This song is a cover version of the famous Leonard Cohen song "The Partisan" performed by the danish tribute band "Birds On The Wire"

The song is about a survivor of the German bombings, and became a popular tune in the 50's in French-speaking countries.

It is now less famous than its almost homonymous "Chant des partisans" by J. Kessel and M. Druon. This last one was notably made "re-fashionable" by the André Malraux's speech during the transfer of Jean Moulin' ashes in the Panthéon of Paris.

Finally, Leonard Cohen gave the "complainte" a new life in 1969 with his "Partisan". Hy Zaret was the first to apply for a copyright (via the editor Raoul Breton) for the d'Astier-Marly song.

He heard the song on the BBC waves; maybe the radio broadcast didn't give him the name of the lyric writer, but only Marly's name, who wrote the music and gave the original performance. It's probably for this reason that only Zaret (for the English adaptation) and Marly (for music and French lyrics) were credited.

The Partisan

This is a genuine 800 year old Troubadour song, arranged here for solo lyre, & written by Walther Von Der Vogelweide called "Palästinalied". Here are some interesting details about the song from Wikipedia:

"Palästinalied was written in connection with the Fifth Crusade (1217-1221). Although it is a political-religious propaganda song describing a crusade into the Holy Land, it is atypical for a song of this kind in that it also recognizes the claim of all Abrahamic religions to the Holy Land, although finally asserting that the Christian cause is the "right one" in the last strophe:

Kristen juden und die heiden 
jehent daz dis ir erbe sî 
got müesse ez ze rehte scheiden 
dur die sîne namen drî 
al diu werlt diu strîtet her 
wir sîn an der rehten ger. 
reht ist daz er uns gewer 

This strophe can be translated as follows:

"Christians, Jews and Heathens claim this to be their heritage. God has to assign it in the right way, for His three names. The whole world is coming battling here - our cause is right. It is right that He is granting it to us."

Despite all the pointless religious intolerance (as the words to this song certainly testify!), and the sheer bloody brutality of the Crusades, at least they resulted some amazing, utterly timeless melodies, like this! 

My many releases of albums for solo lyre can be found on iTunes:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/michael-levy/id4324920

For full details, and all the historical research behind my myriad of "Musical Adventures in Time Travel", please visit my official website:

http://www.ancientlyre.com

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Palästinalied (Walter Von Der Vogelweide)

V.A. - Whom the Moon a Nightsong Sings (Prophecy Productions)

Ich würd es hören

Through Darkness is the fourth track from The Visit's debut full-length release, Through Darkness Into Light. 

PRE-ORDER THE NEW ALBUM HERE: https://thevisit1.bandcamp.com/album/through-darkness-into-light

Through Darkness

Inga & Anush - Janaparh

Great Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra

The Romance

Roque Baños - 14. Entierro De Ángeles.

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/slavic-lands/id1078499242
Bandcamp: https://dbfiechter.bandcamp.com/album/slavic-lands
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Night in Russia by Derek & Brandon Fiechter

Hungry Ghosts - Alone Alone

Eseguita dalla Filarmonica C.Colombo di Santa Margherita Ligure nel Salone del centro congressi del Grand Hotel Miramare il 08/12/2012

Pomp and Circumstance March No.1-Sir Edward Elgar

Balalaika Ensemble - Russian Folk Songs - 07 - Katyusha

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.

Palästinalied (Walter Von Der Vogelweide)

Michael Levy Lyre Music