"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)

Japanese Classical Music

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Medieval Celtic Music -Forest's Lullaby-

Dark Waltz - Peter Gundry

Lista de reproducción seleccionada para el sitio:
http://leayluna.wix.com/cronicasdehyacintho
Y para la precentción del libro Tierra de Estrellas del cual soy coautora

- Scottish Gaelic Music - Julie Fowlis - Cadal Ciarach Mo Luran (Scottish Gaelic Song)

At a time of gathering momentum, ALPHA is rereleasing 14 seminal recordings in a collection called, quite simply, ALPHA
COLLECTION.
This series brings together the finest Baroque recordings from the Alpha and ZZT catalogues: discs singled out for honours,
emblematic artists of music from that period, recordings that marked the discography...
This is also the occasion to discover or rediscover universally known works as well as world premiere recordings of rarities.
In the framework of these rereleases, the performers have been interviewed and bear witness to their view of the work and
their recording several years later, and their fascinating remarks are taken up in the booklets (all trilingual: French, English,
German).

MONTEVERDI - Lamento Della Ninfa - Amor by Le Poème Harmonique & Vincent Dumestre

A spontaneous improvisation on a replica ancient Greek Barbitos (βάρβιτος) - the music from this instrument was said to be the lyre for drinking parties and is considered an invention of Terpander. The Barbitos, an ancient Greek bass register lyre, was also often associated with the poet Sappho...

The beautiful replica Barbitos I am playing in this improvisation was hand-made in modern Greece by Luthieros Ancient & Modern Music Instruments, and all their wonderful instruments are available to order from anywhere in the world:

http://en.luthieros.com/product-category/ancient_greek_lyre

The Luthieros Barbitos I am playing in this video presentation features an actual tortoise shell resonator and 7 long gut strings, creating a haunting and unique ancient timbre...

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 Barbitos

An original called Bully made by Lucas King
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Arht_7q0O4
pic: https://yuumei.deviantart.com/art/Bygone-Days-601785155

Dark Piano - Bully (By Lucas King)

As the sun sets beyond the horizon, a throng of pixies flood the forest. Some dance in the moonlight, while others rest quietly on leaves and flowers. The pixies are prone to emotional swings and when a human steps into their domain, they react in various ways.


Moonlight Pixies

All music composed & produced by: 
Mounia Sebti (artist alias: Invadable Harmony)

Watch my composer showreel on Youtube: 
https://youtu.be/6-DTDCchCqk
Hope you like it! :)

If you need a soundtrack for your project (video games, short films, documentaries, podcasts.. etc), I'm currently available for commissions!
As you can see from my composer showreel, I produce music in a wide range of styles, It's a unique cinematic fusion of orchestral, neo-classical, new age and world music with a fantasy melancholic touch. I'm so passionate about capturing the deepest emotions in sounds. 

If you're interested in working with me, you can contact me at: invadableharmony@gmail.com

I'll make it my mission to deliver only the best!

Ancient Fairy

piano Cover Bioshock 2 : How she sees the world 
composition : Garry schyman 
piano: myself 
artwork : Huusen Uri 

How she sees the world - Bioshock 2- Garry Schyman- Cover ( piano music)

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.

The Ancient Greek Barbitos

Michael Levy Lyre Music

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