"If you think you know the ancient Persia, think again!"
ANCIENT PERSIA
History of Music
Prof. Richard Dumbrill↓

We are honoured to host Prof. Richard Dumbrill to have a unique experience understanding music history in the Near East, particularly in Iran. It is a highly educational event, including live music, and also, for the first time, we will unveil a harp which is inspired by the oldest harp in the world, exclusively reproduced for Persian Wonders. We are also honoured to display a reproduction of the Elamite harp of the battle of Ulai by Richard Dumbrill.
Chogha Mish mid-fourth millennium BCE

Richard J. Dumbrill is a British archaeomusicologist, pianist, composer and conductor. Dumbrill is a relativist musicologist who opposes Universalism and Occicentrism theories in his field. Dumbrill has studied the archaeomusicology of the Ancient Near East, especially the interpretation of cuneiform texts of Music Theory written in Sumerian, Babylonian and Hurrian.

Dumbrill's interpretation of music theory is based on his knowledge of Middle-Oriental Musicology. He rejects (Pythagorean) ditonism and heptatonic and particularly rejects the hypothesis of dichords in the Musicology of the Ancient Near East. Dumbrill translated the oldest song ever written, found in northwest Syria at the site of Ugarit. From Woolley's notes, he reconstructed the Silver lyre of Ur (at the British Museum) with Myriam Marcetteau. Dumbrill also rebuilt the Elamite harp of the battle of Ulai, with Margaux Bousquet. Dumbrill donated one of his harps to the Ministry of Culture in Iraq. Drumbill is the founder, with Irving Finkel of the International Council of Near Eastern Archaeomusicology (ICONEA) at the Institute of Musical Research, School of Advanced Studies, University of London,. Dumbrill has lectured at Harvard and Yale in Iraq, Beirut, Damascus, Leiden, Rotterdam, and Paris.
Source

Live instruments play by Babak Mirzaei (Vocalist and play Tar) and Keyhan Khamoshi (play Tombak) to give a profound experience of the root of ancient music.

Elamite Harp of the battle of Ulai - 653 BCE

Inspired by Chogha Mish harp mid-fourth millennium BCE

This event displays two objects, and we are proud to show the reconstructed Elamite harp of the battle of Ulai by Richard Dumbrill and unveil a instrument inspired by the oldest harp in the world from Chogha Mish*, exclusively made for Persian Wonders for the first time. *The reproduction object is from the Persian Wonders collections. The display plinths provided by Amëoz Group Ltd