Virility of the Satyrs (Improvisation for Ancient Greek Tortoise Shell Lyre) Michael Levy 2026-09-24 | Virility of the Satyrs (Improvisation for Ancient Greek Tortoise Shell Lyre)
Electric LYRE? Michael Levy 2024-09-29 | Attempting to continue 'where the ancients left off' in my quest to forge a 'New Ancestral Music' genre, here is what a recreated ancient lyre sounds like - with a 'pseudo-psychedelic bouquet' of Boss SD-1 Super Overdrive, Boss RV-6 Reverb & JoJo Flanger Pedals! Being an avid fan of Jimi Hendrix, one of the reasons I spent so much time attemtpting to master the lyre, was that I actually always wanted to play electric guitar, but could never work out the infernal fingerboard...To hear similar experimental new music for the recreated ancient lyre, please also check out my 2017 album, "Ascension of the Lyre" - also in the spirit of Spock, I attempt to 'boldy go where no lyre player has gone before' & literally ascend the lyre from its former status as a dusty museum relic, into a vibrant new instrument, suitable for our hopefully not so far flung future, as an interplanetary species amongst the stars. Available from all the usual digital music platforms, "Ascension of the Lyre" can be heard on Spotify, Amazon, iTunes & Apple Music. CD quality audio is available from Bandcamp:michaellevy.bandcamp.com/album/ascension-of-the-lyre Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=Klezfiddle1Official Artist Links:Official Website: http://www.ancientlyre.comDigital Music Artist Profiles:Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/7Dx2vFEg8DmOJ5YCRm4A5viTunes & Apple Music: itunes.apple.com/us/artist/michael-levy/id4324920Amazon: http://amzn.to/2zmJph3Bandcamp: michaellevy.bandcamp.comFacebook Page: facebook.com/beautifullyreTwitter: twitter.com/AncientLyreInstagram:instagram.com/mlevy1400bcePatreon:patreon.com/Michael_Levy_Ancient_Lyre_Music
Its a LYRE, Jim...but not as we know it! Michael Levy 2024-09-27 | Attempting to continue 'where the ancients left off' in my quest to forge a 'New Ancestral Music' genre, here is a spontaneous improvisation for lyre, inspired by Spock's 'Vulcan Harp'!To hear similar experimental new music for the recreated ancient lyre, please also check out my 2017 album, "Ascension of the Lyre" - also in the spirit of Spock, I attempt to 'boldy go where no lyre player has gone before' & literally ascend the lyre from its former status as a dusty museum relic, into a vibrant new instrument, suitable for our hopefully not so far flung future, as an interplanetary species amongst the stars. Available from all the usual digital music platforms, "Ascension of the Lyre" can be heard on Spotify, Amazon, iTunes & Apple Music. CD quality audio is available from Bandcamp:michaellevy.bandcamp.com/album/ascension-of-the-lyre ...Live long & Prosper!Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=Klezfiddle1Official Artist Links:Official Website: http://www.ancientlyre.comDigital Music Artist Profiles:Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/7Dx2vFEg8DmOJ5YCRm4A5viTunes & Apple Music: itunes.apple.com/us/artist/michael-levy/id4324920Amazon: http://amzn.to/2zmJph3Bandcamp: michaellevy.bandcamp.comFacebook Page: facebook.com/beautifullyreTwitter: twitter.com/AncientLyreInstagram:instagram.com/mlevy1400bcePatreon:patreon.com/Michael_Levy_Ancient_Lyre_Music
Hymn to Hegemone Michael Levy 2024-09-21 | In classical mythology, Hegemone was specifically known for making plants bloom, especially plants that would bear fruit later in the year. She is generally associated with Autumn along with Carpho who would bring such plants to their state of fruition and harvest. These two charities, being in the same season, share many similarities.In Athens she was worshipped alongside Auxo (Growth, generally spring growth) and Carpho, and according to the historian Pausanias it is where she obtained her name.In this piece for recreated lyre, I attempt to evoke a tapestry of plant growth by use of the use of cross-rhythms between the left and right hand, in the distinctively intense ancient Greek Dorian Mode.This video again features my newly installed lyre pickup and FX pedal combo, which now allows me to record in real time, pretty much all the effects I previously had to spend hours doing in post production with my Digital Audio Workstation - the entire video, from the inital idea of the melodic themes to filiming with nothing more hi tec than my cellphone, took less than an hour!Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=Klezfiddle1Official Artist Links:Official Website: http://www.ancientlyre.comDigital Music Artist Profiles:Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/7Dx2vFEg8DmOJ5YCRm4A5viTunes & Apple Music: itunes.apple.com/us/artist/michael-levy/id4324920Amazon: http://amzn.to/2zmJph3Bandcamp: michaellevy.bandcamp.comFacebook Page: facebook.com/beautifullyreTwitter: twitter.com/AncientLyreInstagram:instagram.com/mlevy1400bcePatreon:patreon.com/Michael_Levy_Ancient_Lyre_Music
Electric LYRE? Michael Levy 2024-09-18 | One of the driving motivations which mainly drove me to strive to attempt to master creating new music for recreated ancient lyres, was actually my frustration at never being able to fluently grasp the fretboard of an electric guitar!So, coming full circle, I have finally permanently installed my amazing Luthieros Lyre Pickup with my Marini 10-string lyre, so that like this live video, I can get to sound like Spock's 'Vulcan Harp' if I so desire, each and every time I pick up this lyre!!My pedal board for my electric lyre so far features:Boss RV-6 ReverbBoss DD-7 DelayBoss GE-7 EQ...it's a LYRE, Jim, but not as we know it!Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=Klezfiddle1Official Artist Links:Official Website: http://www.ancientlyre.comDigital Music Artist Profiles:Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/7Dx2vFEg8DmOJ5YCRm4A5viTunes & Apple Music: itunes.apple.com/us/artist/michael-levy/id4324920Amazon: http://amzn.to/2zmJph3Bandcamp: michaellevy.bandcamp.comFacebook Page: facebook.com/beautifullyreTwitter: twitter.com/AncientLyreInstagram:instagram.com/mlevy1400bcePatreon:patreon.com/Michael_Levy_Ancient_Lyre_Music
The Ancient Greek Tortoise Shell Lyre Michael Levy 2024-09-13 | A spontaneous, improvisation for a magnificent recreation of the tortoise shell lyre of classical antiquity! The lyre featured in this performance, has a resonator fashioned from a foraged Greek land tortoise, with goat skin soundboard - custom made in modern Greece, by Luthieros:luthieros.comFor full details of my many 'musical adventures in time travel', please check out all my official artist links below - many thanks for watching!Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=Klezfiddle1Official Artist Links:Official Website: http://www.ancientlyre.comDigital Music Artist Profiles:Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/7Dx2vFEg8DmOJ5YCRm4A5viTunes & Apple Music: itunes.apple.com/us/artist/michael-levy/id4324920Amazon: http://amzn.to/2zmJph3Bandcamp: michaellevy.bandcamp.comFacebook Page: facebook.com/beautifullyreTwitter: twitter.com/AncientLyreInstagram:instagram.com/mlevy1400bcePatreon:patreon.com/Michael_Levy_Ancient_Lyre_Music
Ancient Roman Lyre Music - Inspired by Themes from Stoic Philosophy! Michael Levy 2024-08-27 | A live performance of track 2, "Pluviam Frigus (Cold Rain)", from my 2023 album, "Musica Lyre" - out on all the major digital music platforms, studio qulaity (superior to old CD quality!) audio plus a PDF booklet of the detailed album notes can be also be purchased from Bandcamp:michaellevy.bandcamp.com/album/musica-lyraThe sequel to my 2013 album, "The Ancient Roman Lyre", this historically inspired project of original compositions for recreated ancient lyre, ("Musica Lyra" translates from Latin as "Lyre Music") 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 AureliusIn setting the sombre stoic theme of this album, in this piece, I attempt to create an atmospheric musical evocation of tears and grief in this mournful piece, by use of the ancient Greek Hypodorian mode (the equivalent intervals as A-A on the white notes of the piano, but, heard here in the intense focus bestowed by the use of just intonation)Using harmonics, I attempt to create the sharp feeling of cold rain and all its connotations of sadness.Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=Klezfiddle1Official Artist Links:Official Website: http://www.ancientlyre.comDigital Music Artist Profiles:Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/7Dx2vFEg8DmOJ5YCRm4A5viTunes & Apple Music: itunes.apple.com/us/artist/michael-levy/id4324920Amazon: http://amzn.to/2zmJph3Bandcamp: michaellevy.bandcamp.comFacebook Page: facebook.com/beautifullyreTwitter: twitter.com/AncientLyreInstagram:instagram.com/mlevy1400bcePatreon:patreon.com/Michael_Levy_Ancient_Lyre_Music
If Neros Lyre had used a Boss FX Pedal? Michael Levy 2024-08-15 | A live performance of "Nero's Lyre" - lament for solo lyre in the ancient Greek Phyrgian Mode...with Boss RV-6 Reverb Pedal!My "Musical Adventures in Time Travel" would not be complete, without exploring the notorious Emperor Nero - the most famous lyre player of antiquity, who we actually know by name! According to the timeless folklore, Nero famously played his lyre to accompany the Lament he sang as Rome burnt in the Great Fire of Rome in 64CE: whether this event was fact or fiction is irrelevant - the concept of this piece, is to evoke upon my own lyre, what Nero's famous lament may have actually sounded like...Of all my many original compositions for solo lyre, I had always wondered what this particular piece would sound like arranged also for strings - the 'shimmer' mode on my Boss RV-6 Reverb Pedal is so far about the nearest I have got to finding out!
Ancient Roman Lyre...& Boss RV-6 Reverb Pedal! Michael Levy 2024-08-08 | To celebrate my lyre theme "Ode to Ancient Rome" actually being featured in a scene in episode 7 of the 2024 Peacock TV & Prime Video television series "THOSE ABOUT TO DIE" (featuring Anthony Hopkins!!), here is a live performance of the piece...featuring the otherworldly sound of my BOSS RV-6 REVERB PEDAL!!My lyre theme can be heard for a full blazing minute of glory, from 19:34 minutes into episode 7 and as an added bonuse, during what starts off as a particulary saucey scene (Caltonia tries to take advantage of Rufus’ wife sexually, but she refuses and barges out of her house, asking Fonsoa for a place to stay).The lyre featured 9handmade in the USA by Marini Made Harps) by pure serendpity, happens to look almost exactly like a Roman lyre depcicted in a 4th century mosaic discovered at Antioch, featuring Orpheus taming the beasts with his music, as seen in the image overlay in the video.Many thanks for watching!Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=Klezfiddle1Official Artist Links:Official Website: http://www.ancientlyre.comDigital Music Artist Profiles:Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/7Dx2vFEg8DmOJ5YCRm4A5viTunes & Apple Music: itunes.apple.com/us/artist/michael-levy/id4324920Amazon: http://amzn.to/2zmJph3Bandcamp: michaellevy.bandcamp.comFacebook Page: facebook.com/beautifullyreTwitter: twitter.com/AncientLyreInstagram:instagram.com/mlevy1400bcePatreon:patreon.com/Michael_Levy_Ancient_Lyre_Music
An Ancient Greek Lyre Performed Live in a Summer Garden Michael Levy 2024-08-03 | An impromptu 'live from my Summer garden" performance of "The Song of Calliope" - an original piece for recreated ancient Greek lyre, which formed track 2 from my 2021 album, "Echoes of Ancient Greece". Available from all the usual digital music platforms, studio quality audio plus a PDF booklet of detailed album notes are available from Bandcamp:michaellevy.bandcamp.com/album/echoes-of-ancient-greeceCalliope was an ancient Greek goddess of music, song and dance and was specifically named as the Muse of Epic Poetry. In this role, Calliope was normally depicted with a writing tablet in her hand. Regrettably, today's live rendition of this piece was inevitably slightly tainted by omnipresent 21st century background noises, but I just hope the views of the lovely summer blossoms surrounding my lyre appease the ancient Greek goddess from any potential retribution! Calliope was also said to be the muse who bestowed the gift of eloquence about mortal kings, coming to them when they were a baby, and anointing their lips in honey.As a result of Calliope’s actions, when adults, the anointed ones would spout gracious words, and utter true judgements. Calliope was also considered to be the leader of the Muses, the wisest of the sisters, and also the most assertive. The marriage of Calliope and the Thracian King Oeagrus was said to have brought forth Orpheus and Linus. Orpheus was the great musical hero of Greek mythology and Linus was the inventor of rhythm and melody.When her son Orpheus was dismembered by the Bakkhantes (Bacchantes), she recovered his head and enshrined on the island of Lesbos.Her name means "beautiful-voiced" (from the Greek words 'kallos' and 'ops') - this fascinating characteristic of Calliope was the main inspiration for this new piece of music for the recreated ancient lyre.The lyre I am playing, is the marvellously mythological looking 'Lyre of Thamyris' - a chelys (tortoise shell form) lyre with a soundboard of skin, handmade in modern Greece by Luthieros:luthieros.comTo hear a multitude more of my 'musical adventures in time travel', please check out all my official artist links below:Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=Klezfiddle1Official Artist Links:Official Website: http://www.ancientlyre.comDigital Music Artist Profiles:Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/7Dx2vFEg8DmOJ5YCRm4A5viTunes & Apple Music: itunes.apple.com/us/artist/michael-levy/id4324920Amazon: http://amzn.to/2zmJph3Bandcamp: michaellevy.bandcamp.comFacebook Page: facebook.com/beautifullyreTwitter: twitter.com/AncientLyreInstagram:instagram.com/mlevy1400bcePatreon:patreon.com/Michael_Levy_Ancient_Lyre_Music
Strumming...& DRUMMING a Lyre! Michael Levy 2024-07-10 | Hopefully further demonstrating how the lyre was quite literally, 'the guitar of antiquity', here is an improvisation featuring some of the fascinating strumming/drumming possibilities on the recreated instrument - enjoy!Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=Klezfiddle1Official Artist Links:Official Website: http://www.ancientlyre.comDigital Music Artist Profiles:Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/7Dx2vFEg8DmOJ5YCRm4A5viTunes & Apple Music: itunes.apple.com/us/artist/michael-levy/id4324920Amazon: http://amzn.to/2zmJph3Bandcamp: michaellevy.bandcamp.comFacebook Page: facebook.com/beautifullyreTwitter: twitter.com/AncientLyreInstagram:instagram.com/mlevy1400bcePatreon:patreon.com/Michael_Levy_Ancient_Lyre_Music
The Ancient Timbre of the Classical Greek Tortoise Shell Lyre Michael Levy 2024-07-09 | A live performance of one of my original compositions for replica ancient Greek tortoise shell lyre, "The Death of Socrates". The lyre features an actual foraged land tortoise parapace, a soundboard of goat skin, arms of goat horn, with authentic strings of unpolished gut. I particularly like the subtley raspy, delicate, mandolin-like timbre the plectrum of carved foraged tortoise shell creates.This piece features on my 2015 album, "The Ancient Greek Tortoise Shell Lyre" - available from all the usual digital music platforms, studio quality audio plus a PDF booklet of the detailed album notes are available from Bandcamp:michaellevy.bandcamp.com/album/the-ancient-greek-tortoise-shell-lyreThe track started off as an improvisation in the intensely mournful ancient Greek Hypodorian Mode. Sometimes also known as the 'Natural Minor Mode', this was misnamed the 'Aolian Mode' in the Middle Ages; it is formed of the equivalent intervals as A-A on the white notes of the piano.My marvellously mythological lyre was handmade in modern Greece, by Luthieros:luthieros.comAccording to ancient Greek mythology, the first lyre was fashioned from a tortoise shell, by the god Hermes, as recounted in the 4th Homeric Hymn to Hermes:"For it was Hermes who first made the tortoise a singer. The creature fell in his way at the courtyard gate, where it was feeding on the rich grass before the dwelling, waddling along. When he saw it, the luck-bringing son of Zeus laughed and said: 'An omen of great luck for me so soon! I do not slight it. Hail, comrade of the feast, lovely in shape, sounding at the dance! With joy I meet you! Where got you that rich gaud for covering, that spangled shell —a tortoise living in the mountains? But I will take and carry you within: you shall help me and I will do you no disgrace, though first of all you must profit me. It is better to be at home: harm may come out of doors. Living, you shall be a spell against mischievous witchcraft; but if you die, then you shall make sweetest song.'Thus speaking, he took up the tortoise in both hands and went back into the house carrying his charming toy. Then he cut off its limbs and scooped out the marrow of the mountain-tortoise with a scoop of grey iron. As a swift thought darts through the heart of a man when thronging cares haunt him, or as bright glances flash from the eye, so glorious Hermes planned both thought and deed at once. He cut stalks of reed to measure and fixed them, fastening their ends across the back and through the shell of the tortoise, and then stretched ox hide all over it by his skill. Also he put in the horns and fitted a cross-piece upon the two of them, and stretched seven strings of sheep-gut. But when he had made it he proved each string in turn with the key, as he held the lovely thing. At the touch of his hand it sounded marvelously..."Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=Klezfiddle1Official Artist Links:Official Website: http://www.ancientlyre.comFacebook Page: facebook.com/beautifullyreTwitter: twitter.com/AncientLyreiTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/artist/michael-levy/id4324920Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/7Dx2vFEg8DmOJ5YCRm4A5vAmazon: http://amzn.to/2zmJph3Bandcamp: michaellevy.bandcamp.com
The Meditations of King David (Improvisation for Canaanite Lyre) Michael Levy 2024-06-29 | "Whenever the spirit from God came on Saul, David would take up his lyre and play. Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him.” – 1 Samuel 16:23The “Lyre of Har Megiddo” is an instrument etched onto an ivory plaque that was discovered by archaeologist Gordon Loud in the excavations of a royal palace in the ancient city of Megiddo (aka Armageddon) in Israel, dating to the 2nd Millennium BCE, circa 1200 BCE (currently on display in the Rockerfeller Museum in Jerusalem):scribd.com/document/662619151/the-lyre-of-megiddo-echoes-of-ancient-canaanThis instrument is probably the closest in both time and location to the type of lyre once played by King David himself! King David has been depicted by artists as playing an extraordinary variety of instruments including a number of harps of decidedly medieval European design, as well as Greco-Roman lyres (lyres of the Greek god Apollo) that can be seen on the coins of first century Roman-occupied Judea. The image of a Canaanite lyre performer appears on one of the famous “Megiddo ivories” that were excavated by archaeologist Gordon Loud, at what are believed to be the remains of a Late Bronze Age royal palace. The illustration is etched onto a sliver of a hippopotamus tooth, and probably adorned the lid of a box or some other decorative item. Since the hippo is found in the waters of the Upper Nile River, in Egypt, this piece shows the enormous range and influence of Egyptian culture throughout the Middle East in that period.The Canaanite style lyre I am playing, is actually based on the proportions of an actual surviving Canaanite lyre, strikingly similar to the one depicted on the Megiddo Ivory, found in grave goods excavated about 1830 near Thebes, ancient Egypt and now preserved in Leiden. My lyre was recreated by Luthieros:luthieros.comThe Late Bronze Age covers a period from roughly 1600 to 1200 B.C. which puts this piece very close to the time of the biblical King David, who is believed to have lived sometime around 1000 B.C. As most people know, according to the Old Testament, David was a musician, singer, and purportedly writer of many of the Psalms. He was said to have played a 10-string lyre (“kinnor” in Hebrew) which is exactly the type of instrument we see in the Megiddo ivory. The figure playing the lyre is dressed in the manner of a Canaanite, not an Egyptian, and is playing an instrument with 10 strings.To hear more of this fascinating lyre, please check out my 2020 album, "Echoes of Ancient Mesopotamia & Canaan", out on all the usual digital music platforms, including Spotify:open.spotify.com/album/183Znh8Rb2AFtyfwAlxA6aMany thanks for watching!Support:patreon.com/Michael_Levy_Ancient_Lyre_MusicSubscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=Klezfiddle1Official Artist Links:Official Website: http://www.ancientlyre.comFacebook Page: facebook.com/beautifullyreTwitter: twitter.com/AncientLyreiTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/artist/michael-levy/id4324920Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/7Dx2vFEg8DmOJ5YCRm4A5vAmazon: http://amzn.to/2zmJph3Bandcamp: michaellevy.bandcamp.comCD Baby: http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/MichaelLevy
The Song of Seikilos - Arranged for Ancient Greek Kithara Michael Levy 2024-06-12 | Engraved on an ancient Burial Stele at Tralles, Asia Minor, this beautiful melody was discovered and published by Ramsay, 1883. Musical signs deciphered by Wessley, 1891. The stone itself, long preserved in the collection of Young at Doudja, disappeared after the burning of Smyrna (September 1923). It is now in the Copenhagen Museum, Inv. No. 14897.This new arrangement of the piece will form track 18 of my new album, "Magic of the Kithara" - out on all the usual digital platforms on 1st January 2025, studio quality audio (superior to CD quality!) can be downloaded from Bandcamp, complete with a PDF booklet of the detailed album notes:michaellevy.bandcamp.com/album/magic-of-the-kitharaThis song, written in the ancient Greek Hypophrygian Mode, is so far, the oldest complete piece of music ever found - unlike the other precious shards of ancient Greek music which have survived, this piece is unique, as it survived in its entirety. The ancient Greek burial stele on which it was found, , bore the following epitaph: "I am a portrait in stone. I was put here by Seikilos, where I remain forever, the symbol of timeless remembrance".The timeless words of the song are:"Hoson zes, phainouMeden holos su lupou;Pros oligon esti to zenTo telos ho chronos apaitei"Translation - "While you live, shineDon't suffer anything at all;Life exists only a short whileAnd time demands its toll"Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=Klezfiddle1Official Artist Links:Official Website: http://www.ancientlyre.comDigital Music Artist Profiles:Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/7Dx2vFEg8DmOJ5YCRm4A5viTunes & Apple Music: itunes.apple.com/us/artist/michael-levy/id4324920Amazon: http://amzn.to/2zmJph3Bandcamp: michaellevy.bandcamp.comFacebook Page: facebook.com/beautifullyreTwitter: twitter.com/AncientLyreInstagram:instagram.com/mlevy1400bcePatreon:patreon.com/Michael_Levy_Ancient_Lyre_Music
Ancient Dreamscapes Michael Levy 2024-06-01 | I am delighted to announce the release today, 1st June 2024, of my new album, "Ancient Dreamscapes"! "Ancient Dreamscapes" is available now, from all the usual digital platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon & iTunes (all artist links at the bottom of this video description). Here is the album on Spotify:open.spotify.com/album/3gEGDDU5TAfQQ4YqatDjpB?si=EiQXBDXiQliTq4vTCOtGSwFor studio quality, losseless WAV audio (superior to CD Quality!) including a PDF booklet of the detailed album notes, this option is available from Bandcamp:michaellevy.bandcamp.com/album/ancient-dreamscapesSimilar in spirit to my ultra experimental 2017 album, "Ascension of the Lyre" (which was inspired by Spock's 'Vulcan Harp'!), this release also attempts to go boldly where no other lyre player has gone before!This album features a mystical, dreamy fusion of tracks from of my former experimental 2020 album of the same title with pieces remastered from my other former experimental 2020 album, "Spirits of the Ancestors" which was a musical evocation of the ancient Greek mythology surrounding the passage of the spirits of the dead, on their journey to reach Elysium - a comfortable place where the sun always shone.These two previous highly experimental releases were created during the Covid pandemic and now, in retrospect, were far too experimental in the resulting soundscape! I was never quite happy with the mixes and sometimes the rather too excessive use of contemporary studio effects, so I decided to completely remaster only those tracks from both albums I now feel worked best, created a few new pieces and merged them into this new attempt at creating an ‘auditory dreamscape’ using a wide selection of receated ancient lyres & kithara.The ancient Greek-themed improvisations feature my recreated chelys (tortoise shell form) lyre kithara and phorminx (an archaic form of kithara) all made in modern Greece by Luthieros and the pure harp-like timbre of my 10-string lyre (handmade in the USA by Marini Made Harps).The aim of this release is to attempt to create a meditative, inspirational compilation; suitable for enhancing creative thinking, relaxation & to transport the listener to distinctive dreamscapes sculptured by their own imaginations in response to my lyre improvisations. Support: patreon.com/Michael_Levy_Ancient_Lyre_Music Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=Klezfiddle1 Official Artist Links: Official Website: http://www.ancientlyre.com Facebook Page: facebook.com/beautifullyre Twitter: twitter.com/AncientLyre iTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/artist/michael-levy/id4324920 Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/7Dx2vFEg8DmOJ5YCRm4A5v Amazon: http://amzn.to/2zmJph3 Bandcamp: michaellevy.bandcamp.com
The Worlds Oldest Known Tune - Now Featured by Amen Dunes! Michael Levy 2024-05-10 | Well, it finally happened! Quite possibly the world's first 'ancient lyre/mainstream' crossover - a re-recording of my first YouTube arrangement of the Hurrian Hymn now forms a semi-surreal musical collage (overlaid with the voice of American satirist, Lenny Bruce!) - the final track on "Death Jokes"; the new album out today, by Amen Dunes:open.spotify.com/track/1tc7fJ2ANiHv7pNLsABKzg?si=966ca4295cca4566To celebrate this day, here once again, is my ORIGINAL arrangement of the tune which inspired this collaboration with Damon McMahon - 'live from my spare room' way back in February 2008 when I still lived in my old house in Salford (rather appropriately, recorded on quite possibly one of the world's oldest webcams - salubriously purchased on Salford Precinct, way back in 2003!).For full details on the Hurrian Hymn, the oldest known notated melody in History, please see my detailed website blog:ancientlyre.com/the-oldest-written-melody-in-historySupport: patreon.com/Michael_Levy_Ancient_Lyre_Music Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=Klezfiddle1 Official Artist Links: Official Website: http://www.ancientlyre.com Facebook Page: facebook.com/beautifullyre Twitter: twitter.com/AncientLyre iTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/artist/michael-levy/id4324920 Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/7Dx2vFEg8DmOJ5YCRm4A5v Amazon: http://amzn.to/2zmJph3 Bandcamp: michaellevy.bandcamp.com
Neros Lyre (Magic of the Kithara) Michael Levy 2024-05-05 | This video features a completely new arrangement for recreated Greco-Roman kithara of my 2012 single, "Nero's Lyre" - a possible track in progress for my future 2025 album in progress, "Magic of the Kithara". Due for release across all the usual digital music platforms on 1st January 2025, CD quality audio plus a PDF booklet of the detailed album notes, is available of all the tracks so far recorded, only on Bandcamp:michaellevy.bandcamp.com/album/magic-of-the-kitharaAccording to the timeless folklore, Nero famously played his lyre to accompany the Lament he sang as Rome burnt in the Great Fire of Rome in 64 CE: whether this event was fact or fiction is irrelevant - the concept of my 2012 single, "Nero's Lyre", is to evoke upon my own lyre, what Nero's famous lament may have actually sounded like...Nero's notorious reputation often masks the known facts about his passion for music, and above all, his desire to master the Kithara - the large wooden lyre favoured by the professional musicians of both ancient Greece & Rome:"The emperor Nero was noted for his love of music, and it is recorded that he played and sang. In 60 A.D. he instituted, apparently for the first time in Rome, musical competitions after the Hellenic pattern. In 65 A.D. he inaugurated a more elaborate festival, the "Neronia," which he planned to hold every five years.25 In both he appeared as chief contestant. To all appearances, Tacitus and other conservative Romans were more shocked by these actions than by his brutal murders. Of course, the desire for recognition in the musical world on the part of a Roman emperor was not original with Nero. His predecessor, Caligula, had performed as a dancer and singer, and planned to take part in tragedies. Whether he was trying to emulate Caligula or not, Nero's desire for artistic recognition was evidently quite sincere. He is said to have been exceedingly anxious over the outcome of the contests in which he appeared and to have observed strictly the "full rules of the cithara" ("Nero Fiddled While Rome Burned", Mary Francis Gyles - The Classical Journal, Vol. 42, No. 4 (Jan. 1947), 211‑217)There are several souces from antiquity which tell of the story of how Nero played the Kithara as Rome burnt down - Dio Cassius, describing the fire wrote that "Nero ascended to the roof of the palace from which there was the best general view . . . and assuming the kithara-player's garb, sang the Capture of Troy. . . ." (Dio Cassius, 62.18.1)Earlier, according to Tacitus, " the report had spread that, at the very moment when Rome was aflame, he [Nero] had mounted his private stage, and, typifying the ills of the present by the calamities of the past, had sung "the Destruction of Troy." (Tacitus, Ann. 15.39.)Writing at almost the same time as Tacitus, Suetonius wrote "Viewing the conflagration from the tower of Maecenas . . . he sang the whole of the Sack of Ilion in his regular stage costume." (Suetonius, Nero 38).It was my was my aim in composing "Nero's Lyre" to transport the listener back in time, to relive once more, this timelss , classic moment from antiquity - enjoy your journey!For many more musical adventures in time travel, please check out all my official artist links below:Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=Klezfiddle1Official Artist Links:Official Website: http://www.ancientlyre.comDigital Music Artist Profiles:Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/7Dx2vFEg8DmOJ5YCRm4A5viTunes & Apple Music: itunes.apple.com/us/artist/michael-levy/id4324920Amazon: http://amzn.to/2zmJph3Bandcamp: michaellevy.bandcamp.comFacebook Page: facebook.com/beautifullyreTwitter: twitter.com/AncientLyreInstagram:instagram.com/mlevy1400bcePatreon:patreon.com/Michael_Levy_Ancient_Lyre_Music
The Contemplations of Coeus (New Music for Ancient Greek Lyre) Michael Levy 2024-04-22 | More new music, for the recreated ancient lyre!Coeus was the Titan-god of the inquisitive mind, his name meaning "query" or "questioning". His wife, Phoebe, was the goddess of the prophetic mind.I attempt to evoke of feeling of deep contemplation and questioning, by featuring the use of the intensely introspective ancient Greek Dorian Mode (misnamed the 'Phrygian' mode by scholars during the Middle Ages, the original ancient Greek Dorian Mode features the conjunction of 2 tetrachords which formed the equivalent intervals as EFGABCDE.The lyre featured in this presentation, is the marvellously mythological looking 'Lyre of Thamyris', handmade in modern Greece by Luthieros:luthieros.comThe lyre features a soundboard of goatskin, authentic unpolished gut strings and a carved wooded plectrum tipped with tortoise shell.For countless hours more 'musical adventures in time travel', please check out all my official artist links below - many thanks for watching!Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=Klezfiddle1Official Artist Links:Official Website: http://www.ancientlyre.comDigital Music Artist Profiles:Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/7Dx2vFEg8DmOJ5YCRm4A5viTunes & Apple Music: itunes.apple.com/us/artist/michael-levy/id4324920Amazon: http://amzn.to/2zmJph3Bandcamp: michaellevy.bandcamp.comFacebook Page: facebook.com/beautifullyreTwitter: twitter.com/AncientLyreInstagram:instagram.com/mlevy1400bcePatreon:patreon.com/Michael_Levy_Ancient_Lyre_Music
Jeff Koons Praising My Tunes! Michael Levy 2024-04-03 | I was honoured in 2022 - 2023, to collaborate with the iconic American contemporary artist, Jeff Koons! This is an excerpt of Jeff Koon's interview with the French art journalist, Judith Benhamou-Huet about the exhibition of his sculpture, "Apollo Kithara" (2019 - 2022) which featured my music as the main soundscape.Jeff featured 16 tracks of my recordings of the recreated ancient Greek kithara - the lyre of the professional musicians of classical antiquity, associated in ancient Greece with the god Apollo. He wanted to play my music in the exhibition space as a way to celebrate Apollo (god of music, Olympian god of the sun & light) and the history of the Mediterranean.The sculpture featuring my music, was exhibited on both the Greek island of Hydra and at the the Liebieghaus Museum in Frankfurt.Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=Klezfiddle1Official Artist Links:Official Website: http://www.ancientlyre.comDigital Music Artist Profiles:Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/7Dx2vFEg8DmOJ5YCRm4A5viTunes & Apple Music: itunes.apple.com/us/artist/michael-levy/id4324920Amazon: http://amzn.to/2zmJph3Bandcamp: michaellevy.bandcamp.comFacebook Page: facebook.com/beautifullyreTwitter: twitter.com/AncientLyreInstagram:instagram.com/mlevy1400bcePatreon:patreon.com/Michael_Levy_Ancient_Lyre_Music
Magic of the Kithara: Orpheuss Lyre Michael Levy 2024-03-08 | A live performance of "Orpheus's Lyre" - a new from my new album in progress, "Magic of the Kithara". Originally featured on my 2013 single of the same title for the harp-like timbre of my 10-string treble lyre, this new arrangement of the piece for recreated ancient Greek kithara transforms the melody, by the elegant, deeper timbre of the kithara, the lyre of the professional musicans of ancient Greece.Due for release on all the usual digital music platforms on 1st January 2025, each and every one of the tracks for "Magic of the Kithara" can be previewed, as they are created, only on Bandcamp:michaellevy.bandcamp.com/album/magic-of-the-kitharaThis composition was inspired by the timeless ancient Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice:"Eurydice and Orpheus were young and in love. So deep was their love that they were practically inseparable. So dependent was their love that each felt they could not live without the other. These young lovers were very happy and spent their time frolicking through the meadows. One day Eurdice was gaily running through a meadow with Orpheus when she was bitten by a serpent. The poison of the sting killed her and she descended to Hades immediately.Orpheus was son of the great Olympian god Apollo. In many ways Apollo was the god of music and Orpheus was blessed with musical talents. Orpheus was so sad about the loss of his love that he composed music to express the terrible emptiness which pervaded his every breath and movement. He was so desperate and found so little else meaningful, that he decided address Hades. As the overseer of the underworld, Hades heart had to be hard as steel, and so it was. Many approached Hades to beg for loved ones back and as many times were refused. But Orpheus' music was so sweet and so moving that it softened the steel hearted heart of Hades himself. Hades gave permission to Orpheus to bring Eurydice back to the surface of the earth to enjoy the light of day. There was only one condition - Orpheus was not to look back as he ascended. He was to trust that Eurydice was immediately behind him. It was a long way back up and just as Orpheus had almost finished that last part of the trek, he looked behind him to make sure Eurydice was still with him. At that very moment, she was snatched back because he did not trust that she was there. When you hear music which mourns lost love, it is Orpheus' spirit who guides the hand of the musicians who play it" (Taken from Thomas Bulfinch and retold by Juliana Podd in Encyclopedia Mythica)In this piece, I explore transposing between the incredibly poignant-sounding ancient Greek Phrygian mode (this was misnamed the "Dorian" mode in the Middle Ages) to evoke the yearning of Orpheus for his forever lost love, and the dreamy, sensual & feminine-sounding ancient Greek Hypolydian mode (misnamed the "Lydian" mode in the Middle Ages), to paint a picture of Eurydice - the lost love for which he forever yearns...The kithara reached its pinnacle during the 5th century BCE. There is plenty of controversy about the construction - the curious spring-like structures clearly illustrated below the crossbeam to which the strings are attached, could either be interpreted as structural (providing equal & opposite reaction to the downward pull of the strings on the slender arms of the kithara, as most academic scholars believe), or maybe even evidence of some form of mechanical vibrato/portamento mechanism! My recreated ancient Greek kithara was hand-made in modern Greece by Luthieros:luthieros.comFor more detailed information on the kithara of classical antiquity, please also see my own website blog:ancientlyre.com/the-kithara-of-ancient-greece-romeMany thanks for watching!Support:patreon.com/Michael_Levy_Ancient_Lyre_MusicSubscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=Klezfiddle1Official Artist Links:Official Website: http://www.ancientlyre.comFacebook Page: facebook.com/beautifullyreTwitter: twitter.com/AncientLyreiTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/artist/michael-levy/id4324920Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/7Dx2vFEg8DmOJ5YCRm4A5vAmazon: http://amzn.to/2zmJph3Bandcamp: michaellevy.bandcamp.comCD Baby: http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/MichaelLevy
Hymn to Nemesis (Mesomedes of Crete): Magic of the Kithara Michael Levy 2024-02-28 | A live performance of the 2nd century "Hymn to Nemesis", by Mesomedes of Crete - a possible track for my new album in progress, "Magic of the Kithara". Mesomedes of Crete was a Roman-era Greek performer of the kithara (kitharode) and lyric poet. He was a freedman and favorite of Emperor Hadrian, who made him his chief musician; he also served under Hadrian's successor, Antoninus Pius.Prior to the discovery of the Seikilos epitaph in the late 19th century, the four surviving hymns of Mesomedes were the only source of notated music from the ancient world. Three were published by Vincenzo Galilei in his Dialogo della musica antica e della moderna (Florence, 1581), during a period of intense investigation into music of the ancient Greeks. These hymns had been preserved through the Byzantine tradition.In ancient Greek religion, Nemesis was the goddess who enacted retribution against those who succumb to hubris. Hubris denotes over confidence & exaggerated pride. It can be associated with a lack of knowledge or interest in history, also with shaming or contempt of others. Nemesis is the goddess of retribution and denotes the destruction, suffering or punishment that can follow in the wake of hubris.The translation of the words of the song which this melody once accomanied, as translated by Martin R West is as follows:"Nemesis, winged one that tilts life's balance, dark-eyed goddess, daughter of Justice, that curbest the vain neighings of mortals with thy adamant bit, and in thy hatred of their pernicious insolence drivest out black resentment: under thy wheel that neither stands still nor follows a fixed track men's gleaming fortune turns about. Unobserved, thou treadest at their heel; the haughty neck thou bendest; under thy forearm thou measurest off life, and ever thou turnest thy frowning gaze into men's hearts, with the scales in thy hand. Be gracious, blest dispenser of justice, Nemesis, winged one that tilts life's balance"The surviving melody by Mesomedes has such a distinctive rhythm (easily inferred from the syllables of the text of the song), that in arranging the melody for recreated kithara, I decided to explore the guitar-like timbre the ancient Greek kithara was capable of, by featuring exclusively, the 'block and strum' playing technique, which still survives in parts of Africa today, where lyres have continued to have been played since antiquity. This technique, entails blocking specific strings not required to sound with fingers of the left hand, whilst strumming only those notes desired to sound, with a plectrum in the right hand (almost all depictions of actual ancient Greek kitharodes, clearly illustrate this very technique, with the performer's left hand fingers splayed out behind the open strings being strummed with the plectrum). Due for release on all the usual digital music platforms on 1st January 2025, each and every one of the tracks for "Magic of the Kithara" can be previewed, as they are created, only on Bandcamp:michaellevy.bandcamp.com/album/magic-of-the-kitharaThe kithara reached its pinnacle during the 5th century BCE. There is plenty of controversy about the construction - the curious spring-like structures clearly illustrated below the crossbeam to which the strings are attached, could either be interpreted as structural (providing equal & opposite reaction to the downward pull of the strings on the slender arms of the kithara, as most academic scholars believe), or maybe even evidence of some form of mechanical vibrato/portamento mechanism! My recreated ancient Greek kithara was hand-made in modern Greece by Luthieros:luthieros.comFor more detailed information on the kithara of classical antiquity, please also see my own website blog:ancientlyre.com/the-kithara-of-ancient-greece-romeMany thanks for watching!Support:patreon.com/Michael_Levy_Ancient_Lyre_MusicSubscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=Klezfiddle1Official Artist Links:Official Website: http://www.ancientlyre.comFacebook Page: facebook.com/beautifullyreTwitter: twitter.com/AncientLyreiTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/artist/michael-levy/id4324920Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/7Dx2vFEg8DmOJ5YCRm4A5vAmazon: http://amzn.to/2zmJph3Bandcamp: michaellevy.bandcamp.comCD Baby: http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/MichaelLevy
Magic of the Kithara: The Golden Age of Pericles Michael Levy 2024-02-20 | A live performance of "The Golden Age of Pericles" - track 11 from my new album in progress, "Magic of the Kithara". Originally featured on my 2015 album, "The Ancient Greek Tortoise Shell Lyre", this new arrangement of the piece for recreated ancient Greek kithara, attempts to evoke the Golden Age of Pericles (461-429 BCE) -a golden period of history,which enabled the necessary conditions for Athens to rise as an academic and artistic superstructure, which gave birth to Western Philosophy.This tune started life as a spontaneous improvisation in the poignant, yearning ancient Greek Phrygian Mode, perfect for expressing an evocation of the lost world of the “Golden Age” of Athenian culture which flourished under the leadership of Pericles (495-429 B.C.), a brilliant general, orator, patron of the arts and politician—”the first citizen” of democratic Athens, according to the historian Thucydides.Originally arranged for replica ancient Greek tortoise shell lyre, in my 2015 album, "The Ancient Greek Tortoise Shell Lyre", this new arrangement of the piece for the deeper, more resonant timbre of the recreated ancient Greek kithara adds a new depth to the melodic ideas.Due for release on all the usual digital music platforms on 1st January 2025, each and every one of the tracks for "Magic of the Kithara" can be previewed, as they are created, only on Bandcamp:michaellevy.bandcamp.com/album/magic-of-the-kitharaThe kithara reached its pinnacle during the 5th century BCE. There is plenty of controversy about the construction - the curious spring-like structures clearly illustrated below the crossbeam to which the strings are attached, could either be interpreted as structural (providing equal & opposite reaction to the downward pull of the strings on the slender arms of the kithara, as most academic scholars believe), or maybe even evidence of some form of mechanical vibrato/portamento mechanism! My recreated ancient Greek kithara was hand-made in modern Greece by Luthieros:luthieros.comFor more detailed information on the kithara of classical antiquity, please also see my own website blog:ancientlyre.com/the-kithara-of-ancient-greece-romeMany thanks for watching!Support:patreon.com/Michael_Levy_Ancient_Lyre_MusicSubscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=Klezfiddle1Official Artist Links:Official Website: http://www.ancientlyre.comFacebook Page: facebook.com/beautifullyreTwitter: twitter.com/AncientLyreiTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/artist/michael-levy/id4324920Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/7Dx2vFEg8DmOJ5YCRm4A5vAmazon: http://amzn.to/2zmJph3Bandcamp: michaellevy.bandcamp.comCD Baby: http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/MichaelLevy
Magic of the Kithara: Glory of the Parthenon Michael Levy 2024-02-12 | A live performance of "Glory of the Parthenon" - track 10 from my new album in progress, "Magic of the Kithara". Originally featured on my 2010 EP, "The Ancient Greek Modes", this new arrangement of the piece for recreated ancient Greek kithara, attempts to evoke the lost beauty and perfection of the Parthenon, by use of the distinctively poignant ancient Greek Phrygian Mode - the equivalent intervals as D-D on the white notes of the piano, but heard here in the pristine focus of just intonation.Due for release on all the usual digital music platforms on 1st January 2025, each and every one of the tracks for "Magic of the Kithara" can be previewed, as they are created, only on Bandcamp:michaellevy.bandcamp.com/album/magic-of-the-kitharaThe kithara reached its pinnacle during the 5th century BCE. There is plenty of controversy about the construction - the curious spring-like structures clearly illustrated below the crossbeam to which the strings are attached, could either be interpreted as structural (providing equal & opposite reaction to the downward pull of the strings on the slender arms of the kithara, as most academic scholars believe), or maybe even evidence of some form of mechanical vibrato/portamento mechanism! My recreated ancient Greek kithara was hand-made in modern Greece by Luthieros:luthieros.comFor more detailed information on the kithara of classical antiquity, please also see my own website blog:ancientlyre.com/the-kithara-of-ancient-greece-romeMany thanks for watching!Support:patreon.com/Michael_Levy_Ancient_Lyre_MusicSubscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=Klezfiddle1Official Artist Links:Official Website: http://www.ancientlyre.comFacebook Page: facebook.com/beautifullyreTwitter: twitter.com/AncientLyreiTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/artist/michael-levy/id4324920Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/7Dx2vFEg8DmOJ5YCRm4A5vAmazon: http://amzn.to/2zmJph3Bandcamp: michaellevy.bandcamp.comCD Baby: http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/MichaelLevy
Magic of the Kithara - The Feast of Poseidon Michael Levy 2024-01-30 | A live performance of "The Feast of Poseidon" - track 6 from my new album in progress, "Magic of the Kithara". Due for release on all the usual digital music platforms on 1st January 2025, each and every one of the tracks can be previewed, as they are created, on Bandcamp:michaellevy.bandcamp.com/album/magic-of-the-kitharaThe kithara reached its pinnacle during the 5th century BCE. There is plenty of controversy about the construction - the curious spring-like structures clearly illustrated below the crossbeam to which the strings are attached, could either be interpreted as structural (providing equal & opposite reaction to the downward pull of the strings on the slender arms of the kithara, as most academic scholars believe), or maybe even evidence of some form of mechanical vibrato/portamento mechanism! My ancient Greek kithara was recreated in modern Greece, by Luthieros:luthieros.comFor more detailed information on the kithara of classical antiquity, please also see my own website blog:ancientlyre.com/the-kithara-of-ancient-greece-romeIn Athens and other parts of ancient Greece, there is a month that roughly corresponds with the Winter solstice that is named Poseidon for the sea-god Poseidon. Despite the fact that the Greeks were the least likely to sail during these months, they held a celebration in Athens called Posidea to celebrate Poseidon.In this piece, I attempt to evoke the cold of Winter & the icy depths of the Oceans of Poseidon by use of the ancient Greek Hypodorian Mode in the intense focus of just intonation.Many thanks for watching!Support:patreon.com/Michael_Levy_Ancient_Lyre_MusicSubscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=Klezfiddle1Official Artist Links:Official Website: http://www.ancientlyre.comFacebook Page: facebook.com/beautifullyreTwitter: twitter.com/AncientLyreiTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/artist/michael-levy/id4324920Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/7Dx2vFEg8DmOJ5YCRm4A5vAmazon: http://amzn.to/2zmJph3Bandcamp: michaellevy.bandcamp.comCD Baby: http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/MichaelLevy
Magic of the Kithara: Hymn to Alpheus Michael Levy 2024-01-15 | For my first video of 2024, here is a new track for my future album in progress - for 2025!"Magic of the Kithara" will feature new music, for the recreated ancient Greek kithara - the large wooden lyre, performed by the professional musicians of classical antiquity. This piece will probably be included as a track on my new album in progress, currently under construction on Bandcamp & due for release on 1st January 2025:michaellevy.bandcamp.com/album/magic-of-the-kitharaIn ancient Greek mythology, like most river gods, Alpheus was a son of the Titans Oceanus and his sister-wife,Tethys.Alpheus was a passionate hunter and fell in love with the nymph Arethusa, but she fled from him to the island of Ortygia near Syracuse, and metamorphosed herself into a well, after which Alpheus became a river, which flowing from the Peloponnese under the sea to Ortygia, there united its waters with those of the well Arethusa.This piece attempts to evoke the feeling resting by a river, shimmering in the rays of the sun, by use of the the distinctively dreamy ancient Greek Hypolydian Mode - the equivalent intervals as F-F on the white notes of the piano, but heard here, in the intense focus of just intonation.As no surviving actual ancient Greek kithara has yet been discovered, the recreation was based upon the many illustrations seen on countless ancient Greek vases, sculptures and artwork. The kithara reached its pinnacle during the 5th century BCE. There is plenty of controversy about the construction - the curious spring-like structures clearly illustrated below the crossbeam to which the strings are attached, could either be interpreted as structural (providing equal & opposite reaction to the downward pull of the strings on the slender arms of the kithara, as most academic scholars believe), or maybe even evidence of some form of mechanical vibrato/portamento mechanism! My ancient Greek kithara was recreated in modern Greece, by Luthieros:luthieros.comFor more detailed information on the kithara of classical antiquity, please also see my own website blog:ancientlyre.com/the-kithara-of-ancient-greece-romeMany thanks for watching!Support:patreon.com/Michael_Levy_Ancient_Lyre_MusicSubscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=Klezfiddle1Official Artist Links:Official Website: http://www.ancientlyre.comFacebook Page: facebook.com/beautifullyreTwitter: twitter.com/AncientLyreiTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/artist/michael-levy/id4324920Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/7Dx2vFEg8DmOJ5YCRm4A5vAmazon: http://amzn.to/2zmJph3Bandcamp: michaellevy.bandcamp.comCD Baby: http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/MichaelLevy
Magic of the Kithara: Hymn to Himeros Michael Levy 2023-12-10 | New music, for the recreated ancient Greek kithara - the large wooden lyre, performed by the professional musicians of classical antiquity. This piece will probably be included as a track on my new album in progress, currently under construction on Bandcamp & due for release in 2025:michaellevy.bandcamp.com/album/magic-of-the-kitharaHimeros was the ancient Greek god who represented desire and unrequited love. Himeros was identified by his carrying a taenia, a colourful headband worn by athletes. He is described in Hesiod's Theogony as being born alongside Aphrodite.In this piece, I attempt to evoke a feeling of unrequited love and yearning desire, by the use of dissonance and the intensely introspective ancient Greek Hypodorian Mode - the conjunction of two tetrachords white form the equivalent intervals as A-A on the white notes of the piano, but heard here, in the intense focus of just intonation.As no surviving actual ancient Greek kithara has yet been discovered, the recreation was based upon the many illustrations seen on countless ancient Greek vases, sculptures and artwork. The kithara reached its pinnacle during the 5th century BCE. There is plenty of controversy about the construction - the curious spring-like structures clearly illustrated below the crossbeam to which the strings are attached, could either be interpreted as structural (providing equal & opposite reaction to the downward pull of the strings on the slender arms of the kithara, as most academic scholars believe), or maybe even evidence of some form of mechanical vibrato/portamento mechanism! My ancient Greek kithara was recreated in modern Greece, by Luthieros:luthieros.comFor more detailed information on the kithara of classical antiquity, please also see my own website blog:ancientlyre.com/the-kithara-of-ancient-greece-romeMany thanks for watching!Support:patreon.com/Michael_Levy_Ancient_Lyre_MusicSubscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=Klezfiddle1Official Artist Links:Official Website: http://www.ancientlyre.comFacebook Page: facebook.com/beautifullyreTwitter: twitter.com/AncientLyreiTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/artist/michael-levy/id4324920Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/7Dx2vFEg8DmOJ5YCRm4A5vAmazon: http://amzn.to/2zmJph3Bandcamp: michaellevy.bandcamp.comCD Baby: http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/MichaelLevy
Meditation for Ancient Greek Kithara Michael Levy 2023-12-05 | The very first 'live' draft of the creation of "Hymn to Pasithea" - new music, for the recreated ancient Greek kithara (the large wooden lyre, performed by the professional musicians of classical antiquity). A more refined version of this piece will be included as a track on my new album in progress, currently under construction on Bandcamp & due for release in 2025:michaellevy.bandcamp.com/album/magic-of-the-kitharaPasithea was one of the ancient Greek Graces & the wife of Hypnos, god of sleep. She was the goddess of rest and relaxation. I attempt to evoke a feeling of quiet contemplation, through the use of the distinctively introspective ancient Greek Dorian Mode - the conjuction of 2 tetrachords which form the equivalent intervals as E-E on the white notes of the piano, but heard here, in the much more intense focus of just intonation.As no surviving actual ancient Greek kithara has yet been discovered, the recreation was based upon the many illustrations seen on countless ancient Greek vases, sculptures and artwork. The kithara reached its pinnacle during the 5th century BCE. There is plenty of controversy about the construction - the curious spring-like structures clearly illustrated below the crossbeam to which the strings are attached, could either be interpreted as structural (providing equal & opposite reaction to the downward pull of the strings on the slender arms of the kithara, as most academic scholars believe), or maybe even evidence of some form of mechanical vibrato/portamento mechanism! My ancient Greek kithara was recreated in modern Greece, by Luthieros:luthieros.comFor more detailed information on the kithara of classical antiquity, please also see my own website blog:ancientlyre.com/the-kithara-of-ancient-greece-romeMany thanks for watching!Support:patreon.com/Michael_Levy_Ancient_Lyre_MusicSubscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=Klezfiddle1Official Artist Links:Official Website: http://www.ancientlyre.comFacebook Page: facebook.com/beautifullyreTwitter: twitter.com/AncientLyreiTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/artist/michael-levy/id4324920Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/7Dx2vFEg8DmOJ5YCRm4A5vAmazon: http://amzn.to/2zmJph3Bandcamp: michaellevy.bandcamp.comCD Baby: http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/MichaelLevy
Magic of the Kithara: Hymn to Zephyrus Michael Levy 2023-11-22 | New music, for the recreated ancient Greek kithara - the large wooden lyre, performed by the professional musicians of classical antiquity. This piece will probably be included as a track on my new album in progress, currently under construction on Bandcamp & due for release in 2025:michaellevy.bandcamp.com/album/magic-of-the-kitharaAs no surviving actual ancient Greek kithara has yet been discovered, the recreation was based upon the many illustrations seen on countless ancient Greek vases, sculptures and artwork. The kithara reached its pinnacle during the 5th century BCE. There is plenty of controversy about the construction - the curious spring-like structures clearly illustrated below the crossbeam to which the strings are attached, could either be interpreted as structural (providing equal & opposite reaction to the downward pull of the strings on the slender arms of the kithara, as most academic scholars believe), or maybe even evidence of some form of mechanical vibrato/portamento mechanism! My ancient Greek kithara was recreated in modern Greece, by Luthieros:luthieros.comThis piece was inspired by the mythology of Zephyrus, the god and personification of the West wind. He was one of the several wind gods, known as the Anemoi. The son of Eos, the goddess of the dawn, and Astraeus.I attempt to evoke the feeling of a soft breeze in this piece, by creating a feeling of movement, by passages of complex cross-rhythms between the left and right hand.For more detailed information on the kithara of classical antiquity, please also see my own website blog:ancientlyre.com/the-kithara-of-ancient-greece-romeMany thanks for watching!Support:patreon.com/Michael_Levy_Ancient_Lyre_MusicSubscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=Klezfiddle1Official Artist Links:Official Website: http://www.ancientlyre.comFacebook Page: facebook.com/beautifullyreTwitter: twitter.com/AncientLyreiTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/artist/michael-levy/id4324920Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/7Dx2vFEg8DmOJ5YCRm4A5vAmazon: http://amzn.to/2zmJph3Bandcamp: michaellevy.bandcamp.comCD Baby: http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/MichaelLevy
The Ancient Greek Lyre: Ode to Aphrodite Michael Levy 2023-11-21 | A live performance of "Ode to Aphrodite" - track 10, from my 2010 album, "The Ancient Greek Lyre". Available from all digital music stores, here is the link to the album on Spotify:open.spotify.com/album/4KgqlnVDzjys22Qol0NYHUThe great thing about my recreated ancient lyres, is that each one adds a totally unique timbre to any new arrangement of my old tunes! I love the distinctive character of the authentic unpolished gut strings on this one & the crisp attack of the carved tortoise shell plectrum...In this live rendition of the melody, a dreamy tune in the ancient Greek Hypodorian mode (a conjuction of 2 tetrachords producing the equivalnet intervals as A-A on the white notes of the piano, but heard here in authentic just intonation), I perform it on my recreated ancient Greek chelys (tortoise shell form) lyre, hand-made in modern Greece by Luthieros:luthieros.comTo purchase CD quality audio of "The Ancient Greek Lyre", which includes a PDF booklet of the detailed album notes, this is available from Bandcamp:michaellevy.bandcamp.com/album/the-ancient-greek-lyreFor countless hours more of my musical adventures in time travel, please check out all my official artist links belowSubscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=Klezfiddle1Official Artist Links:Official Website: http://www.ancientlyre.comDigital Music Artist Profiles:Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/7Dx2vFEg8DmOJ5YCRm4A5viTunes & Apple Music: itunes.apple.com/us/artist/michael-levy/id4324920Amazon: http://amzn.to/2zmJph3Bandcamp: michaellevy.bandcamp.comFacebook Page: facebook.com/beautifullyreTwitter: twitter.com/AncientLyreInstagram:instagram.com/mlevy1400bcePatreon:patreon.com/Michael_Levy_Ancient_Lyre_Music
Magic of the Kithara Michael Levy 2023-11-12 | New music, for the recreated ancient Greek kithara - the large wooden lyre, performed by the professional musicians of classical antiquity. This piece will probably be included as a track on my new album in progress, currently under construction on Bandcamp & due for release in 2025:michaellevy.bandcamp.com/album/magic-of-the-kitharaAs no surviving actual ancient Greek kithara has yet been discovered, the recreation was based upon the many illustrations seen on countless ancient Greek vases, sculptures and artwork. The kithara reached its pinnacle during the 5th century BCE. There is plenty of controversy about the construction - the curious spring-like structures clearly illustrated below the crossbeam to which the strings are attached, could either be interpreted as structural (providing equal & opposite reaction to the downward pull of the strings on the slender arms of the kithara, as most academic scholars believe), or maybe even evidence of some form of mechanical vibrato/portamento mechanism! My ancient Greek kithara was recreated in modern Greece, by Luthieros:luthieros.comThis piece explores the guitar-like quality that the recreated kithara produces, since like the guitar, the kithara could also produce more harp-like, finger-plucked timbres, crisp plectrum plucked textures and by the technique of 'string blocking' (blocking specific strings not required to sound with the left hand, whilst simultaneously strumming the desired strings with the plectrum in the right hand), basic harmonies could be rhythmically strummed, just as on a modern guitar. Indeed, the word 'guitar' is actually derived from the original ancient greek word, 'kithara'!For more detailed information on the kithara of classical antiquity, please also see my own website blog:ancientlyre.com/the-kithara-of-ancient-greece-romeMany thanks for watching!Support:patreon.com/Michael_Levy_Ancient_Lyre_MusicSubscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=Klezfiddle1Official Artist Links:Official Website: http://www.ancientlyre.comFacebook Page: facebook.com/beautifullyreTwitter: twitter.com/AncientLyreiTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/artist/michael-levy/id4324920Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/7Dx2vFEg8DmOJ5YCRm4A5vAmazon: http://amzn.to/2zmJph3Bandcamp: michaellevy.bandcamp.comCD Baby: http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/MichaelLevy
The Sound of the Ancient Greek Kithara Michael Levy 2023-11-09 | To celebrate the publication of Jeff Koons's new book, "Apollo", about the exhibtion of his sculpture "Apollo Kithara" which featured my music for recreated kithara as the main soundscape, here is a brand new piece, "Hymn to Gaia"- performed on a recreation of the ancient Greek kithara!In Greek mythology, Gaia is the personification of the Earth. Gaia is the ancestral mother of all life. In the middle of the melody, featuringly the intensely introspective ancient Greek Dorian Mode (the equivalent intervals as E-E on the white notes of the piano, this was misnamed the 'Phrygian' mode by scholars in the Middle Ages), I attempt to evoke a feeling of the relentless generation of life on Earth by spontaneously improvising intertwining threads of melodic movement...The kithara was the large wooden lyre, performed by the professional musicians of classical antiquity, recreated here by Luthieros:luthieros.comAs no surviving actual ancient Greek kithara has yet been discovered, the recreation was based upon the many illustrations seen on countless ancient Greek vases, sculptures and artwork. There is plenty of controversy about the construction - the curious spring-like structures clearly illustrated below the crossbeam to which the strings are attached, could either be interpreted as structural (providing equal & opposite reaction to the downward pull of the strings on the slender arms of the kithara, as most academic scholars believe), or maybe even evidence of some form of mechanical vibrato/portamento mechanism! Jeff Koons's book, "Apollo", featuring all the details & photos of the exhibition of his remarkable sculpture "Apollo Kithara" can be ordered now:artbook.com/9786185039394.htmlFor more detailed information on the kithara of classical antiquity, please also see my own website blog:ancientlyre.com/the-kithara-of-ancient-greece-romeMany thanks for watching!Support:patreon.com/Michael_Levy_Ancient_Lyre_MusicSubscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=Klezfiddle1Official Artist Links:Official Website: http://www.ancientlyre.comFacebook Page: facebook.com/beautifullyreTwitter: twitter.com/AncientLyreiTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/artist/michael-levy/id4324920Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/7Dx2vFEg8DmOJ5YCRm4A5vAmazon: http://amzn.to/2zmJph3Bandcamp: michaellevy.bandcamp.comCD Baby: http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/MichaelLevy
The Sound of the Ancient Greek Kithara Michael Levy 2023-11-07 | To celebrate the publication of Jeff Koons's new book, "Apollo", about the exhibtion of his sculpture "Apollo Kithara" which featured my music for recreated kithara as the main soundscape, here is "Hymn to Zeus" - a 'live' performance of track 3 from my 2010 album, "Apollo's Lyre", performed on an actual recreation of the ancient Greek kithara! Available from all major digital music stores. CD Quality audio plus a PDF of the detailed album notes are also available from Bandcamp:michaellevy.bandcamp.com/album/apollos-lyreThis piece, an original composition for solo lyre, is in the distinctively intense, introspective ancient Greek Dorian mode - the equivalent intervals as E-E on the white notes of the piano, this was misnamed the 'Phrygian' mode by scholars in the Middle Ages.The kithara was the large wooden lyre, performed by the professional musicians of classical antiquity, recreated here by Luthieros:luthieros.comAs no surviving actual ancient Greek kithara has yet been discovered, the recreation was based upon the many illustrations seen on countless ancient Greek vases, sculptures and artwork. There is plenty of controversy about the construction - the curious spring-like structures clearly illustrated below the crossbeam to which the strings are attached, could either be interpreted as structural (providing equal & opposite reaction to the downward pull of the strings on the slender arms of the kithara, as most academic scholars believe), or maybe even evidence of some form of mechanical vibrato/portamento mechanism! Luthieros, being highly adventurous, decided to opt for the vibrato/portamento possibility of these springs - as I also attempt to demonstrate in this performance.Jeff Koons's book, "Apollo", featuring all the details & photos of the exhibition of his remarkable sculpture "Apollo Kithara" can be ordered now:artbook.com/9786185039394.htmlFor more detailed information on the kithara of classical antiquity, please also see my own website blog:ancientlyre.com/the-kithara-of-ancient-greece-romeMany thanks for watching!Support:patreon.com/Michael_Levy_Ancient_Lyre_MusicSubscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=Klezfiddle1Official Artist Links:Official Website: http://www.ancientlyre.comFacebook Page: facebook.com/beautifullyreTwitter: twitter.com/AncientLyreiTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/artist/michael-levy/id4324920Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/7Dx2vFEg8DmOJ5YCRm4A5vAmazon: http://amzn.to/2zmJph3Bandcamp: michaellevy.bandcamp.comCD Baby: http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/MichaelLevy
Apatheia (Freedom from Passion) Michael Levy 2023-11-04 | A live performance for solo lyre, of "Apatheia (Freedom from Passion)" - track 8 from my 2023 album inspired by ancient Greek Philosophy, "Ataraxa (Inner Harmony)". Available from all the usual digital music platforms, CD quality audio is also available from Bandcamp:michaellevy.bandcamp.com/album/ataraxia-inner-harmonyThis 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 ancient Greek stoicism, "Apatheia” refers to a state of mind in which one is not disturbed by the negative passions. Apatheia in turn yields Ataraxia - a sense of tranquillity that comes from having developed an attitude of equanimity toward whatever the world bestows on us during our finite lives.One of the greatest sources of our negative passions are regrets. We must overcome the regrets and mistakes we might have made along the journey of life - the more regrets we carry forward, the less happiness we can experience. Regrets will actually deprive us of meaning from our lives!The track features once more, the distinctively poignant quality of the ancient Greek Phrygian mode, in geometrically pure just intonation to musically evoke a feeling of regret.Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=Klezfiddle1Official Artist Links:Official Website: http://www.ancientlyre.comDigital Music Artist Profiles:Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/7Dx2vFEg8DmOJ5YCRm4A5viTunes & Apple Music: itunes.apple.com/us/artist/michael-levy/id4324920Amazon: http://amzn.to/2zmJph3Bandcamp: michaellevy.bandcamp.comFacebook Page: facebook.com/beautifullyreTwitter: twitter.com/AncientLyreInstagram:instagram.com/mlevy1400bcePatreon:patreon.com/Michael_Levy_Ancient_Lyre_Music
Music for Philosophical Meditation Michael Levy 2023-11-01 | Over an entire hour of meditative music for recreated ancient lyre, inspired by themes from ancient Greek Philosophy!This extended length presentation features the complete tracks from my albums "Ataraxia (Inner Harmony)" inspired by themes from skeptical ancient Greek philosophy, "Musica Lyra" inspired by themes from stoic philosophy & a couple of particularly introspective tracks from my albums "The Ancient Roman Lyre" & "The Lyre of Hermes".Throughout these albums, I created new music for the recreated ancient lyre, using the distinctive qualities of the long-forgotten ancient Greek musical modes, whose expressive characteristics are further enhance by the us of the pristine, intense focus of just intonation.Available from all the usual digital music platforms, CD quality audio including PDF booklets of detailed album notes of all my albums can be also purchased from Bandcamp:michaellevy.bandcamp.comMany thanks for watching!Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=Klezfiddle1Official Artist Links:Official Website: http://www.ancientlyre.comDigital Music Artist Profiles:Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/7Dx2vFEg8DmOJ5YCRm4A5viTunes & Apple Music: itunes.apple.com/us/artist/michael-levy/id4324920Amazon: http://amzn.to/2zmJph3Bandcamp: michaellevy.bandcamp.comFacebook Page: facebook.com/beautifullyreTwitter: twitter.com/AncientLyreInstagram:instagram.com/mlevy1400bcePatreon:patreon.com/Michael_Levy_Ancient_Lyre_Music
Echoes of Ancient Greece | Lamentations of the Algea Michael Levy 2023-10-30 | "Lamentations of the Algea" - a live performance of track 5 from my 2021 album, "Echoes of Ancient Greece". Available from all the usual digital music platforms, CD quality audio is also available from Bandcamp:michaellevy.bandcamp.com/album/echoes-of-ancient-greeceThis piece is a sorrowful piece for solo lyre, in the distinctively poignant ancient Greek Phrygian Mode.The Algea were were the personifications of sorrow in Greek mythology, daughters of the goddess of strife, Eris. They were related to Oizys, god of misery, and Penthos, god of mourning. Their opposites were the goddess of pleasure, Hedone, and the Charites, goddesses of joy.There were three Algea; Lype, personification of pain, grief and distress; Ania, personification of distress, sorrow, and boredom; and Achus, personification of anguish.The beatiful lyre I am playing, is the "Lyre of Thamyris" - hand-made in modern Greece by Luthieros:luthieros.com/product/the-thamyris-lyre-the-mortal-to-challenge-the-muses-ancient-greek-lyre-chelys-9-strings-top-quality-handcrafted-musical-instrumentSubscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=Klezfiddle1 Official Artist Links: Official Website: http://www.ancientlyre.com Facebook Page: facebook.com/beautifullyre Twitter: twitter.com/AncientLyre iTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/artist/michael-levy/id4324920 Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/7Dx2vFEg8DmOJ5YCRm4A5v Amazon: http://amzn.to/2zmJph3 Bandcamp: michaellevy.bandcamp.com CD Baby: http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/MichaelLevy
The Sound of the Ancient Greek Kithara Michael Levy 2023-10-25 | Another spontaneous improvisation for recreated ancient Greek kithara - the lyre of the professional musicians of classical antiquity, recreated in modern Greece by Luthieros:luthieros.comTechniques demonstrated include rhythmic harmonies strummed across the strings - those strings not desired to be strummed are blocked by fingers of the left hand whilst those strings desired to be sounded are strummed with a plectrum in the right hand. Finger-plucked, pure consonant intervals of 5ths & 4ths also can be played by the left hand to effortlessly accompany any melodic line, with variety in timbre provided by the occasional use of harmonics. Although harmony in the modern sense of chord progressions may not have been used in ancient music, the use of these consonant intervals to accompany melodic lines was clearly documented and although no specific codification of specific rules yet existed for the composition of counterpoint, spontaneously improvised counterpoint was commonplace, particularly in the performance of the aulos - 2 reed pipes played by the same performer, simultaneously:ancientlyre.com/the-urban-myth-of-the-monotony-of-monophony-in-the-ancient-worldJust like modern acoustic guitar technique, rhythm can also be tapped on the body of the kithara during performance (I tap the back of the kithara with fingers of my left hand for this section of the improvisation).My recreated kithara has unpolished gut strings, whose warm timbre and crispness of attack would be very similar in quality to the strings available to the professional musicians of ancient Greece, some 2,500 or so years ago.The distinctively dreamy characteristics of the mode of this improvisation, is created by the use of the ancient Greek Hypolydian Mode - the conjunction of 2 tetrachords which forms the equivalent intervals as F-F on the white notes of the piano, but heard here in the intense focus of just intonation.Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=Klezfiddle1Official Artist Links:Official Website: http://www.ancientlyre.comDigital Music Artist Profiles:Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/7Dx2vFEg8DmOJ5YCRm4A5viTunes & Apple Music: itunes.apple.com/us/artist/michael-levy/id4324920Amazon: http://amzn.to/2zmJph3Bandcamp: michaellevy.bandcamp.comFacebook Page: facebook.com/beautifullyreTwitter: twitter.com/AncientLyreInstagram:instagram.com/mlevy1400bcePatreon:patreon.com/Michael_Levy_Ancient_Lyre_Music
Improvisation for Ancient Greek Kithara Michael Levy 2023-10-23 | A spontaneous improvisation for recreated ancient Greek kithara - the lyre of the professional musicians of classical antiquity, recreated in modern Greece by Luthieros:luthieros.comThis improvisation hopefully demonstrates, how even with just 9 strings (the average number of strings on the ancient Greek kithara ranged from between 7-12 strings), the range of the kithara can easily be extended by use of harmonics and how just like a guitar (whose name is actually derived from 'kithara'!), rhythmic harmonies can be strummed across the strings - in the case of the kithara, those strings not desired to be strummed are blocked by fingers of the left hand whilst those strings desired to be sounded are strummed with a plectrum in the right hand.My recreated kithara has unpolished gut strings, whose warm timbre and crispness of attack would be very similar in quality to the strings available to the professional musicians of ancient Greece, some 2,500 or so years ago.Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=Klezfiddle1Official Artist Links:Official Website: http://www.ancientlyre.comDigital Music Artist Profiles:Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/7Dx2vFEg8DmOJ5YCRm4A5viTunes & Apple Music: itunes.apple.com/us/artist/michael-levy/id4324920Amazon: http://amzn.to/2zmJph3Bandcamp: michaellevy.bandcamp.comFacebook Page: facebook.com/beautifullyreTwitter: twitter.com/AncientLyreInstagram:instagram.com/mlevy1400bcePatreon:patreon.com/Michael_Levy_Ancient_Lyre_Music
The Lyre of Hermes | Asteriai (Nymphs of the Stars) Michael Levy 2023-10-11 | A live performance of track 2, "Asteriai (Nymphs of the Stars)", from my forthcoming re-recorded, extended length re-release of my original 2015 album, "The Lyre of Hermes". I am re-releasing the an extended length version of the album across all the usual digital music platforms on 1st January 2024, with re-recorded, extended & remastered versions of the original tracks, plus 4 new pieces - including this one! CD quality audio plus a PDF boolet of the details album notes is available now, only on Bandcamp:michaellevy.bandcamp.com/album/the-lyre-of-hermesAccording to classical mythology, most Asteriai were daughters of the Titan Atlas including the Pleiades and Hyades, both of which were also classed as Oreiades (Mountain-Nymphs).I attempt to evoke a dreamy, timeless feeling of a sweeping starry vista in this improvisation for solo chelys (tortoise shell form) replica ancient Greek lyre, in the profound and timeless ancient Greek Phrygian mode, (equivalent intervals as D-D on the white notes of the piano and misnamed the 'Dorian' Mode in the Middle Ages) in the just intonation of antiquity.The original 2015 EP album was recorded in collaboration with the latter day ancient Greek lyre makers "Luthieros", who are based in Thessaloniki, Greeceluthieros.comThe original EP length album features a recreated 'chelys' - the tortoise shell form of lyre played in ancient Greece, which had a resonator either made from an actual tortoise shell, or from wood carved in the form of a tortoise shell. The lyre I am playing, is the Lutherios "Lyre of Apollo III" model - massive in size, with a soundboard of goat skin & a tortoise shell style resonator made in much more resonant wood, the instrument is certainly worthy of the mythological deity which inspired its creation!My book, featuring sheet music of 13 of my original melodies for recreated ancient lyre is also published by Luthieros:luthieros.com/product/best-of-michael-levy-lyre-sheet-musicFor countless more 'musical adventures in time travel', please also see all my official artist links below - many thanks for watching!Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=Klezfiddle1Official Artist Links:Official Website: http://www.ancientlyre.comDigital Music Artist Profiles:Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/7Dx2vFEg8DmOJ5YCRm4A5viTunes & Apple Music: itunes.apple.com/us/artist/michael-levy/id4324920Amazon: http://amzn.to/2zmJph3Bandcamp: michaellevy.bandcamp.comFacebook Page: facebook.com/beautifullyreTwitter: twitter.com/AncientLyreInstagram:instagram.com/mlevy1400bcePatreon:patreon.com/Michael_Levy_Ancient_Lyre_Music
The Lyre of Hermes | Lampades (Nymphs of Hades) Michael Levy 2023-10-07 | A live performance of track 8, "Lampades (Nymphs of Hades)", from my forthcoming re-recorded, extended length re-release of my original 2015 album, "The Lyre of Hermes". I am re-releasing the an extended length version of the album across all the usual digital music platforms on 1st January 2024, with re-recorded, extended & remastered versions of the original tracks, plus 4 new pieces - including this one! CD quality audio plus a PDF boolet of the details album notes is available now, only on Bandcamp:michaellevy.bandcamp.com/album/the-lyre-of-hermesIn Greek mythology, Lampades were the torch-bearing nymphs of the underworld who accompanied Hecate, the goddess of sorcery, in her night-time revels and hauntings!I attempt to evoke the sinister characteristic of the Lampades in this improvisation, by use of an unsettling chromatic genre of the ancient Greek Phyrgian Mode - the same mode can actually be found in an extant dramatic fragment of ancient Greek music, called "Tecmessa's Lament", from the 5th century BCE tragedy, "Ajax".The original 2015 EP album was recorded in collaboration with the latter day ancient Greek lyre makers "Luthieros", who are based in Thessaloniki, Greeceluthieros.comThe original EP length album features a recreated 'chelys' - the tortoise shell form of lyre played in ancient Greece, which had a resonator either made from an actual tortoise shell, or from wood carved in the form of a tortoise shell. The lyre I am playing, is the Lutherios "Lyre of Apollo III" model - massive in size, with a soundboard of goat skin & a tortoise shell style resonator made in much more resonant wood, the instrument is certainly worthy of the mythological deity which inspired its creation!My book, featuring sheet music of 13 of my original melodies for recreated ancient lyre is also published by Luthieros:luthieros.com/product/best-of-michael-levy-lyre-sheet-musicFor countless more 'musical adventures in time travel', please also see all my official artist links below - many thanks for watching!Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=Klezfiddle1Official Artist Links:Official Website: http://www.ancientlyre.comDigital Music Artist Profiles:Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/7Dx2vFEg8DmOJ5YCRm4A5viTunes & Apple Music: itunes.apple.com/us/artist/michael-levy/id4324920Amazon: http://amzn.to/2zmJph3Bandcamp: michaellevy.bandcamp.comFacebook Page: facebook.com/beautifullyreTwitter: twitter.com/AncientLyreInstagram:instagram.com/mlevy1400bcePatreon:patreon.com/Michael_Levy_Ancient_Lyre_Music
Maenads (Nymphs of Dionysus) Michael Levy 2023-09-23 | A live performance of track 10, "Maenads (Nymphs of Dionysus)", from my forthcoming re-recorded, extended length re-release of my original 2015 album, "The Lyre of Hermes". I am re-releasing the an extended length version of the album across all the usual digital music platforms on 1st January 2024, with re-recorded, extended & remastered versions of the original tracks, plus 4 new pieces - including this one! CD quality audio plus a PDF boolet of the details album notes is available now, only on Bandcamp:michaellevy.bandcamp.com/album/the-lyre-of-hermesMaenads were the wild, orgiastic nymphs of the consort of the god Dionysus. They were also known as Thyiads, Bacchae and Bacchantes. In ancient Greek mythology, Dionysus was the Olympian god of wine, vegetation, pleasure, festivity, madness and wild frenzy!In this improvisation, I attempt to evoke such wild orgiastic frenzy, by demonstrating the fascinating percussive possibilities of the recreated chelys form lyre, by using my heavy carved wood plectrum as a baton on the goat skin soundboard & the edge of the lyre, to literally create a built-in drum kit! The intoxicated, drunken feel I also attempt to convey in this spontaneous improvisation, is hopefully conjured up here, by the use of the Archytas Enharmonic Genus, which features its distinctively fuzzy and unsettling quartertones.In creating my tunes, 90% of the time, I actually come up with the tune first, usually conjured up fairly spontaneously in a 'Muse inspired improvisational fantasia' - then spend weeks later trying to find a title for the track, which best emphasises the feel of the music! This certainly applied to this piece - first, I called it "Lampades (Nymphs of Hades)", to replace an improvisation of the same title from the original 2015 EP, but later, I was able to recreate the essential essence of this other improvisation & after some research, the Maenads associtation with the drunken debauchery of Dionysus perfectly came across in both the driving rhythm of this new improvisation & the fuzzy, unsettling quartertones of the Enharmonic Genus really did evoke in my mind, a feeling of copious alchohol induced intoxication! The title I eventually give to my tunes, therefore, usually are to emphasise the feeling & mood of the tunes, after I have had time to evaluate precisely how they make me feel when I hear them again.The original 2015 EP album was recorded in collaboration with the latter day ancient Greek lyre makers "Luthieros", who are based in Thessaloniki, Greeceluthieros.comThe original EP length album features a recreated 'chelys' - the tortoise shell form of lyre played in ancient Greece, which had a resonator either made from an actual tortoise shell, or from wood carved in the form of a tortoise shell. The lyre I am playing, is the Lutherios "Lyre of Apollo III" model - massive in size, with a soundboard of goat skin & a tortoise shell style resonator made in much more resonant wood, the instrument is certainly worthy of the mythological deity which inspired its creation!My book, featuring sheet music of 13 of my original melodies for recreated ancient lyre is also published by Luthieros:luthieros.com/product/best-of-michael-levy-lyre-sheet-musicFor countless more 'musical adventures in time travel', please also see all my official artist links below - many thanks for watching!Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=Klezfiddle1Official Artist Links:Official Website: http://www.ancientlyre.comDigital Music Artist Profiles:Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/7Dx2vFEg8DmOJ5YCRm4A5viTunes & Apple Music: itunes.apple.com/us/artist/michael-levy/id4324920Amazon: http://amzn.to/2zmJph3Bandcamp: michaellevy.bandcamp.comFacebook Page: facebook.com/beautifullyreTwitter: twitter.com/AncientLyreInstagram:instagram.com/mlevy1400bcePatreon:patreon.com/Michael_Levy_Ancient_Lyre_Music
Melinoe (Nymph of Ghosts) Michael Levy 2023-09-20 | A live performance of track 9, "Melinoe (Nymph of Ghosts)", from my forthcoming re-recorded, extended length re-release of my original 2015 album, "The Lyre of Hermes". I am re-releasing the an extended length version of the album across all the usual digital music platforms on 1st January 2024, with re-recorded, extended & remastered versions of the original tracks, plus 4 new pieces - including this one! CD quality audio plus a PDF boolet of the details album notes is available now, only on Bandcamp:michaellevy.bandcamp.com/album/the-lyre-of-hermesIn ancient Greek mythology, Melinoe was the goddess nymph of ghosts and spirits. She was either the daughter of Hades and Persephone or of Persephone and Zeus. Melaina ("The Black One") is the under-earth or chthonic aspect of the Greek Great Goddess, said to bring nightmares!This sinister characteristics of Melinoe are evoked here, via the use of an unsettling chromatic variant of the ancient Greek Phrygian Mode.This 2015 album was recorded in collaboration with the latter day ancient Greek lyre makers "Luthieros", who are based in Thessaloniki, Greeceluthieros.comThe original EP length album features a recreated 'chelys' - the tortoise shell form of lyre played in ancient Greece, which had a resonator either made from an actual tortoise shell, or from wood carved in the form of a tortoise shell. The lyre I am playing, is the Lutherios "Lyre of Apollo III" model - massive in size, with a soundboard of goat skin & a tortoise shell style resonator made in much more resonant wood, the instrument is certainly worthy of the mythological deity which inspired its creation!My book, featuring sheet music of 13 of my original melodies for recreated ancient lyre is also published by Luthieros:luthieros.com/product/best-of-michael-levy-lyre-sheet-musicFor countless more 'musical adventures in time travel', please also see all my official artist links below - many thanks for watching!Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=Klezfiddle1Official Artist Links:Official Website: http://www.ancientlyre.comDigital Music Artist Profiles:Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/7Dx2vFEg8DmOJ5YCRm4A5viTunes & Apple Music: itunes.apple.com/us/artist/michael-levy/id4324920Amazon: http://amzn.to/2zmJph3Bandcamp: michaellevy.bandcamp.comFacebook Page: facebook.com/beautifullyreTwitter: twitter.com/AncientLyreInstagram:instagram.com/mlevy1400bcePatreon:patreon.com/Michael_Levy_Ancient_Lyre_Music
Theme Music from Apotheosis: The Hellenistic Age (Mod of Crusader Kings III) - Performed LIVE! Michael Levy 2023-08-30 | A live performance of "Paean to Ares" - the theme music for the game "Apotheosis: The Hellenistic Age", a Mod of Crusader Kings III:steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2618149514This piece started off as track 5 from my 2016 album, "Kithara of the Golden Age", available from all major digital music stores and streaming sites, including Spotify: open.spotify.com/album/5wV5aRpT08axHYg0tau3Xe?si=dr-SImlUR7SG_omT3Lp1bwIn 2021, I was contacted by Paradox Development Studios, who amazingly wanted to license a wide selection of my ancient themed lyre music for use in the new Crusader King III Mod, with this specific track being THE MAIN THEME MUSIC OF THE MOD - who needs really boring things like a record company! Full details of this epic collaboration can be found in my website blog:ancientlyre.com/news/blog/6765386/viral-video-games-and-ancient-themed-lyre-musicIf anyone else out there wants to consider licensing my music for use in similar ancient world-themed PC games, do please get in touch directly:ancientlyre.com/contactThe kithara was the highly advanced, large wooden lyre favoured by only the true professional musicians of ancient Greece, which reached its pinnacle of perfection during the “Golden Age” of Classical Antiquity, circa 5th century BCE..Both this album and my earlier release , "The Ancient Greek Kithara of Classical Antiquity" features the wonderfully recreated Kithara of the Golden Age of Classical Greece - hand-made in modern Greece by Luthieros: http://www.luthieros.com This piece also demonstrates the rhythmic potential of the kithara - using the large replica 2500 year old plectrum as a baton to beat rhythm on the soundboard of the kithara whilst playing the melodic lines with fingers of the left hand. In ancient Greek mythology, Ares was the ancient Greek god of war and battle. The mastered track from the album is accompanied by a slideshow of imagery depicting ancient Greek weapons and warfare.The piece is in the favourite ancient Greek mode of Plato himself; the ancient Greek Dorian Mode, which he considered the most 'manly' and noble of the musical modes, capable even of inspiring bravery in battle. In Classical Greece, a Paean was a song or lyric poem expressing triumph or thanksgiving. Ares was the ancient Greek god of war.Misnamed the 'Phrygian' mode in the Middle Ages, the intensely introspective ancient Greek Dorian mode is the equivalent intervals as E-E on the white notes of the piano. I also use authentically pure intervals tuned in just intonation.In "The Republic" by Plato, Book III (398-403), in a classic philosophical dialogue of argument and counter-argument between the characters in this passage, the text is as follows:"The harmonies which you mean are the mixed or tenor Lydian, and the full-toned or bass Lydian, and such-like.These then, I said, must be banished; even to women who have a character to maintain they are of no use, and much less to men.Certainly.In the next place, drunkenness and softness and indolence are utterly unbecoming the character of our guardians.Utterly unbecoming?And which are the soft and convivial harmonies?The Ionian, he replied, and some of the Lydian which are termed “relaxed”.Well, and are these of any use for warlike men?Quite the reverse, he replied; and if so the Dorian and the Phrygian are the only ones which you have left." (theoryofmusic.wordpress.com/2008/08/04/music-in-platos-republic)To enjoy an ongoing 'musical magic carpet ride' to ancient times, please also check out all my official artist links below - many thanks for watching! Official Artist Links:Official Website: http://www.ancientlyre.comDigital Music Artist Profiles:Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/7Dx2vFEg8DmOJ5YCRm4A5viTunes & Apple Music: itunes.apple.com/us/artist/michael-levy/id4324920Amazon: http://amzn.to/2zmJph3Bandcamp: michaellevy.bandcamp.comFacebook Page: facebook.com/beautifullyreTwitter: twitter.com/AncientLyreInstagram:instagram.com/mlevy1400bcePatreon:patreon.com/Michael_Levy_Ancient_Lyre_Music
The Lyre of Hermes - Dryads (Nymphs of the Forest) Michael Levy 2023-08-21 | A live performance of track 3, "Dryads (Nymphs of the Forest)", from my 2015 album, "The Lyre of Hermes". Available from all the usual digital music platforms, I plan to re-release the an extended length version of the album on 1st January 2024, with re-recorded, remastered versions of the original tracks and some additional tracks I am working on - the best things in life are worth waiting for!This 2015 album was recorded in collaboration with the latter day ancient Greek lyre makers "Luthieros", who are based in Thessaloniki, Greeceluthieros.comThe original EP length album features a recreated 'chelys' - the tortoise shell form of lyre played in ancient Greece, which had a resonator either made from an actual tortoise shell, or from wood carved in the form of a tortoise shell. The lyre I am playing, is the Lutherios "Lyre of Apollo III" model - massive in size, with a soundboard of goat skin & a tortoise shell style resonator made in much more resonant wood, the instrument is certainly worthy of the mythological deity which inspired its creation!"The Lyre of Hermes" features original compositions in a selection of some of the original ancient Greek modes, in the wonderfully pure, just intonation of antiquity, inspired by the unique characteristics of the Nymphs of ancient Greek mythology. The album is available now, from all major digital music platorms - CD quality audio and a PDF of the detailed album notes available from Bandcamp:michaellevy.bandcamp.com/album/the-lyre-of-hermesMy book, featuring sheet music of 13 of my original melodies for recreated ancient lyre is also published by Luthieros:luthieros.com/product/best-of-michael-levy-lyre-sheet-musicFor countless more 'musical adventures in time travel', please also see all my official artist links below - many thanks for watching!Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=Klezfiddle1Official Artist Links:Official Website: http://www.ancientlyre.comDigital Music Artist Profiles:Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/7Dx2vFEg8DmOJ5YCRm4A5viTunes & Apple Music: itunes.apple.com/us/artist/michael-levy/id4324920Amazon: http://amzn.to/2zmJph3Bandcamp: michaellevy.bandcamp.comFacebook Page: facebook.com/beautifullyreTwitter: twitter.com/AncientLyreInstagram:instagram.com/mlevy1400bcePatreon:patreon.com/Michael_Levy_Ancient_Lyre_Music
The Lyre of Hermes - Nephelai (Nymphs of the Clouds) Michael Levy 2023-08-17 | A live performance of track 4, "Nephelai (Nymphs of the Clouds)", from my 2015 album, "The Lyre of Hermes". This album was recorded in collaboration with the latter day ancient Greek lyre makers "Luthieros", who are based in Thessaloniki, Greeceluthieros.comThe EP length album features a recreated 'chelys' - the tortoise shell form of lyre played in ancient Greece, which had a resonator either made from an actual tortoise shell, or from wood carved in the form of a tortoise shell. The lyre I am playing, is the Lutherios "Lyre of Apollo III" model - massive in size, with a soundboard of goat skin & a tortoise shell style resonator made in much more resonant wood, the instrument is certainly worthy of the mythological deity which inspired its creation!"The Lyre of Hermes" features original compositions in a selection of some of the original ancient Greek modes, in the wonderfully pure, just intonation of antiquity, inspired by the unique characteristics of the Nymphs of ancient Greek mythology. The album is available now, from all major digital music platorms - CD quality audio and a PDF of the detailed album notes available from Bandcamp:michaellevy.bandcamp.com/album/the-lyre-of-hermesThis piece started life as a spontaneous improvisation for solo chelys (tortoise shell form) replica ancient Greek lyre, in the intense ancient Greek Hypodorian mode (equivalent intervals as A-A on the white notes of the piano and misnamed the 'Aeolian' Mode in the Middle Ages), in the just intonation of antiquity. The drifty quality of the melodic lines attempt to suggest the dreamy, drifing motion of clouds.My book, featuring sheet music of 13 of my original melodies for recreated ancient lyre is also published by Luthieros:luthieros.com/product/best-of-michael-levy-lyre-sheet-musicFor countless more 'musical adventures in time travel', please also see all my official artist links below - many thanks for watching!Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=Klezfiddle1Official Artist Links:Official Website: http://www.ancientlyre.comDigital Music Artist Profiles:Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/7Dx2vFEg8DmOJ5YCRm4A5viTunes & Apple Music: itunes.apple.com/us/artist/michael-levy/id4324920Amazon: http://amzn.to/2zmJph3Bandcamp: michaellevy.bandcamp.comFacebook Page: facebook.com/beautifullyreTwitter: twitter.com/AncientLyreInstagram:instagram.com/mlevy1400bcePatreon:patreon.com/Michael_Levy_Ancient_Lyre_Music
The Lyre of Hermes - Anthousai (Nymphs of the Flowers) Michael Levy 2023-08-15 | A live performance of track 2, "Anthousai (Nymphs of the Flowers)", from my 2015 album, "The Lyre of Hermes". This album was recorded in collaboration with the latter day ancient Greek lyre makers "Luthieros", who are based in Thessaloniki, Greeceluthieros.comThe EP length album features a recreated 'chelys' - the tortoise shell form of lyre played in ancient Greece, which had a resonator either made from an actual tortoise shell, or from wood carved in the form of a tortoise shell. The lyre I am playing, is the Lutherios "Lyre of Apollo III" model - massive in size, with a soundboard of goat skin & a tortoise shell style resonator made in much more resonant wood, the instrument is certainly worthy of the mythological deity which inspired its creation!"The Lyre of Hermes" features original compositions in a selection of some of the original ancient Greek modes, in the wonderfully pure, just intonation of antiquity, inspired by the unique characteristics of the Nymphs of ancient Greek mythology. The album is available now, from all major digital music platorms - CD quality audio and a PDF of the detailed album notes available from Bandcamp:michaellevy.bandcamp.com/album/the-lyre-of-hermesThis piece started life as a spontaneous improvisation for recreated ancient Greek chelys lyre in the distinctively contented feeling ancient Greek Hypophrygian mode (equivalent intervals as G-G on the white notes of the piano and misnamed the 'Mixolydian' mode in the Middle Ages), in the wonderfully pure just intonation of antiquity. My book, featuring sheet music of 13 of my original melodies for recreated ancient lyre is also published by Luthieros:luthieros.com/product/best-of-michael-levy-lyre-sheet-musicFor countless more 'musical adventures in time travel', please also see all my official artist links below - many thanks for watching!Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=Klezfiddle1Official Artist Links:Official Website: http://www.ancientlyre.comDigital Music Artist Profiles:Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/7Dx2vFEg8DmOJ5YCRm4A5viTunes & Apple Music: itunes.apple.com/us/artist/michael-levy/id4324920Amazon: http://amzn.to/2zmJph3Bandcamp: michaellevy.bandcamp.comFacebook Page: facebook.com/beautifullyreTwitter: twitter.com/AncientLyreInstagram:instagram.com/mlevy1400bcePatreon:patreon.com/Michael_Levy_Ancient_Lyre_Music
The Lyre of Hermes - Naiads (Water Nymphs) Michael Levy 2023-08-10 | A live performance of track 1, "Niaids (Water Nymphs)", from my 2015 album, "The Lyre of Hermes". This album was recorded in collaboration with the latter day ancient Greek lyre makers "Luthieros", who are based in Thessaloniki, Greece:luthieros.comThe EP length album features a recreated 'chelys' - the tortoise shell form of lyre played in ancient Greece, which had a resonator either made from an actual tortoise shell, or from wood carved in the form of a tortoise shell. The lyre I am playing, is the Lutherios "Lyre of Apollo III" model - massive in size, with a soundboard of goat skin & a tortoise shell style resonator made in much more resonant wood, the instrument is certainly worthy of the mythological deity which inspired its creation!"The Lyre of Hermes" features original compositions in a selection of some of the original ancient Greek modes, in the wonderfully pure, just intonation of antiquity, inspired by the unique characteristics of the Nymphs of ancient Greek mythology. The album is available now, from all major digital music platorms - CD quality audio and a PDF of the detailed album notes available from Bandcamp:michaellevy.bandcamp.com/album/the-lyre-of-hermesThis piece started life as a spontaneous improvisation for recreated ancient Greek chelys lyre in the dreamy, soft and feminine sounding ancient Greek Hypolydian Mode (equivalent intervals as F-F on the white notes of the piano and misnamed the 'Lydian' mode in the Middle Ages), in the wonderfully pure just intonation of antiquity. In this improvisation, I wish to conjure through music, an evocation of the beautiful painting, “Hylas and the Nymphs” by John William Waterhouse:en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hylas_and_the_Nymphs_(painting)My book, featuring sheet music of 13 of my original melodies for recreated ancient lyre is also published by Luthieros:luthieros.com/product/best-of-michael-levy-lyre-sheet-musicFor countless more 'musical adventures in time travel', please also see all my official artist links below - many thanks for watching!Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=Klezfiddle1Official Artist Links:Official Website: http://www.ancientlyre.comDigital Music Artist Profiles:Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/7Dx2vFEg8DmOJ5YCRm4A5viTunes & Apple Music: itunes.apple.com/us/artist/michael-levy/id4324920Amazon: http://amzn.to/2zmJph3Bandcamp: michaellevy.bandcamp.comFacebook Page: facebook.com/beautifullyreTwitter: twitter.com/AncientLyreInstagram:instagram.com/mlevy1400bcePatreon:patreon.com/Michael_Levy_Ancient_Lyre_Music
Lunae Lumen (Moonlight) | New Music for Ancient Lyre Michael Levy 2023-08-03 | "Lunae Lumen (Moonlight)" - another original piece for recreated ancient 'chelys' form lyre.The 'chelys' was the tortoise shell form of lyre played in ancient Greece, which had a resonator either made from an actual tortoise shell, or from wood carved in the form of a tortoise shell. The recreated chelys form lyre I am playing in this album, is the Lutherios "Lyre of Apollo III" model - massive in size, with a soundboard of goat skin & a tortoise shell style resonator made in much more resonant wood, the instrument is certainly worthy of the mythological deity which inspired its creation!My book, featuring sheet music of 13 of my original melodies for recreated ancient lyre is also published by Luthieros:luthieros.com/product/best-of-michael-levy-lyre-sheet-musicMany thanks for watching!
The Lyre of Apollo: The Chelys Lyre of Ancient Greece Michael Levy 2023-07-31 | "The Golden Lyre of Erato" - a live performance of track 1 from my 2015 album, "The Lyre of Apollo: The Chelys Lyre of Ancient Greece". Available from all the usual digital music platforms, CD quality audio & a PDF booklet of the detailed album notes are also available from Bandcamp:michaellevy.bandcamp.com/album/the-lyre-of-apollo-the-chelys-lyre-of-ancient-greeceThis album was recorded in collaboration with the latter day ancient Greek lyre makers "Luthieros", who are based in Thessaloniki, Greece:luthieros.comThe 'chelys', was the tortoise shell form of lyre played in ancient Greece, which had a resonator either made from an actual tortoise shell, or from wood carved in the form of a tortoise shell. The recreated chelys form lyre I am playing in this album, is the Lutherios "Lyre of Apollo III" model - massive in size, with a soundboard of goat skin & a tortoise shell style resonator made in much more resonant wood, the instrument is certainly worthy of the mythological deity which inspired its creation!The album was recorded as part of my collaboration with Luthieros, in their inspirational "Lyre 2 Project" - dedicated to reintroducing the beautiful lyres of antiquity as a divine artifact, back into our modern world.My book, featuring sheet music of 13 of my original melodies for recreated ancient lyre is also published by Luthieros:luthieros.com/product/best-of-michael-levy-lyre-sheet-musicMany thanks for watching!
Meditation Music for Lyre in Ancient Woodland Michael Levy 2023-07-22 | A live performance of my piece, "The Golden Age of Pericles" in one of my favourite ancient woodland glades.This piece formed track 1 from my 2015 album, "The Ancient Greek Tortoise Shell Lyre" - available from all the usual digital music platforms, CD quality audio & a PDF booklet of the detailed album notes is also available for every of my albums purchased on Bandcamp:michaellevy.bandcamp.com/album/the-ancient-greek-tortoise-shell-lyreIn this live arrangement, rather than use the tortoise shell lyre with which the original was recorded with, I feature the lovely, harp-like purity of my 10-string lyre, in the pristine focus of just intonation (this particular lyre is about the only one which is portable enough for my recent series of live woodland recordings!)The lovely location is Lancaut Nature Reserve, in a secluded glade next to steep limestone cliffs, framing the River Wye - one of my favourite local spots to escape the mostly maddness of the rest of the modern world.Lancaut was once a tiny village, long-abandoned during the Middle Ages, probably due to the plague - all that remains, is the ruins of a 12th century church, nestled in the remnants of the ancient wild wood bordering the banks of the Wye & surrounding sheer limestone cliffs - today I discovered it makes a spendid outdoor recording studio!
Musical Adventures in Time Travel Michael Levy 2023-07-20 | To celebrate over 1000,000 streams on Spotify of my compilation album, "Musical Adventures in Time Travel", here is of a live performance of track 12, "Nero's Lyre", filmed in one of my favourite ancient woodland glades. Featuring my evocations of the music of ancient Mesopotamia, ancient Israel, ancient Egypt, Greece & Rome, here is the link to the album on Spotify:open.spotify.com/album/54P7XYVh2FN9zkioHoMWW1?si=PPIztYqnTn6DIwICpFZTUQAs well as Spotify, the album is vailable from all the other usual digital music platforms, including Amazon, Apple Music & iTunes. CD quality audio & a PDF booklet of the detailed album notes is also available for every of my albums purchased on Bandcamp:michaellevy.bandcamp.com/album/musical-adventures-in-time-travelThe piece is my imaginative evocation of the lament Nero was famously said to have sang accompanied by his lyre as he witnessed the Great Fire of Rome in 64 CE.The lovely location is Lancaut Nature Reserve, in a secluded glade next to steep limestone cliffs, framing the River Wye - one of my favourite local spots to escape the mostly maddness of the rest of the modern world.Lancaut was once a tiny village, long-abandoned during the Middle Ages, probably due to the plague - all that remains, is the ruins of a 12th century church, nestled in the remnants of the ancient wild wood bordering the banks of the Wye & surrounding sheer limestone cliffs - today I discovered it makes a spendid outdoor recording studio!
Meditation Music for Lyre, Live in an Ancient Forest... Michael Levy 2023-07-19 | A live performance of my piece, "Ode to Aphrodite" in one of my favourite ancient woodland glades.This piece formed track 10 from my 2010 album, "The Ancient Greek Lyre" - available from all the usual digital music platforms, CD quality audio & a PDF booklet of the detailed album notes is also available for every of my albums purchased on Bandcamp:michaellevy.bandcamp.com/album/the-ancient-greek-lyreThe lovely location is Lancaut Nature Reserve, in a secluded glade next to steep limestone cliffs, framing the River Wye - one of my favourite local spots to escape the mostly maddness of the rest of the modern world.Lancaut was once a tiny village, long-abandoned during the Middle Ages, probably due to the plague - all that remains, is the ruins of a 12th century church, nestled in the remnants of the ancient wild wood bordering the banks of the Wye & surrounding sheer limestone cliffs - today I discovered it makes a spendid outdoor recording studio!
