Song That Hasn't Been Heard

Listen to a Song That Hasn't Been Heard For a Thousand Years

George Dvorsky

4/22/16 2:58pm

Filed to: 

The missing manuscript. (Image: Cambridge University Library)

An ancient song repertory lost since the 11th century has been reconstructed by researchers from the University of Cambridge.

It’s called “Songs of Consolation,” and it was a medieval musical retelling of Roman philosopher Boethius’s magnum opus, The Consolation of Philosophy. Back then it was common practice to take classic works, such as those written by Horace and Virgil, and assign a melody to the texts. This was done to learn and ritualize the texts, which often consisted of love songs and laments./.../