Michael Levy | Ancient Roman-Themed Lyre Music - Inspired by Stoic Philosophy! @MichaelLevyMusic | Uploaded June 2023 | Updated October 2024, 1 week ago.
I am delighted to announce the forthcoming release of my new ancient Roman-themed album for solo lyre, "Musica Lyra"! Out on all the usual digital music platforms on 1st August, CD quality audio and a PDF of the detailed album notes can be ordered now, from Bandcamp:
michaellevy.bandcamp.com/album/musica-lyra
The sequel to my 2013 album, "The Ancient Roman Lyre", this historically inspired project of original compositions for recreated ancient lyre features sketches of specific emotions and feelings, expressed through the mostly forgotten, distinctive expressive qualities of the ancient musical modes, enhanced in the pristine focus of just intonation.
Both my earlier release "The Ancient Roman Lyre" and this one, feature the same glassy purity of tone, conjured up by my 10-string lyre, hand-made in the USA by Marini Made Harps.
By pure serendipity, this amazing sounding instrument looks almost identical to a Roman lyre depicted in a 3rd century mosaic found in from Tarsus, Antioch, of Orpheus taming the beasts with his lyre (as featured on the album cover).
The theme of the album, is a musical exploration of Stoic meditation - the pieces in "Musica Lyra" expresses emotions of sorrow, grief, inner turmoil and regret, which through philosophical stoic meditation, we ultimately can learn to live with, once we accept and live with the stoic ideal of "Amor Fati" - the love of fate, and to feel inner harmony, no matter what any pantheon of ancient gods might have in store for us, through the enigma of our conscious existence through the journey of life.
Stoicism, although having its origins in ancient Greece, was also embraced by the philosophers of Classical Rome. Indeed, the emperor Marcus Aurelius, was himself a renowned stoic philosopher and writer on the subject:
“Accept the things to which fate binds you and love the people with whom fate brings you together, but do so with all your heart.”
- Marcus Aurelius
In setting the stoic theme of this album, in this first track "Desideria (Desires)", with particular emphasis on dissonance in the melodic lines, I attempt to convey the negative desires & passions associated with the original Latin meaning of this term, in particular, the often all-consuming desires of longing, missing, regret, unrequited love and unfulfilled wishing – all the so often all-consuming negative passions in life which the practice of stoicism can aid us in overcoming.
This piece features the dark-sounding ancient Greek Hypodorian Mode - -the equivalent intervals as A-A on the white notes of the piano (but heard here in the pristine focus of just intonation), this mode is sometimes referred to as the 'natural minor' and is indeed, the basis of our modern minor keys.
The stoic theme of the album is similar to my 2023 ancient Greek release, "Ataraxia (Inner Harmony)", which was inspired by ancient Greek sceptical philosophy. This album sought to express through music, the difficult ancient Greek ideal of achieving 'Ataraxia' - striving to feel complete contentment & freedom from distress, only to be found when we realize the brute philosophical fact, that the only thing we can ever know for certain, is uncertainty.
Subscribe:
youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=Klezfiddle1
Official Artist Links:
Official Website:
ancientlyre.com
Digital Music Artist Profiles:
Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/7Dx2vFEg8DmOJ5YCRm4A5v
iTunes & Apple Music:
itunes.apple.com/us/artist/michael-levy/id4324920
Amazon:
amzn.to/2zmJph3
Bandcamp:
michaellevy.bandcamp.com
Facebook Page:
facebook.com/beautifullyre
Twitter:
twitter.com/AncientLyre
Instagram:
instagram.com/mlevy1400bce
Patreon:
patreon.com/Michael_Levy_Ancient_Lyre_Music
I am delighted to announce the forthcoming release of my new ancient Roman-themed album for solo lyre, "Musica Lyra"! Out on all the usual digital music platforms on 1st August, CD quality audio and a PDF of the detailed album notes can be ordered now, from Bandcamp:
michaellevy.bandcamp.com/album/musica-lyra
The sequel to my 2013 album, "The Ancient Roman Lyre", this historically inspired project of original compositions for recreated ancient lyre features sketches of specific emotions and feelings, expressed through the mostly forgotten, distinctive expressive qualities of the ancient musical modes, enhanced in the pristine focus of just intonation.
Both my earlier release "The Ancient Roman Lyre" and this one, feature the same glassy purity of tone, conjured up by my 10-string lyre, hand-made in the USA by Marini Made Harps.
By pure serendipity, this amazing sounding instrument looks almost identical to a Roman lyre depicted in a 3rd century mosaic found in from Tarsus, Antioch, of Orpheus taming the beasts with his lyre (as featured on the album cover).
The theme of the album, is a musical exploration of Stoic meditation - the pieces in "Musica Lyra" expresses emotions of sorrow, grief, inner turmoil and regret, which through philosophical stoic meditation, we ultimately can learn to live with, once we accept and live with the stoic ideal of "Amor Fati" - the love of fate, and to feel inner harmony, no matter what any pantheon of ancient gods might have in store for us, through the enigma of our conscious existence through the journey of life.
Stoicism, although having its origins in ancient Greece, was also embraced by the philosophers of Classical Rome. Indeed, the emperor Marcus Aurelius, was himself a renowned stoic philosopher and writer on the subject:
“Accept the things to which fate binds you and love the people with whom fate brings you together, but do so with all your heart.”
- Marcus Aurelius
In setting the stoic theme of this album, in this first track "Desideria (Desires)", with particular emphasis on dissonance in the melodic lines, I attempt to convey the negative desires & passions associated with the original Latin meaning of this term, in particular, the often all-consuming desires of longing, missing, regret, unrequited love and unfulfilled wishing – all the so often all-consuming negative passions in life which the practice of stoicism can aid us in overcoming.
This piece features the dark-sounding ancient Greek Hypodorian Mode - -the equivalent intervals as A-A on the white notes of the piano (but heard here in the pristine focus of just intonation), this mode is sometimes referred to as the 'natural minor' and is indeed, the basis of our modern minor keys.
The stoic theme of the album is similar to my 2023 ancient Greek release, "Ataraxia (Inner Harmony)", which was inspired by ancient Greek sceptical philosophy. This album sought to express through music, the difficult ancient Greek ideal of achieving 'Ataraxia' - striving to feel complete contentment & freedom from distress, only to be found when we realize the brute philosophical fact, that the only thing we can ever know for certain, is uncertainty.
Subscribe:
youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=Klezfiddle1
Official Artist Links:
Official Website:
ancientlyre.com
Digital Music Artist Profiles:
Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/7Dx2vFEg8DmOJ5YCRm4A5v
iTunes & Apple Music:
itunes.apple.com/us/artist/michael-levy/id4324920
Amazon:
amzn.to/2zmJph3
Bandcamp:
michaellevy.bandcamp.com
Facebook Page:
facebook.com/beautifullyre
Twitter:
twitter.com/AncientLyre
Instagram:
instagram.com/mlevy1400bce
Patreon:
patreon.com/Michael_Levy_Ancient_Lyre_Music
