Abed Azrie: Epic of Gilgamesh
French-Syrian composer and singer Abed Azrie has brought new life to the Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh with his unique music and voice. Here, The text is sung in Arabic instead of extinct Akkadian, The language that the tablets of the epic of Gilgamesh were written in.
Also listen: Song “The Epic Of Gilgamesh” In Sumerian language on Sumerian lute
Ancient Mesopotamia’s most famous work dates back to 2500 B.C. and tells the story of a tragic friendship and a quest for immortality.
The Epic of Gilgamesh, the oldest great work of world literature, did not originate in a specific environment, at a certain age or within a single nation, but arose from the Sumerian mythology and has spread over Babylon and Assyria, and has found its way to the Middle East within more than a millennium.
Epic of Gilgamesh summary
It is primarily the story of a friendship between Gilgamesh and Enkidu that arises first from a rivalry, strengthens in danger, deepens in common heroic deeds, and finally dissolves painfully in death of Enkidu. It is also the topic of exorbitance of the heroic figures (Gilgamesh and Enkidu) who, hasting from victory to victory, do not know how to control themselves, and thus offend the gods.
This sacrilegious arrogance results in punishment and death: in the heart of the survivor (Gilgamesh), the fear of death turns into an unbearable anguish of the human being, who is suddenly aware of the uncertainty of life. His desperate search for the secret of immortality is in vain: all attempts to find immortality throw him even deeper into despair until the day on which he is returning from a long odyssey, eventually finding peace and wisdom.
Tracklist:
01 Prologue
02 Gilgamesh
03 Enkidu
04 The Hunter
05 The Woman
06 Words of the Woman
07 Answer of Enkidu
08 The shepherds
09 Uruk
10 The Struggle
11 The Friendship
12 The Adventure
13 Heroism
14 Preparing For Campaign
15 The Cedar Wood
16 Ishtar
17 Refusal of Gilgamesh
18 Wrath of Ishtar
19 The Bull of Heaven
20 Lament of Ishtar
21 Return of the Two Heroes
22 Dreams of Enkidu
23 Death of Enkidu
24 Weeping of Gilgamesh
25 The Scorpion Man
26 Shamash
27 Sidouri
28 The Human Condition
29 Urshanabi
30 Uta-Napishtim
31 The Human Lesson
32 The Flood
33 Epilogue
