Ooka Fookoo
David Hahn
About this work:
At the foot of a cliff in the Ardèche Gorges, in south-eastern France, amateur speleologists have discovered the world's oldest prehistoric cave music. And as this ornate Palaeolithic sanctuary, slowly divulges its secrets, it is furrowing the brows of many prehistorians and musicologists. Indeed, it would seem that, 31,000 years ago, prehistoric man was already composing and engraving music with hitherto unsuspected skill and dexterity.
The walls of the cave are alive with engravings of instruments, and further scores illustrated in red ochre and black. The party of discoverers have trouble believing their eyes. Before them, some 300 musical scores are awakened from thousands of years of deep sleep!!
OOKA FOOKOO, which we have realized on this CD was one of those pieces discovered at Vallon-Pont-d'Arc on December 18, 1994. The text, transliterated from the cave scrawl, seems to indicate a high level of intelligence. While a translation is not possible, it has been conjectured that the lyrics celebrate a fertility rite in honor of the fertility goddess OOKA who took the form of an antelope.
Lyrics
WAN EE VID EE OO -KA
RE -LIC TEE SAH SAH VEE POO KA
OO -KA AY ME POO TAG
SA DA HO HO HO OH KAY TAG
SEE DON COS TOO MA KEE
OO -KA LEE -KEE OO -KA LI -KEE
DAR KOP NIT YAY FAR OO
HOP DA OO -KA SOO SOO BY OO
OO KA OO KA OO KA
RAH DAH FOO KOO, FOO KOO, FOO KOO
WAH NUH, KEN UH, WAN UH, FOO KOO,
FOO KOO, FOO KOO, FOO KOO,
FOO KOO, FOO KOO
OO KA OO KA OO KA
RAH DAH FOO KOO FOO KOO FOO KOO
WAH NUH, KEN UH, WAN UH, FOO KOO,
FOO KOO, FOO KOO, FOO KOO,
FOO KOO, FOO KOO
Year composed: 2004
Duration: 00:04:40
Ensemble type: Voice, Solo or With Chamber or Jazz Ensemble:Voice with Chamber/Jazz Ensemble, 2-5 Players
Instrumentation: