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"Racing the Sun" 4:360:00/4:36
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GILGAMESH
A Musical Recording Project in Two Parts
Starring:
Jeremy Irons (narrator)
John Riesen (Gilgamesh)
Steven Riesen (Enkidu)
Paul Goodwin (Prologue singer/ The Trapper)
Mawgan Stott (Shamhat)
Sean Anderson (Utanapishtim)
Andrin Haag (High priest, background vocals)
Ryan C. Connelly (Humbaba)
Anastasia Malliaras (Siduri)
Helen Ostafew (Priestess)
Maya Hayashi (Ninsun)
Gillian Riesen (Utanapishtim's wife)
Lizzie Hales (Inanna)
Completed 2025
songs, notes and a synopsis of the entire work (more tracks to be uploaded soon!)
PROLOGUE: NINEVEH'S BURNING
In lieu of a typical overture, this project begins with a song as a prologue that is a thematic key to the entire work. The first voices heard are those of actual American Apache helicopter pilots just before and after targeting a crowd of people in Baghdad during the war. The last of these voices announces that they "need to evac this child." War is by a very strange historical irony the reason that the bulk of clay tablets on which the Epic of Gilgamesh was written survived. In 612 BCE, the Babylonians attacked the Assyrian city of Nineveh. In this invasion the Library of Nineveh, which housed an enormous collection of clay tablets, including those of the epic of Gilgamesh, was set on fire and collapsed. At the British Museum, you can see some of these tablets singed with black on the edges from this fire some 2600 years ago. Many of the tablets were in fragments due to the collapse of the structure and so much time underground when they were discovered in the 19th century by archaeologists. The story of Gilgamesh had been lost to history until that dig. The song refers to all of these events as well as the contemporary issues in Iraq, where Gilgamesh is still a heroic symbol.
"Uruk"/ Ths Is My Way
The White Temple of Anu at Uruk
"In the distance she could already make out the White Temple of Anu. She would soon be in the city."
A woman is brought to Gilgamesh, who is at the beginning of our story a rather abusive king. Gilgamesh descends from his throne to a brass fanfare. He then guides the woman throughout the palace, a display of power and wealth.
“Hunger”/ NINSUN'S SONG
When Gilgamesh decides for his fame to go with Enkidu to the sacred cedar forest in order to kill Humbaba and take the timber from the forest, he first considers it a good idea to go to his mother, the goddess Ninsun, and to ask her for her blessing. Worried for her son on such a perilous undertaking, she climbs the steps of the ziggurat (conveyed by the stately rhythm at the beginning of the song). She reaches the sanctuary at the top, lights incense, and prays to the sun god Shamash for his aid, particularly his 13 winds which might paralyze Humbaba and allow Gilgamesh and Enkidu to defeat him.
The song is sung by Maya Hayashi. It has been remixed and remastered for the cast recording.
THE TRAPPER
Enkidu has been placed in the wilderness and grows up with the animals, a kind of Tarzan prototype, only Enkidu is half-animal, half-human. He drinks at the watering hole with the other animals. He also frees animals from traps. This of course bothers the trapper as he is losing his livelihood. The trapper decides to go to the court of Gilgamesh and speak to the king directly. While there he sees Shamhat, a temple courtesan, and other women dancing at the court. The idea emerges of taking Shamhat out into the wilderness to subdue the "creature" Enkidu by means of her sensuality. In the song, the trapper traps Gilgamesh into this idea. In fact, everyone in the court is trapped in one sense or another, including Shamhat.
NOT LOVE FOR LONG
Enkidu's jealousy after Inanna/ Ishtar propositions Gilgamesh is the focus of this piece. She is the goddess of love and war, and she already has much of the world. But here she wants to take from Enkidu the one thing that he loves most in the world. His reaction is potent.
Stand
Gilgamesh finally comes to understand that his friend is dead. He lashes out at Enkidu's corpse with unbridled anger.
"An Insidious Game"/ Decisions
Gilgamesh has just finally after seven days allowed the priests to take Enkidu's body out. He lashes out at the gods, a testament to his wrath and hubris at this stage of his development. Voices are heard chanting the name "Utanapishtim" at the end. Although Gilgamesh knows of this man, here he will decide to embark on a quest to find him, the one immortal man on earth, in order to find out the secrets of immortality.