Hieronymus Bosch’s Garden of Earthly Delights is a three-part altarpiece showing the Garden of Eden on the left and a vision of hell on the right. The central panel is something sort of in between – with some animals looking like Pokemons added for good measure. And there is something else too. And it is quite disturbing. Yes, it is a piece of music written down on the tortured soul’s butt.
Bosch’s Garden of Earthly Delights is one of the artist’s most famous altarpieces known for its complex and enigmatic iconography. It is located in Museo del Prado in Madrid, Spain. We highly encourage you to go and see this beautiful work and explore all the bizarre and funny details in person. Hint: you can find the “butt music” on the right wing, written down on a bottom of a tortured man stuck under the weight of a gigantic musical instrument.
The musical score was transcribed and recorded by the Oklahoma Christian University student Amelia Hamrick who played it on a lute, a harp, and a hurdy-gurdy. As Hamrick explained in her Tumblr blog:
I decided to transcribe it into modern notation, assuming the second line of the staff is C, as is common for chants of this era.
This wonderful discovery was done in February 2014 on the university campus. To no one’s surprise, Amelia Hamrick’s recording titled The 500-Year-Old Butt Song from Hell went viral. The video scored immediately 200,000 views after posting it on her blog. Hamrick was even interviewed by Anderson Cooper from CNN.
In retrospect, Hamrick admitted that she could have chosen a more dignified title for the musical piece…
To listen to the “butt music” by Hieronymus Bosch, please check out the video below:
Did you like it? Let us know in the comments!