classical

ancient

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Azura's Playlist

"Spirit of the Kithara" - track 1 from my album, "The Ancient Greek Modes". The concept of this album, is to recreate the both the sounds of the musical modes once used in Ancient Greece (as described in the writings of Plato & Aristotle) & to restore the lost sounds of the ancient Greek Kithara - the large wooden lyre once favoured by the professional musicians of Ancient Greece...

THE ANCIENT GREEK MODES

The names of musical modes in use today, (e.g. Dorian, Mixolydian etc) although having the same names as the original Greek musical modes, were actually misnamed during the Middle Ages! Apparently, the Greeks counted intervals from top to bottom.  When medieval ecclesiastical scholars tried to interpret the ancient texts, they counted from bottom to top, jumbling the information. The  misnamed medieval modes are only distinguished by the ancient Greek modes of the same name, by being labelled “Church Modes”. It was due to a misinterpretation of the Latin texts of Boethius, that medieval modes were given the wrong Greek names!

According to an article on Greece in the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, the original ancient Greek names for species of the octave included the following (on white keys):

B-B: Mixolydian
E-E: Dorian
A-A: Hypodorian
D-D: Phrygian
G-G: Hypophrygian
C-C: Lydian
F-F: Hypolydian

For what Plato & Aristotle themselves had this to say about these ancient musical modes, please see this fascinating link:

http://www.pathguy.com/modes.htm

THE REPERTOIRE

The seven original compositions arranged for replica lyre which form the repertoire of this album, are each written in one of the seven Ancient Greek Modes.
 
The lyre-playing techniques heard in this album, are authentically based on lyre-playing styles which have remarkably survived from Antiquity & which still can be heard today in the amazing lyres still played throughout the continent of Africa, where unlike the rest of the Western world, a precious remnant of the cross-cultural influences from the around ancient world have miraculously survived. 

THE LYRE PLAYING TECHNIQUES USED IN THIS ALBUM

Some of these lyre-playing techniques include the “block & strum” method, still practiced today by the Krar Lyre players of Eritrea in East Africa – this technique allows the player to strum rhythm & basic chords on the lyre, similar to an acoustic guitar. This technique entails blocking strings with the left hand which are not required and leaving open only the strings which form the required intervals, which then can be strummed with a plectrum in the left hand. 

Ancient illustrations of Kithara players seem to infer that this technique was also prominent in Ancient Greece – many illustrations clearly depict the left of the lyre player blocking/dampening the strings with the left hand whilst strumming the open strings with a plectrum in their right hand.

I also demonstrate all the possible styles available on the Kithara. These include the use of tremolo (based on the style of Egyptian Simsimiyya Lyre Players still heard today), alternating between harp-like finger plucked tones played with the left hand, and guitar-like plectrum-plucked tones with the right hand, using basic finger-plucked intervals/chords with the left hand to form a basic harmonic background for the melodic line being played with the plectrum in the right hand (the surviving fragments of Ancient Greek music clearly imply a basic harmonic tonality to these ancient melodies (as opposed to simple folk melodies which can simply be accompanied by a drone).

To hear my arrangements for solo lyre, of some of these actual surviving melodies from Ancient Greece, please listen to my other albums, “A Well Tuned Lyre - The Just Intonation of Antiquity” & “The Ancient Greek Lyre”.

THE 7 TRACKS

1) “Spirit of the Kithara”  (Composition For Lyre in the Ancient Greek Dorian Mode)

2) “Dancers of Dionysus”  (Composition For Lyre in the Ancient Greek Hypolydian Mode)

3) “Hymn To Poseidon” (Composition For Lyre in the Ancient Greek Hypodorian Mode)

4) “Procession of the Olympians” (Composition For Lyre in the Ancient Greek Lydian Mode)

5) “The Sanctuary of Apollo” (Composition For Lyre in the Ancient Greek Hypophrygian Mode)

6) “The Oracles of Delphi” (Composition For Lyre in the Ancient Greek Mixolydian Mode)

 7) “Glory of the Parthenon” (Composition For Lyre in the Ancient Greek Phrygian Mode)

For full details, icluding a free PDF booklet of the album notes, please see:

http://ancientlyre.com/albums_for_solo_lyre/the_ancient_greek_modes/

Spirit of the Kithara (Composition for Solo Lyre in the Ancient Greek Dorian Mode)

Track 7 of my album, "The Ancient Roman Lyre". This album is the third in my series of ancient Roman-themed albums, the sequel to “Echoes of Ancient Rome” & "Ode To Ancient Rome". Like the first two albums in this series, "The Ancient Roman Lyre" comprises of a series of original compositions for an ancient lyre in authentic ancient musical modes, to evoke once more, the lost music of ancient Rome. These set of compositions for my replica Kithara-style lyre is my attempt to restore a precious remnant of the music of ancient Rome, which for the most part, is now forever lost... 

Unlike ancient Greece, tragically, virtually no surviving written music has survived from ancient Rome. These set of composition for my replica Kithara-style lyre is my attempt to restore a precious remnant of the music of ancient Rome, which is now forever lost - so far, all that has been discovered, is one pitiful fragment by Terence: 

TERENCIO, HECYRA 861 (Terence). Versus 861. Hecyra of Terence. Codex Victorianus Laurentianus XXXVIII-24, saec. X 

This piece can be heard track 19, on the recording "Musique de la Grece Antique". Here are some more details from the notes for this unIque album, about the only surviving fragment of written music ever found from ancient Rome: 

"We have added the only surviving musical fragment of 
Imperial Rome: four mutilated measures from a work by Terence. It is as if nothing were 
left of the Acropolis but a few scattered bits of columns and a pair of ruined capitals" 

Even this tiny fragment is no longer deemed to be authentic, according the musicologist Thomas J. Mathiesen). However, since Rome borrowed so much from the culture of ancient Greece, in attempting to recreate an evocation of the lost music of ancient Rome, it is most likely that the Roman composers of antiquity also used the ancient Greek musical modes... 

THE ANCIENT MUSICAL MODES USED IN THIS ALBUM 

Due to the known prominent influence of Ancient Greek culture in the Roman world, in order to create an authentic-sounding evocation of what the solo lyre music of ancient Rome may have once sounded, I decided to base the compositions in a selection some of the original Ancient Greek modes, with melodies inspired mostly by a "Musical Adventure in Time Travel" of the gods of Ancient Rome. 

The names of musical modes in use today, (e.g. Dorian, Mixolydian etc) although having the same names as the original Greek musical modes, were actually misnamed during the Middle Ages! Apparently, the Greeks counted intervals from top to bottom. When medieval ecclesiastical scholars tried to interpret the ancient texts, they counted from bottom to top, jumbling the information. The misnamed medieval modes are only distinguished by the ancient Greek modes of the same name, by being labelled “Church Modes”. It was due to a misinterpretation of the Latin texts of Boethius, that medieval modes were given the wrong Greek names! 

According to an article on Greece in the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, the original ancient Greek names for species of the octave included the following (on white keys): 
B-B: Mixolydian 
E-E: Dorian 
A-A: Hypodorian 
D-D: Phrygian 
G-G: Hypophrygian 
C-C: Lydian 
F-F: Hypolydian 

For what Plato & Aristotle had this to say about these ancient musical modes, please see this fascinating link: 

www.pathguy.com/modes.htm 


THE TUNING OF ANTIQUITY 

In antiquity, lyres were tuned either cyclically, in perfect 5ths, the 3rds & 6ths then being fine-tuned by ear (Pythagorean tuning) or divisively (using exact mathematical ratios to precisely divide a musical string into specific pitch ratios) to achieve what is called "Just Intonation". 

The modern tuning system of equal temperament was devised to enable music to be performed in any of the 12 keys of the chromatic scale whilst keeping exactly the same equal ratio of pitch between each of the 12 notes of the chromatic scale...which sadly has sacrificed the essential purity of tone, which can only be heard in the just intonation once used in antiquity. 

Divisive tuning was the most natural way to tune the ancient lutes, or any fretted instrument, which uses frets to divide the vibrating portion of each string into the required precise ratio of pitches. Although more often cylically tuned when played solo, Lyres were also often divisively tuned in antiquity, as they were quite often played in ensemble with other instruments which were in turn, divisively tuned. 

Although described in the writings of Pythagoras in his experiments at dividing a musical monochord, the divisive tuning system predates Pythagoras by thousands of years and may have evolved along with the origin of the long-necked lute in ancient Babylonia some 5000 years ago, according to John Wheeler (editor of Suzanne Haik Vantoura’s book, “The Music of the Bible Revealed”): 

"The long-necked lute (according to Curt Sachs) was invented in Babylonia, and indeed thanks to that fact divisive tuning was invented there also. Cyclical tuning was also known there (and that got documented long after his death by the famous theory and hymn tablets from Babylon and Ugarit), but there is this curious fact: the Babylonians used divisive tuning as the basis for their symbolic correlation of the pillar degrees of the octave (e.g., C-F-G-C') with the four seasons, while the Chinese used cyclical tuning as the basis for the symbolic correlation of the same. This (wrote Sachs) is consistent as Babylon was the "home" of the lute and China the "home" of the harp (even though Babylon knew of harps and lyres too and China, if memory serves, also knew the lute from very early times). Divisive tuning is the "natural" tuning of the lute, as cyclical tuning is the "natural" tuning of the harp and lyre, according to Sachs. By that he meant that it's easiest and most natural to tune, and then to play, folk instruments of those genres that way - as I can vouch as a working musician" 

I have used divisive tuning throughout this album, in my attempt to recreate the purity of the just intonation used in antiquity, which like the music of ancient Rome, has now sadly been forgotten... 


ANCIENT LYRE PLAYING TECHNIQUES 

All the various lyre-playing techniques heard in this album, are authentically based on lyre-playing styles which have remarkably survived from Antiquity & which still can be heard today in the amazing lyres still played throughout the continent of Africa, where unlike the rest of the Western world, a precious remnant of the cross-cultural influences from the around ancient world have miraculously survived. 

Some of these lyre-playing techniques include the “block & strum” method, still practised today by the Krar Lyre players of Eritrea in East Africa – this technique allows the player to strum rhythm & basic chords on the lyre, similar to an acoustic guitar. This technique entails blocking strings with the left hand which are not required and leaving open only the strings which form the required intervals, which then can be strummed with a plectrum in the left hand. 
Ancient illustrations of Kithara players seem to infer that this technique was also prominent in Ancient Greece – many illustrations clearly depict the left of the lyre player blocking/dampening the strings with the left hand whilst strumming the open strings with a plectrum in their right hand. 

Other lyre playing techniques include the use of tremolo (based on the style of Egyptian Simsimiyya Lyre Players still heard today), alternating between harp-like finger plucked tones played with the left hand, and guitar-like plectrum-plucked tones with the right hand, using basic finger-plucked intervals/chords with the left hand to form a basic harmonic background for the melodic line being played with the plectrum in the right hand. 

I also explore the rare percussive hammered lyre playing technique, where the stings of the lyre are hit with small wooden baton (like on a hammered dulcimer), instead of being plucked with either the fingers or a plectrum... 

THE TRACKS 

1. Cogitatio (Reflections) - this piece uses the introspective ancient Greek Hypophrygian Mode. 

2. Amatores (Lovers) - this piece uses the wonderfully dream-like, feminine-sounding ancient Greek Hypolydian Mode 

3. Tranquillitas (Serenity) - this piece features the ancient Greek Hypodorian Mode. This mode, for me evokes feelings of inner contentment, serenity and tranquillity... 

4. Contemplationis (Contemplation) - this piece is composed in the ancient Greek Dorian Mode - intensely introspective, this mode enhances the feeling of concentration in the listener. 

5. Desiderantes (Yearning) - this composition features the ancient Greek Phrygian Mode - the Mode seems to create a sense of beautiful poignancy, longing & yearning... 

6.Tristitia (Sorrow) - this piece explores the mournful quality, also inherent in the sound of the ancient Greek Hypophrygian Mode. 

7. Gloria Belli (Glory of Battle) - as well as the intense, concentration-increasing qualities of the ancient Greek Dorian Mode when played slowly and softly, (as explored in track 1 of this album), according to Plato & Aristotle, the ancient Greek Dorian Mode was also the most "manly" of all the musical modes - they even went so far as to suggest that it could inspire bravery in battle! In this piece, I attempt to explore the war-like quality of the the ancient Greek Dorian Mode, which is most evident when played in a vigorous piece such as this. 

For full details of all my releases on iTunes & Amazon for solo lyre, please visit my offical website: 

www.ancientlyre.com

Buy on iTunes

Gloria Belli (Glory Of Battle)

Track 1 from my album, "The Ancient Roman Lyre". This album is the third in my series of ancient Roman-themed albums, the sequel to “Echoes of Ancient Rome” & "Ode To Ancient Rome". Like the first two albums in this series, "The Ancient Roman Lyre" comprises of a series of original compositions for an ancient lyre in authentic ancient musical modes, to evoke once more, the lost music of ancient Rome. These set of compositions for my replica Kithara-style lyre is my attempt to restore a precious remnant of the music of ancient Rome, which for the most part, is now forever lost... 

Unlike ancient Greece, tragically, virtually no surviving written music has survived from ancient Rome. These set of composition for my replica Kithara-style lyre is my attempt to restore a precious remnant of the music of ancient Rome, which is now forever lost - so far, all that has been discovered, is one pitiful fragment by Terence: 

TERENCIO, HECYRA 861 (Terence). Versus 861. Hecyra of Terence. Codex Victorianus Laurentianus XXXVIII-24, saec. X 

This piece can be heard track 19, on the recording "Musique de la Grece Antique". Here are some more details from the notes for this unIque album, about the only surviving fragment of written music ever found from ancient Rome: 

"We have added the only surviving musical fragment of 
Imperial Rome: four mutilated measures from a work by Terence. It is as if nothing were 
left of the Acropolis but a few scattered bits of columns and a pair of ruined capitals" 

Even this tiny fragment is no longer deemed to be authentic, according the musicologist Thomas J. Mathiesen). However, since Rome borrowed so much from the culture of ancient Greece, in attempting to recreate an evocation of the lost music of ancient Rome, it is most likely that the Roman composers of antiquity also used the ancient Greek musical modes... 

THE ANCIENT MUSICAL MODES USED IN THIS ALBUM 

Due to the known prominent influence of Ancient Greek culture in the Roman world, in order to create an authentic-sounding evocation of what the solo lyre music of ancient Rome may have once sounded, I decided to base the compositions in a selection some of the original Ancient Greek modes, with melodies inspired mostly by a "Musical Adventure in Time Travel" of the gods of Ancient Rome. 

The names of musical modes in use today, (e.g. Dorian, Mixolydian etc) although having the same names as the original Greek musical modes, were actually misnamed during the Middle Ages! Apparently, the Greeks counted intervals from top to bottom. When medieval ecclesiastical scholars tried to interpret the ancient texts, they counted from bottom to top, jumbling the information. The misnamed medieval modes are only distinguished by the ancient Greek modes of the same name, by being labelled “Church Modes”. It was due to a misinterpretation of the Latin texts of Boethius, that medieval modes were given the wrong Greek names! 

According to an article on Greece in the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, the original ancient Greek names for species of the octave included the following (on white keys): 
B-B: Mixolydian 
E-E: Dorian 
A-A: Hypodorian 
D-D: Phrygian 
G-G: Hypophrygian 
C-C: Lydian 
F-F: Hypolydian 

For what Plato & Aristotle had this to say about these ancient musical modes, please see this fascinating link: 

www.pathguy.com/modes.htm 


THE TUNING OF ANTIQUITY 

In antiquity, lyres were tuned either cyclically, in perfect 5ths, the 3rds & 6ths then being fine-tuned by ear (Pythagorean tuning) or divisively (using exact mathematical ratios to precisely divide a musical string into specific pitch ratios) to achieve what is called "Just Intonation". 

The modern tuning system of equal temperament was devised to enable music to be performed in any of the 12 keys of the chromatic scale whilst keeping exactly the same equal ratio of pitch between each of the 12 notes of the chromatic scale...which sadly has sacrificed the essential purity of tone, which can only be heard in the just intonation once used in antiquity. 

Divisive tuning was the most natural way to tune the ancient lutes, or any fretted instrument, which uses frets to divide the vibrating portion of each string into the required precise ratio of pitches. Although more often cylically tuned when played solo, Lyres were also often divisively tuned in antiquity, as they were quite often played in ensemble with other instruments which were in turn, divisively tuned. 

Although described in the writings of Pythagoras in his experiments at dividing a musical monochord, the divisive tuning system predates Pythagoras by thousands of years and may have evolved along with the origin of the long-necked lute in ancient Babylonia some 5000 years ago, according to John Wheeler (editor of Suzanne Haik Vantoura’s book, “The Music of the Bible Revealed”): 

"The long-necked lute (according to Curt Sachs) was invented in Babylonia, and indeed thanks to that fact divisive tuning was invented there also. Cyclical tuning was also known there (and that got documented long after his death by the famous theory and hymn tablets from Babylon and Ugarit), but there is this curious fact: the Babylonians used divisive tuning as the basis for their symbolic correlation of the pillar degrees of the octave (e.g., C-F-G-C') with the four seasons, while the Chinese used cyclical tuning as the basis for the symbolic correlation of the same. This (wrote Sachs) is consistent as Babylon was the "home" of the lute and China the "home" of the harp (even though Babylon knew of harps and lyres too and China, if memory serves, also knew the lute from very early times). Divisive tuning is the "natural" tuning of the lute, as cyclical tuning is the "natural" tuning of the harp and lyre, according to Sachs. By that he meant that it's easiest and most natural to tune, and then to play, folk instruments of those genres that way - as I can vouch as a working musician" 

I have used divisive tuning throughout this album, in my attempt to recreate the purity of the just intonation used in antiquity, which like the music of ancient Rome, has now sadly been forgotten... 


ANCIENT LYRE PLAYING TECHNIQUES 

All the various lyre-playing techniques heard in this album, are authentically based on lyre-playing styles which have remarkably survived from Antiquity & which still can be heard today in the amazing lyres still played throughout the continent of Africa, where unlike the rest of the Western world, a precious remnant of the cross-cultural influences from the around ancient world have miraculously survived. 

Some of these lyre-playing techniques include the “block & strum” method, still practised today by the Krar Lyre players of Eritrea in East Africa – this technique allows the player to strum rhythm & basic chords on the lyre, similar to an acoustic guitar. This technique entails blocking strings with the left hand which are not required and leaving open only the strings which form the required intervals, which then can be strummed with a plectrum in the left hand. 
Ancient illustrations of Kithara players seem to infer that this technique was also prominent in Ancient Greece – many illustrations clearly depict the left of the lyre player blocking/dampening the strings with the left hand whilst strumming the open strings with a plectrum in their right hand. 

Other lyre playing techniques include the use of tremolo (based on the style of Egyptian Simsimiyya Lyre Players still heard today), alternating between harp-like finger plucked tones played with the left hand, and guitar-like plectrum-plucked tones with the right hand, using basic finger-plucked intervals/chords with the left hand to form a basic harmonic background for the melodic line being played with the plectrum in the right hand. 

I also explore the rare percussive hammered lyre playing technique, where the stings of the lyre are hit with small wooden baton (like on a hammered dulcimer), instead of being plucked with either the fingers or a plectrum... 

THE TRACKS 

1. Cogitatio (Reflections) - this piece uses the introspective ancient Greek Hypophrygian Mode. 

2. Amatores (Lovers) - this piece uses the wonderfully dream-like, feminine-sounding ancient Greek Hypolydian Mode 

3. Tranquillitas (Serenity) - this piece features the ancient Greek Hypodorian Mode. This mode, for me evokes feelings of inner contentment, serenity and tranquillity... 

4. Contemplationis (Contemplation) - this piece is composed in the ancient Greek Dorian Mode - intensely introspective, this mode enhances the feeling of concentration in the listener. 

5. Desiderantes (Yearning) - this composition features the ancient Greek Phrygian Mode - the Mode seems to create a sense of beautiful poignancy, longing & yearning... 

6.Tristitia (Sorrow) - this piece explores the mournful quality, also inherent in the sound of the ancient Greek Hypophrygian Mode. 

7. Gloria Belli (Glory of Battle) - as well as the intense, concentration-increasing qualities of the ancient Greek Dorian Mode when played slowly and softly, (as explored in track 1 of this album), according to Plato & Aristotle, the ancient Greek Dorian Mode was also the most "manly" of all the musical modes - they even went so far as to suggest that it could inspire bravery in battle! In this piece, I attempt to explore the war-like quality of the the ancient Greek Dorian Mode, which is most evident when played in a vigorous piece such as this. 

For full details of all my releases on iTunes & Amazon for solo lyre, please visit my offical website: 

www.ancientlyre.com

Cogitatio (Reflections)

Selections from Archaic and Classical Greek lyric poetry, as translated by Sherod Santos.

Archaic and Classical Greek Lyric (selections)

ドラッグオンドラグーン3  Drakengard 3 OST - 空音

Asteriai (Nymphs of the Stars) - a spontaneous 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.

This piece forms track 5 of my album, "The Lyre of Hermes":

http://michaellevy.bandcamp.com/album/the-lyre-of-hermes

This album will also be available from iTunes & Amazon before April 2015!

Asteriai (Nymphs Of The Stars)

This playlist does NOT YET contain all the songs from the soundtrack.

Song of the Ancients / Popola

Cerberus (Dogs of Hades) - a spontaneous improvisation for replica ancient Greek tortoise shell form lyre and carved bone plectrum...WITH DISTORTION AND FLANGER!

Explore More!

Cerberus (Dogs of Hades)

A rough draft of what hopefully will be the first track to my next planned album,  "The Ancient Greek Kithara of Classical Antiquity" - which will feature the wonderfully recreated Kithara of the Golden Age of Classical Greece - hand-made in modern Greece by Lutherios:

http://en.luthieros.com/

Since late 2014, I have been collaborating with Lutherios in their inspirational "Lyre 2.0 Project" - dedicated to reintroducing the wonderful lyres of antiquity back into the modern world, to make these beautiful instruments accessible to each and every modern musician:

http://etc.ancient.eu/2016/01/11/luthieros-lyre-2-0-project/

This recording hopefully demonstrate why the kithara was so venerated in antiquity, as the instrument of the professional musician - perfect for both accompanying the human voice and for as an incredibly versatile solo instrument.

In particular, I attempt to demonstrate the wonderfully reconstructed 2500 year old vibrato mechanism, for which there is an almost overwhelming body of visual evidence to support this theory. All original illustrations of the ancient Greek kithara clearly show what appear to be curved springs beneath the yoke to which the strings are attached, with the top of the arms carved almost wafer thin, which almost certainly was to allow for lateral movement of the yoke and the attached strings, creating an eerie vocal vibrato effect - some 2500 years before the invention of the 'whammy bar' of the Fender electric guitar! 

The vibrato mechanism can be operated either by light lateral movement of either of the vertical wooden levers at each end of the yoke, or a more subtle vibrato can be achieved by pushing the discs either side of the yoke.

For full details on all my research into the kithara of ancient Greece and Rome, please also see my blog:

http://ancientlyre.com/the_kithara_of_ancient_greece__rome/
Many thanks for listening!

http://www.ancientlyre.com/
https://www.facebook.com/beautifullyre
https://twitter.com/AncientLyre
http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/MichaelLevy
https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/michael-levy/id4324920

The Ancient Greek Kithara of Classical Antiquity

The very first rough draft of what hopefully will be the sixth track to my next planned album, "The Ancient Greek Kithara of Classical Antiquity" - which will feature the wonderfully recreated Kithara of the Golden Age of Classical Greece - hand-made in modern Greece by Lutherios:

http://en.luthieros.com/

Since late 2014, I have been collaborating with Lutherios in their inspirational "Lyre 2.0 Project" - dedicated to reintroducing the wonderful lyres of antiquity back into the modern world, to make these beautiful instruments accessible to each and every modern musician:

http://etc.ancient.eu/2016/01/11/luthieros-lyre-2-0-project/

This new series of recordings hopefully demonstrate why the kithara was so venerated in antiquity, as the instrument of the professional musician - perfect for both accompanying the human voice and for as an incredibly versatile solo instrument.

In particular, I attempt to demonstrate the wonderfully reconstructed 2500 year old vibrato mechanism, for which there is an almost overwhelming body of visual evidence to support this theory. All original illustrations of the ancient Greek kithara clearly show what appear to be curved springs beneath the yoke to which the strings are attached, with the top of the arms carved almost wafer thin, which almost certainly was to allow for lateral movement of the yoke and the attached strings, creating an eerie vocal vibrato effect - some 2500 years before the invention of the 'whammy bar' of the Fender electric guitar!

The vibrato mechanism can be operated either by light lateral movement of either of the vertical wooden levers at each end of the yoke, or a more subtle vibrato can be achieved by pushing the discs either side of the yoke.

For full details on all my research into the kithara of ancient Greece and Rome, please also see my blog:

http://ancientlyre.com/the_kithara_of_ancient_greece__rome/

This piece is in the distinctively dreamy and sensual sounding ancient Greek Hypolydian Mode (misnamed the 'Lydian' mode in the mixed up Middle Ages!), also in lovely pure sounding just intonation, with A tuned at 432 Hz - although I do not believe in all the 'New Age' nonsense clogging the Net about 432 Hz, the subtly  lower pitch does enhance the overall richness of the timbre of my gut strings in the lower registers.

Here is my blog on the whole 432 Hz thing:

http://ancientlyre.com/blogs/is_432_hz_new_age_schmertz/

Many thanks for listening!

http://www.ancientlyre.com/
https://www.facebook.com/beautifullyre
https://twitter.com/AncientLyre
http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/MichaelLevy
https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/michael-levy/id4324920

The Ancient Greek Kithara - Revived!

 "Odysseus and the Sirens" - a clip of track 1 from my new album, in progress, "The Ancient Greek Kithara of Classical Antiquity"...

Regarding the story of Odysseus and the Sirens in Homer’s “Odyssey”, quoting from Wikipedia:

“In Greek mythology, the Sirens (Greek singular: Σειρήν Seirēn;Greek plural: Σειρῆνες Seirēnes) were dangerous yet beautiful creatures, who lured nearby sailors with their enchanting music and voices to shipwreck on the rocky coast of their island…Odysseus was curious as to what the Sirens sang to him, and so, on the advice of Circe, he had all of his sailors plug their ears with beeswax and tie him to the mast. He ordered his men to leave him tied tightly to the mast, no matter how much he would beg. When he heard their beautiful song, he ordered the sailors to untie him but they bound him tighter. When they had passed out of earshot, Odysseus demonstrated with his frowns to be released”

This piece is an evocation of the sort of melody which may once have accompanied a recitation of this tale. I use the distinctively poignant and luring ancient Greek Phrygian mode (misnamed the ‘Dorian’ mode in the Middle Ages), featuring an atmospheric background of ocean sounds, with the sound of the kithara enhanced by a subtle reverb, sampled from Belgian monasteries…

The album will on all of the major digital music stores and streaming sites real soon - keep an eye on my new bulletins!!

The album features the wonderfully recreated Kithara of the Golden Age of Classical Greece - hand-made in modern Greece by Lutherios:

http://en.luthieros.com/

Since late 2014, I have been collaborating with Lutherios in their inspirational "Lyre 2.0 Project" - dedicated to reintroducing the wonderful lyres of antiquity back into the modern world, to make these beautiful instruments accessible to each and every modern musician:

http://etc.ancient.eu/2016/01/11/luthieros-lyre-2-0-project/

This recording hopefully demonstrate why the kithara was so venerated in antiquity, as the instrument of the professional musician - perfect for both accompanying the human voice and for as an incredibly versatile solo instrument.

In particular, I attempt to demonstrate the wonderfully reconstructed 2500 year old vibrato mechanism, for which there is an almost overwhelming body of visual evidence to support this theory. All original illustrations of the ancient Greek kithara clearly show what appear to be curved springs beneath the yoke to which the strings are attached, with the top of the arms carved almost wafer thin, which almost certainly was to allow for lateral movement of the yoke and the attached strings, creating an eerie vocal vibrato effect - some 2500 years before the invention of the 'whammy bar' of the Fender electric guitar! 

The vibrato mechanism can be operated either by light lateral movement of either of the vertical wooden levers at each end of the yoke, or a more subtle vibrato can be achieved by pushing the discs either side of the yoke.

This piece is in the poignant and enchanting ancient Greek Phrygian Mode (misnamed the 'Dorian' mode in the Middle Ages).

My kithara is also tuned in lovely pure sounding just intonation, with A tuned at 432 Hz - although I do not believe in all the 'New Age' nonsense clogging the Net about 432 Hz, the subtly lower pitch does enhance the overall richness of the timbre of my gut strings in the lower registers.

Here is my blog on the whole 432 Hz thing:

http://ancientlyre.com/blogs/is_432_hz_new_age_schmertz/

For full details on all my research into the kithara of ancient Greece and Rome, please also see my blog:

http://ancientlyre.com/the_kithara_of_ancient_greece__rome

Many thanks for listening!

http://www.ancientlyre.com/
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http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/MichaelLevy
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"Odysseus and the Sirens" - Clip of Track 1, "The Ancient Greek Kithara of Classical Antiquity"

Fire Emblem- Fates - End Of All (Land)

My new album of Dionysian lyre music out now! https://ataraxiaalpha.bandcamp.com/releases

A nightclub is more religious than a church, as it is the place where the original religious rituals of our prehistory still take place today. The act of dancing to music, forgetting ones problems, losing ones sense of individual self and becoming part of a larger whole or feeling at one with others have always been natuaral human needs. Whether they take place in a shamanic circle, Dionysian procession, dance hall or rock concert, the psychological benefits which this behaviour brings are not lost on us.
What is a religious communion and where do these rituals come from? Eating & drinking are religious rituals. When we eat we assimilate the properties or nutrients of the food. If we ourselves were to be eaten our own powers would be taken on by our devourer. This is clear in early religions that were agricultural, the God was in the food which was grown and then consumed. This idea has survived even into the monotheisms with bread representing the God whose powers are taken on through being eaten. The meaning of communion is precisely this, to take on the powers of the God by eating him or her. This sort of communion is common and is apparent from the Bacchaic rituals of Dionysos to Jesus' last supper. The baccants eat the raw flesh of animals and drink wine to become intoxicated with the power of the God just as a Christian comes to be one with Christ by eating the bread & wine of communion. We should speak less of the food of the gods, like Terrence McKenna does, and see rather that the food is the God itself. When we eat we assimilate the powers, which is still apparent in the Christian tradition of thanking God before commencing a meal. We take our powers from whatever we choose to eat and assimilate into our bodies. As it is commonly said that character can be determined by diet. This is more specifically the case with those who choose to consume what our society calls "drugs". Narcotics have always been considered to be powerfully spiritual and hence their demonisation as "drugs" in modern societies. Both Catholicism and the secular state have felt threatened by the individuals direct contact to the divine through these mediums, not needing an intermediary. There are many examples similar to the better known Dionysiac cult of intoxication through wine, such as Corn Dolly deities sacrificed in various rural communities even to this day and age. The God is drunk as ale, or eaten as mushrooms and other psychedelics, which are now considered "drugs" were once called entheogens, quite literally to "put the God within you". This is also clear with the idea of the state of ecstasy. Literally from the greek for ex- stasis, out of the body.
Nightclubbers are thus engaging in the same Dionysian or shamanistic rituals today when they let a combination of music, alcohol & drugs, get them out of their everyday experience. A night club is then far more religious than a church, as it is only here where people, quite unknowingly for the most part, engage in the original religious rituals of dance and intoxication to become one with the world around them, while partaking of the same cathartic benefits that this ritualistic behaviour has always had and still brings us.

Check out more lyre music: 
https://vimeo.com/164689058
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTus_zNy6YHwxuxY5QR2ccg

Thanks for listening!

Ορειβασια (Bacchaic Mountain Dance)

My new album of tribalistic lyre music out now! https://ataraxiaalpha.bandcamp.com/releases

The Greeks colonized the coast of Catalonia, bringing wine and olive oil, but it wasn't until the Romans arrived that the city, that would one day become Barcelona, was founded. With this track I have tried to evoke the hustle and bustle of an ancient mediterranean trade colony.

Listen to more lyre music here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTus_zNy6YHwxuxY5QR2ccg

Barcino Theme (Ancient Lyre)

My new album of spiritualised lyre music out now! https://ataraxiaalpha.bandcamp.com/releases

The Romans called the mediterranean mare nostrum or "our sea" as they gradually encroached upon all its coasts. The middle sea was indeed home to many fascinating cultures of antiquity. So relax with the lyre's ancient vibes set to the sounds of the eternal waves.

Check out more Lyre music at the Ataraxia you tube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTus_zNy6YHwxuxY5QR2ccg

Thanks for listening!

Mare Nostrum/ Our Sea (Lyre & Ocean meditation)

My new album of relaxing lyre music out now! https://ataraxiaalpha.bandcamp.com/releases

The soothing sounds of the ancient lyre on the shores of Barcino, Hispania Citerior.

The Romans settled the colony of Barcino which would one day become the city we know as Barcelona. They called the mediterranean mare nostrum or "our sea" as they gradually encroached upon all its coasts. The middle sea was indeed home to many fascinating cultures of antiquity. So relax with the lyre's ancient vibes set to the sounds of the eternal waves.

Relax even more by watching the original oceanic video for this track: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5Iz2H4nFDM

Thanks for listening!

Mare Nostrum II/ Our Sea part 2 (Lyre & Ocean Meditation)

My new album of archaic lyre music out now! https://ataraxiaalpha.bandcamp.com/releases

Our word soul is really a mistranslation of the Greek psyche meaning the thing within us which thinks.

Watch a live version on the Ataraxia you tube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDoR1stAMHg

Περι Ψυχης On The Soul (Greek Lyre)

Zac Brown Band - Big Fat Bitch

I recorded this to accompany a guided meditation for forgiveness. I decided to publish the harp music without the guided voiceover, as it's a very nice recording and is great for meditation or background music to bring calmness into your space. The harp is tuned to the healing frequency of A=432, and tuned the harp to quarter comma meantone temperament, which gives the sound extra smoothness. I hope you enjoy it! Feel free to download and share. It's my gift to you. You can purchase my Power Chill meditation CD on Apple iTunes or here: http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/MarkBrewer

Harp meditation music (A=432)

This 20-minute guided meditation, including original harp music by Mark Brewer, will guide you through the process of forgiving others and yourself. While many self-help gurus recommend forgiveness as the gateway to personal peace and harmony, few provide any tools to do so, nor do they really explain what forgiveness is. 

Forgiveness is the physical and energetic release of the residue of these wrongful energies that are stored in your tissues and light body. When you forgive — that is, when you release the negative energies stored inside you, you will begin to experience real healing and begin to experience the benefits of healing. 

Get quiet and comfortable, listen to this meditation, and take your own journey into forgiveness. 

For more information about forgiveness, please see the blog post that accompanies this meditation: http://markbrewerharpist.com/blog/2012/09/the-forgivness-meditation/

Join Mark Brewer's mailing list at http://markbrewerharpist.com/powerchill/signup.html and download free harp meditation music!

Forgiveness Meditation

All-acoustic meditation music featuring the natural healing sound of the harp. Relax and raise your vibration. The deep healing energies embedded in this music soothe the soul and freshen the spirit. A perfect soundtrack for meditation, Reiki, bodywork sessions and yoga classes.

This is the full 15-minute meditation from the CD "Power Chill" by Mark Brewer.

You can download the full CD at your favorite online music store, iTunes, https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/power-chill/id470294592 or order the physical CD from CD Baby: http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/MarkBrewer

For Reiki practitioners: These meditative, acoustic harp improvisations are specifically developed for use in Reiki and other energy healing sessions. Healers can use the four 15-minute tracks to accompany 15-, 30- and 60-minute sessions.

This music is encoded with powerful healing energies. It was performed live during a meditation session held specifically for the performance and recording of these harp meditations. The clear intention was to bring the energies of love and healing into the music while it is being received and played by the harpist, Mark Brewer. You simply cannot accomplish anything like this using artificial instruments and sterile studio productions. 

Harp music heals by directly stimulating your body’s vibratory and pressure receptors. Your body tissues can literally resonate with the harp. You will hear and feel the soothing and healing vibrations of the harp music, and the relaxing nature of the harp‘s sound will help you open your energy field to receive the sound energy more deeply — sound energy to which your body, mind and spirit naturally gravitate.


Connect from Power Chill

All-acoustic meditation music featuring the natural healing sound of the harp. Relax and raise your vibration. The deep healing energies embedded in this music soothe the soul and freshen the spirit. A perfect soundtrack for meditation, Reiki, bodywork sessions and yoga classes.

This is a 3-minute sample of the full 15-minute harp meditation from the CD "Power Chill" by Mark Brewer.

You can download the full CD at your favorite online music store, iTunes, https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/power-chill/id470294592 or order the physical CD from CD Baby: http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/MarkBrewer

For Reiki practitioners: These meditative, acoustic harp improvisations are specifically developed for use in Reiki and other energy healing sessions. Healers can use the four 15-minute tracks to accompany 15-, 30- and 60-minute sessions.

This music is encoded with powerful healing energies. It was performed live during a meditation session held specifically for the performance and recording of these harp meditations. The clear intention was to bring the energies of love and healing into the music while it is being received and played by the harpist, Mark Brewer. You simply cannot accomplish anything like this using artificial instruments and sterile studio productions. 

Harp music heals by directly stimulating your body’s vibratory and pressure receptors. Your body tissues can literally resonate with the harp. You will hear and feel the soothing and healing vibrations of the harp music, and the relaxing nature of the harp‘s sound will help you open your energy field to receive the sound energy more deeply — sound energy to which your body, mind and spirit naturally gravitate.


Give Thanks (sample) from Power Chill

i feel different ! = original harp solo = http://www.harpandsoul.com 

track can be heard in the AARDZEE musicvideo and available as sheet music !
http://www.abirdcameflying.com

BUY EP Just Passing By

harp solo

Pachelbel's Cannon in D

A harp meditation with harp tuned to the healing frequency of A=432Hz. This meditation experience should provide an overall balancing, with emphasis on the first, sixth and fourth chakras, in that order (Root Chakra, Third Eye Chakra, Heart Chakra). 

Driftless View

Michael Levy is a UK-based composer for the recreated lyres of antiquity, whose musical mission is to create an entirely new musical genre, which could best be described as a 'New Ancestral Music' - dedicated to creating new music for the recreated ancient lyre, featuring an exotic palette of ancient musical modes and intonations not heard for almost 2000 years.

Michael has collaborated with the Grammy award winning Canadian composer, Rufus Wainwright - Rufus musically incorporated one of Michael's "Hymn to Zeus"  in two scenes of his second opera, "Hadrian" - which premiered in Toronto on 13th October 2018.

In 2022, Michael collaborated with the iconic American artist, Jeff Koons – his music for recreated ancient Greek kithara is currently the main soundscape of Koon’s animatronic sculpture, “Apollo Kithara” (2020-2022) on view at DESTE’s Project Space on the Greek island of Hydra.

"Odysseus and the Sirens" - Clip of Track 1, "The Ancient Greek Kithara of Classical Antiquity"

Michael Levy Lyre Music