Chinese students send timeless message of ancient Greek song

Chinese schoolgirls perform the Ancient Greek “Seikilos Epitaph” song, the oldest surviving complete musical composition, including musical notation, dated between the 1st and 2nd century AD. The nine young Chinese students sang to the audience as part of the Chengdu-European Cultural Season. The theatrical event took place in the context of the exhibition ‘A Century of Greek Tourism through Poster Art’ in Chengdu, southwest China. The song – the melody of which is recorded, alongside its lyrics, in ancient Greek musical notation – was found engraved on a stele in Aydin in Turkey, where the ancient Greek town of Tralles was located, in 1883. The message sent by Seikilos, which rings true throughout the ages, is that life is short, let’s not allow sadness to overwhelm us.