Ankh: The Sound of Ancient Egypt

Zur Ägypten-Ausstellung 1998 im Australischen Museum komponierte Prof Atherton, Ethnologe und
Multiinstrumentalist, eine vierteilige Ritualmusik für rekonstruierte Originalinstrumente (Harfen,
Flöten, Trommeln u.a.), Solo- und Chorgesang. Die Musik zu Ramses Zeiten. Faszinierende Klangwelt
auf der Basis solider Forschungsarbeit (mit ausführlichem Begleitheft).

the project

The catalyst for Ankh: The Sound of Ancient Egypt was an exhibition—Life and Death in the Land of
the Pharaohs, developed by the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden, The Netherlands. The

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Ankh: The Sound of Ancient Egypt

exhibition came to the Australian Museum in 1998. It provided the challenge of producing a creative
reconstruction of ancient Egyptian music and the inspiration for a longer term research project.

The first stage of the project began with a response to the contents of the exhibition itself, followed by a
delving into the ever–increasing output of Egyptological scholarship, to establish a broader musical
context. The big questions loomed large: what did the music sound like? How were the instruments
tuned? Was the music polyphonic? One must proceed by conjecture and deduction, using the literary
and visual record in conjunction with an examination of surving instruments. The answers remain
elusive, mainly gleaned from instruments housed in museums, along with iconographic and literary
evidence. There is no surviving music notation, nor any musical theory which might instruct one about
pitch, rhythm and timbre.

In approaching the composition and performance of the music, Michael Atherton drew on his
experience in playing medieval monophony, eastern European and Turkish folk music, as well as his
participation in intercultural music projects.

Atherton primarily uses 5, 6, and 7 note scales based on specific pitches, resulting in a combination of
Moroccan ramal mai mode and Persian afshari. He also gravitates toward pentatonic scales and major
modes. The melodies move in small steps. The setting of the hymns is monophonic, with the inclusion
of call and response development. Sung items include interpolated recitations, as a means of
acknowledging a deep connection between lanuguage and music.

Ankh: The Sound of Ancient Egypt is a contribution to giving a voice to the vivid images of a
dynamic musical culture.

the artists

Multi–instrumentalist Michael Atherton composed and produced this recording. He is an internationally
travelled performer, composer, author of books on musical instruments, an accomplished composer for
the screen, and writes chamber music. Since 1993, he has served as a Foundation Professor at the
University of Western Sydney, Nepean.

The artists featured on this extraordinary reconstruction of the sound of ancient Egypt include some of
Australia's finest musicians, including Michael Atherton, Mina Kanaridis, Philip South and Greg
Hebblewhite. Mary Demovic provides spoken word and the chorus is comprised of Maria Campbell,
Angela Shrimpton, Stephen Clark, and Hasan Shanal.

Using visual records, Atherton gathered and adapted a variety of similar instruments from various
cultures (Greek, Turkish, Indian, Egyptian, etc.) to recreate the sound of ancient Egypt. These include:
sambuca (boat–shaped harp), a trigon (angle harp), auloi (double–oboes), a shawm to simulate a
Tutankhamun trumpet), adapting bronze disks and metal rods to simulate sistra, a pair of Turkish zils to
simulate crotala, adapting a rewap to simulate the long–lute, riq (tambourine), bendir and tar

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Ankh: The Sound of Ancient Egypt

(framedrums), and udongo for timbral variety.

biography

discography

tracklist

Atum (Creator Sun God)

16'18"

1

(a) song

1'09"

2

(b) instrumental

6'46"

3

(c) instrumental

3'19"

4

(d) instrumental

1'16"

5

(e) instrumental

3'46"

Maat (Truth, Balance, Order)

15'46"

6

(a) song

1'59"

7

(b) instrumental

1'35"

8

(c) instrumental

3'37"

9

(d) instrumental

4'01"

10 (e) instrumental

4'31"

Khet (The Physical Body)

15'27"

11 (a) song

1'48"

12 (b) instrumental

6'26"

13 (c) instrumental

5'01"

14 (d) instrumental

2'08"

Shen (Eternity)

14'35"

15 (a) song

2'20"

16 (b) instrumental

4'28"

17 (c) instrumental

5'02"

18 (d) instrumental

2'45"

Total Time:

62'21

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Ankh: The Sound of Ancient Egypt

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