.
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John Erlich
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RE: Harmosis & His Lute:
Below are some passages I located about it on the Internet.
"Plant fibers and animal sinews were already used as strings in prehistoric times. In the advanced civilizations of the Near East horsehair, silk and
gut were used and the antique peoples of the Mediterranean used gut to produce strings. In Egypt an American mission found the grave of the famous
musician Harmosis, who lived in the time of Queen Hatschepsut (1520 - 1484 BC) In the grave of the artist they found his lute unharmed. At the
instrument, which is exhibited in the museum in Cairo there are still the original gut strings to be found. (from: http://www.doublebassguide.com/4_basicsGB3.html)
"Other musicians during the New Kingdom were... Harmosis , the lutist who lived and worked under queen Hatshepsut, and whose instrument was found in a
near-perfect condition in his tomb near Luxor..."(from: http://www.ancientworlds.net/aw/HomesiteRoom/599958)
"The discovery at Thebes in the 1930s of the three-stringed lute (so well preserved as to be still practicable), belonging to the singer
Harmosis..."
(from: JSTOR.org)
An ex-girlfriend of mine is an amateur Egyptologist and one of her pet theories was that Harmosis was gay (artsy confidante of Queen Hachepsut),
though I don't have the knowledge to argue against or for that theory!
Peace,
Udi John
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will_oud
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Ah... so it is a lute, and not a guitar like instrument. I wonder what it would have sounded like. I had heard that that particular instrument was
guitar like in nature, but it seems that it is more of a lute?
William F. Sparks
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billkilpatrick
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| Quote: | Originally posted by John Erlich
RE: Harmosis & His Lute:
An ex-girlfriend of mine is an amateur Egyptologist and one of her pet theories was that Harmosis was gay (artsy confidante of Queen Hachepsut),
though I don't have the knowledge to argue against or for that theory!
... fascinating ... but i'm compelled to ask how she acquired this theory.
thanks for the links john. |
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John Erlich
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I asked my favorite info source on Egyptology--an Egyptian-American working on her PHD in Egyptology at Berkeley--where we might find a photo of
Harmosis' lute, and she suggested the following sources:
Hi John,
I would begin by checking out the following book (should be widely
available):
Ancient Egyptian musical instruments /
Author: Manniche, Lise.
Publication: München ; Berlin : Deutscher Kunstverlag, 1975
Document: English : Book
See also:
Catalogue of Egyptian antiquities in the British Museum.
3, Musical instruments /
Author: Anderson, Robert David, Corp Author: British Museum.
Publication: London : British Museum Publications Ltd for the Trustees, 1976
Document: English : Book
The world encyclopedia of musical instruments /
Author: Wade-Matthews, Max.
Publication: London : Hermes House, 2002
Document: English : Book
I'm not sure why a lute on display in Cairo would show up in a catalogue of the British Museum, but maybe there are depictions of similar intruments
and tomb drawings of similar instruments (?).
I hope this info helps...
Peace,
Udi John
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zalzal
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http://bbecq.free.fr/EGYMUSIC/Page_48x.html
This site in french contains lot of infos on ancient egypt music and instruments.
The page above has some drawings on luths.
Another photo i picked up is the oldest iconographie kown representing a luth, it is a Summerian argile tablette 2500 bc found at Nippour.
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zalzal
Oud Junkie
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and the inside of a luth fm 700 bc (Musee du Louvre)
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billkilpatrick
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thanks john and zalzal - perfect. i'm miles from any library where i might take advantage of your information but i did once own - and almost
immediately sold - a morrocan guembri so i have some idea of what it must have looked and sounded like. modernity does have its advantages ...
ciao - bill
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