Uploaded April 2023 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
A live performance of track 7, "The Only Thing is Uncertainty" from my 2023 album, inspired by themes from ancient Greek philosophy, "Ataraxia (Inner Harmony)". Available from all the usual digital music platforms, CD quality audio is also available from Bandcamp:
michaellevy.bandcamp.com/album/ataraxia-inner-harmony
This album attempts to evoke through meditative music for recreated ancient lyre, the philosophical quest to achieve the ancient Greek ideal of Ataraxia – a feeling of total inner harmony & freedom from anxiety, which is one of the core criteria required to bring a sense of meaning to our own lives.
In a frenetic, ever changing modern world of uncertainty, shallow, materialistic goals & a lack of anything of aesthetic value or spirituality, this age-old philosophical quest for each of us to strive to seek some long-forgotten inner peace & harmony, has even more relevance today than it did back in the heyday of classical Greece!
Other ancient Greek philosophical ideas I explore throughout the album, which are also part of the spiritual & intellectual voyage to achieve this inner harmony, include musical evocations of the Stoic ideal of Apatheia (freedom from negative emotions), the Aristotelian ideal of Eudiamonia (the ideal of seeking a flourishing life, by seeking a life of virtue & reason – the highest functions of human consciousness) and learning to live with the difficult truth advocated by sceptical ancient Greek philosophers such as Pyrrho, that the only thing certain, is uncertainty.
Putting these threads together, the album aims to musically express this progression to the ancient Greek ideal of "Ataraxia" (the inner harmony we strive to attain, once we achieve freedom from distress) - an inner peace which can only come, when we learn to live with the difficult truth that the only thing certain in the enigma of our conscious experience, is uncertainty. Only once we can swallow this truth, can we finally appreciate the mystery!
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
A live performance of track 7, "The Only Thing is Uncertainty" from my 2023 album, inspired by themes from ancient Greek philosophy, "Ataraxia (Inner Harmony)". Available from all the usual digital music platforms, CD quality audio is also available from Bandcamp:
michaellevy.bandcamp.com/album/ataraxia-inner-harmony
This album attempts to evoke through meditative music for recreated ancient lyre, the philosophical quest to achieve the ancient Greek ideal of Ataraxia – a feeling of total inner harmony & freedom from anxiety, which is one of the core criteria required to bring a sense of meaning to our own lives.
In a frenetic, ever changing modern world of uncertainty, shallow, materialistic goals & a lack of anything of aesthetic value or spirituality, this age-old philosophical quest for each of us to strive to seek some long-forgotten inner peace & harmony, has even more relevance today than it did back in the heyday of classical Greece!
Other ancient Greek philosophical ideas I explore throughout the album, which are also part of the spiritual & intellectual voyage to achieve this inner harmony, include musical evocations of the Stoic ideal of Apatheia (freedom from negative emotions), the Aristotelian ideal of Eudiamonia (the ideal of seeking a flourishing life, by seeking a life of virtue & reason – the highest functions of human consciousness) and learning to live with the difficult truth advocated by sceptical ancient Greek philosophers such as Pyrrho, that the only thing certain, is uncertainty.
Putting these threads together, the album aims to musically express this progression to the ancient Greek ideal of "Ataraxia" (the inner harmony we strive to attain, once we achieve freedom from distress) - an inner peace which can only come, when we learn to live with the difficult truth that the only thing certain in the enigma of our conscious experience, is uncertainty. Only once we can swallow this truth, can we finally appreciate the mystery!
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






![Hymn to Persephone (Ancient Greek Goddess of the Spring)
A live performance for solo lyre, of Hymn to Persephone (Ancient Greek Goddess of the Spring) - track 1 from my 2022 album, Orpheus Tamed the Animals: Mythological Music for Ancient Greek Lyre:
https://open.spotify.com/album/4aAvpWSabYWqF7rQEJBsqY?si=M48Kk9l0SaO0I44WKQER9A
Persephone is the Goddess of the underworld, spring, and rebirth. She is one of the fertility goddesses. After Hades abducts her, she became Queen of the underworld, helping to escort the souls of the dead. She only performed this role for four months of the year (due to the four pomegranate seeds she ate) the rest of the time she lived with her mother Demeter, goddess of agriculture and the harvest.
Her exit from the underworld heralds the beginning of Spring as she helps her mother to bring life and bounty back to the land. This dual role makes her a Goddess of death and rebirth.
She is the only daughter of Zeus and Demeter. Her marriage to Hades bore no children.
Usually shown as a beautiful maiden with a wreath of flowers in her hair, carrying sheaves of wheat and a torch.
The Maiden Archetype represents purity and the innocence of childhood. where the soul’s dreams, magic and make believe still prevail.
Persephones life embodies this Archetype, she remains eternally on the cusp between childhood and motherhood. Trapped by a mothers love and her inability to fully assert her independence. [Source: www.goddess-guide.com/persephone.html]
In attempting to evoke these attributes of Persephone, I use the distinctively dreamy, sensual and feminine-sounding ancient Greek Lydian Mode - the conjunction of 2 tetrachords which form the equivalent intervals as F-F on the white notes of the piano, but heard here, in the pure focus of just intonation.
For me, this mode always evokes an almost tangible, floral aroma, which relates back to the legend of how Hades abducted Persephone whilst she was picking spring Narcissus flowers.
Originally recorded for the album featuring the exotic, ancient timbre of my 11-string chelys (tortoise shell form) lyre with a skin soundboard, in this live version, I feature the lovely, pure harp-like timbre of my 10-string lyre - as can be seen in the performance, the limited range of the lyres open strings can be effortlessly extended by the use of harmonics.
For countless hours more musical adventures in time travel, please see all my official artist links below - many thanks for watching!
Subscribe:
http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=Klezfiddle1
Official Artist Links:
Official Website:
http://www.ancientlyre.com/
Digital Music Artist Profiles:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7Dx2vFEg8DmOJ5YCRm4A5v
iTunes & Apple Music:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/michael-levy/id4324920
Amazon:
http://amzn.to/2zmJph3
Bandcamp:
https://michaellevy.bandcamp.com/
Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/beautifullyre
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/AncientLyre
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/mlevy1400bce/
Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/Michael_Levy_Ancient_Lyre_Music Hymn to Persephone (Ancient Greek Goddess of the Spring)](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/_-GOhSvhzWk/mqdefault.jpg)
![Orpheus Tamed the Animals - Mythological Music for Ancient Greek Lyre
Track 1, Hymn to Persephone (Ancient Greek Goddess of the Spring), from my new album, Orpheus Tamed the Animals - Mythological Music for Ancient Greek Lyre - out on all the usual major digital music platforms from 1st June, the album can be pre-ordered on Apple Music, iTunes & Amazon from today!
This album features more new compositions for a wide selection of recreated ancient Greek lyres, inspired by the wonderfully diverse patchwork of classical mythology.
The pieces utilize a wide selection of the original ancient Greek musical modes, whose distinctive expressive characteristics, long-forgotten in our monotonously standardized modern major/minor equal temperament tonality, are further enhanced by the use of just intonation throughout the entire body of the tracks.
Most of the lyres featured in this album, were recreated in modern Greece, by Luthieros:
https://www.luthieros.com
Persephone is the Goddess of the underworld, spring, and rebirth. She is one of the fertility goddesses.
After Hades abducts her, she became Queen of the underworld, helping to escort the souls of the dead. She only performed this role for four months of the year (due to the four pomegranate seeds she ate) the rest of the time she lived with her mother Demeter, goddess of agriculture and the harvest.
Her exit from the underworld heralds the beginning of Spring as she helps her mother to bring life and bounty back to the land. This dual role makes her a Goddess of death and rebirth.
She is the only daughter of Zeus and Demeter. Her marriage to Hades bore no children.
Usually shown as a beautiful maiden with a wreath of flowers in her hair, carrying sheaves of wheat and a torch.
The Maiden Archetype represents purity and the innocence of childhood. where the soul’s dreams, magic and make believe still prevail.
Persephones life embodies this Archetype, she remains eternally on the cusp between childhood and motherhood. Trapped by a mothers love and her inability to fully assert her independence.
[Source: https://www.goddess-guide.com/persephone.html]
In attempting to evoke these attributes of Persephone, I use the distinctively dreamy, sensual and feminine-sounding ancient Greek Lydian Mode - the conjunction of 2 tetrachords which form the equivalent intervals as F-F on the white notes of the piano, but heard here, in the pure focus of just intonation.
For me, this mode always evokes an almost tangible, floral aroma, which relates back to the legend of how Hades abducted Persephone whilst she was picking spring Narcissus flowers.
Subscribe:
http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=Klezfiddle1
Official Artist Links:
Official Website:
http://www.ancientlyre.com/
Digital Music Artist Profiles:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7Dx2vFEg8DmOJ5YCRm4A5v
iTunes & Apple Music:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/michael-levy/id4324920
Amazon:
http://amzn.to/2zmJph3
Bandcamp:
https://michaellevy.bandcamp.com/
Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/beautifullyre
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/AncientLyre
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/mlevy1400bce/
Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/Michael_Levy_Ancient_Lyre_Music Orpheus Tamed the Animals - Mythological Music for Ancient Greek Lyre](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/_6HaKxisbIc/mqdefault.jpg)


