I have just been invited to perform my Davidic Lyre at the Festivals of Jewish Culture in Kraków & Warsaw, Poland!!
Not sure yet if this is going be a definate, but it would definately be a cooool opportunity for my first ever "proper" International live Lyre Gig!!
WATCH THIS SPACE...
"Extremely Talented Artist!
I was fortunate enough to come across Mr. Levy's music as I was conducting research o the music of Ancient Greece. I work for the Teaaching Company, a well-known U.S. production house that specializes in educational video and audio courses. Mr. Levy's rendition of "The First Delphic Hymn to Apollo" expodentially enhanced the academic content and production value of our course "The Great Tours:Greece and Turkey", giving our audience a realistic sense of the music and culture of the ancient world.
Mr Levy's music deserves to be heard and appreciated by all who have a sincere interest in understanding the evolution of music and the sounds of ancient times. Or anyone who simply appreciates good music!"
S.B TGC - iTunes (USA) Review of "The Ancient Greek Lyre"
I have recently made some improvements to www.ancientlyre.com, to facilitate a smoother "Musical Adventure in Time Travel"!
When I first created this website in April 2009, I had but 4 albums of ancient lyre music - now at the end of 2011, I have 13...and there is now no longer enough room on the website to provide all the detailed album notes I wanted my listeners to have access to!
Therefore, I have just come up with an elegant solution - there is now a download link at the bottom of each brief description of my 13 albums in the "Albums" section of ancientlyre.com, which at a simple click, enables visitors to the website to download Word Documents of each & every detailed album description...which can be stored on their own PC, and shared as email attachments to other potential "Time Travellers" out there!!
I am pleased to announce the release on iTunes, of my NEW ALBUM, "King David's Harp" - the album can be found on iTunes here
"King David's Harp" is a showcase album, featuring my new hand-crafted "Davidic Harp", made by Marini Made Harps. This wonderful instrument is their evocation of the 10-string Biblical "Kinnor" - the "Harp" of King David. Despite the beautiful harp-like tone of the Marini Made Davidic Harp, it is, in fact, a lyre (ie unlike a true harp, the strings pass over a bridge).
All the "Harps" of the ancient Hebrews, were in fact lyres - in the Bible, the word original Hebrew word "Kinnor" has often been mistranslated as "Harp" - full details in the Historical Research section of my website.
"King David's Harp" is mostly a compilation album of 10 of my favourite tracks previously recorded in my albums "King David's Lyre; Echoes of Ancient Israel", "Lyre of the Levites" & "The Ancient Biblical Lyre", but with a whole new vista of serene, harp-like tonal colour...
In this album, (as well as my album "The Ancient Egyptian Harp"), I have also finally attempted to abandon modern equal temperament, and instead of using a digital tuner, I tuned my lyre the way the ancients did - cyclically in perfect 5ths & 4ths in a more authentic effort to achieve just intonation. For full details on how the lyres of the ancient world were tuned, please see the "Blogs" section of my website, where I have written a Blog entitled:
"How To Tunes a Replica 3000 Year Old Lyre?"
THE REPERTOIRE
The melodies for this album are adapted from either the sacred Jewish repertoire, or melodies which form part of the rich tapestry of the instrumental Jewish Klezmer music repertoire. However, thanks to the incredible work of the late Suzanne Haik Vantoura, who dedicated her life to deciphering the original music of the Hebrew Bible, the actual musical modes/scales used in these melodies can be traced back some 3000 years, to ancient Biblical times...
There are 10 tracks, corresponding to the 10 strings of the Biblical Kinnor of King David...
THE 10 TRACKS
1. Hava Nagila (Let Us Rejoice!):
My arrangement for an evocation of the Biblical Davidic Harp of
the most famous of all Jewish songs of Praise & Joy.
2. Hatikavah (The Hope):
This is my arrangement for an evocation of the Biblical
Davidic Harp,of "Hatikvah" (The Hope) -
the National Anthem of Israel...
3. Lyre of the Levites:
This is my arrangement for an evocation of the Biblical Harp of
King David, of a melody from the traditional Jewish instrumental
Klezmer repertoire, "Unzer Toyrele".
4. Jerusalem of Gold:
My arrangement for a reconstruction of the Biblical Harp of King David,
of Naomi Shemer's haunting song, "Jerusalem of Gold" - which has since
become known as Israel's "Second National Anthem"...
5 . The Tablets of Moses:
My arrangement for an evocation of the Biblical Harp
of King David, of an exhilarating melody from the traditional
Jewish Klezmer instrumental repertoire, "Noch Havdallah"
6. Hine Ma Tov (How Beautiful):
My arrangement for an evocation of the Biblical Davidic Harp,
of a traditional Jewish folk song, "Hine Ma Tov" ("How Beautiful")
7. Holy of Holies:
My arrangement for an evocation of the Biblical Davidic Harp,
of a traditional Jewish sacred melody.
According to the research of the late Suzanne Haik Vantoura, the
musical modes/scales heard in Jewish music today,
can be traced back in time almost 3000 years, to the Biblical times of King David...
8. Psalm 114 (Ancient Traditional Melody, c.2nd Century CE):
My arrangement for an evocation of the Biblical Davidic Harp, of an ancient melody traditionally sang by both early Christians & Jews,
to Psalm 114, "When Israel Was Set Forth From Egypt".
9. Tabernacle of the Ark:
My arrangement for an evocation of the Biblical Davidic Harp,
of a melody from the traditional Jewish instrumental Klezmer repertoire, "Berdichiever Khosid".
Acording to the research of the late Suzanne Haik Vantoura,
the musical modes/scales heard in Jewish music today, can be traced
back in time almost 3000 years, to the Biblical times of King David...
10. Eternal Peace:
My arrangement for an evocation of the Biblical Davidic Harp, of a beautiful Jewish Sabbath melody, "Ose Shalom" (The One Who Brings Peace)...
As well as iTunes, the physical CD of "King David's Harp", complete with detailed insert notes, can be ordered from Reverbnation.
For all you lovely "Hi Fi Geeks" out there, incredible Lossless 24-bit WAV audio files or amazing 320kbps quality MP3's of all the tracks from "King David's Harp" are also available to download from Bandcamp.
The album will also soon be available from my pages on Amazon & CD Baby - please "spread the word"!
Many thanks...
"Ancient and modern music for an old instrument...
Michael Levy has given us a musical treat. Of the 12 items on the album, 6 are reconstructions of what ancient Greek music played on the lyre might be like, and the other 6 are his original compositions for the instrument. General listeners might find the latter more accessible, as they are influenced by modern musical tastes, but if you have an interest in historical pieces the other six are well worth listening to. Mr. Levy, though not a formally trained musician, is passionate about the instrument and the music that went with it. His website, ancientlyre.com, has ample evidence of his scholarship. If you listen to the samples, you'll find that his mastery of the instrument is clear and his musical sensitivity and talent are also evident. In terms of his technique as well as sense of melody and rhythm, the pieces are intriguing. I hope you find them as enjoyable as I have"
"INCREDIBLE...
This was my favorite performance from Michael Levy thus far. Not only is the performance immaculate, but the recording quality is pristine. I love the space that you feel while listenting to this album. I like the way he experimented with creating a fret by using the pick, just like you create a fret on the birimbau with a stone you create an infinite number of tones on a fixed tone instrument. My only complaint is it is a short album, and I wanted more"
DJG Mike - Amazon (USA) Review of "The Ancient Egyptian Harp"
"Enjoy a taste of Ancient Greece
This was one of the first albums I purchased from Michael Levy. This is beautiful and simple music. It makes me feel good immediately, and I hope you feel the same. Recommended...YES!"
DJG Mike - iTunes (Canada) Review of "The Ancient Greek Modes"
"A Beautiful Minimalist Masterpiece...
This album will consume you and take you far away. You must at least listen to the samples available, it won't take you long to feel the effects of this music. If you're new to the music of Michael Levy, this is a great place to start, as it contains a taste from his various albums. Highly recommended"
"Instructive and at the same time relaxing...
This is how I can best describe Levy's take on introducing the listener to some of the Ancient Greek Modes. Dorian, Hypolydian, Lydian, Hypophrygian, and Phrygian they are called, and I remember my music classes in college and I wished the instructor had had a practical musical talent comparable to that of Levy. Just like in his other works he invites us to a colourful musical landscape, made accessible by his puristic style: just the strings of his lyra instrument and a gentle reverb effect. Great work"
Von Idris Rahai - iTunes (Germany) Review of "The Ancient Greek Modes"
"KING DAVID'S HARP"
I am pleased to announce the release of my NEW ALBUM, "King David's Harp" in December 2011!
Here is a sneak preview of the album cover...
"King David's Harp" will be showcase album, featuring my new hand-crafted "Davidic Harp", made by Marini Made Harps - their evocation of the 10-string Biblical "Kinnor" - the "Harp" of King David. Despite the beautiful harp-like tone of the Marini Made Davidic Harp, it is, in fact, a lyre (ie unlike a true harp, the strings pass over a bridge).
All the "Harps" of the ancient Hebrews, were in fact lyres - in the Bible, the word original Hebrew word "Kinnor" has often been mistranslated as "Harp" - full details in the Historical Research section of this website...
"King David's Harp", will in short, be a mostly a compilation album of 10 of my favourite tracks previously recorded in my albums "King David's Lyre; Echoes of Ancient Israel", "Lyre of the Levites" & "The Ancient Biblical Lyre", but with a whole new vista of serene, harp-like tonal colour.
In this album, I have also finally attempted to abandon modern equal temperament, and instead of using a digital tuner, I tuned my lyre the way the ancients did - cyclically in perfect 5ths & 4ths in a more authentic effort to achieve just intonation...
MORE DETAILS TO FOLLOW SOON!!!
"This album is probably the best means to artfully and authentically connect with those ancient civilizations like the artist seeks to connect us with. Michael Levy performs the Lyre, the musical instrument of Ancient Mesopotamia, in an honest and authentic way. Just a little reverb is added to the recording, other than that you can only hear an occasional breathing of the artist. It feels like sitting in one of their ancient temples; my mind begins wandering around and I begin to fantasize I am listening to sounds more than 4000 years old. Amazing!"
"I bought this album and I am very pleased with it. Thank you Michael Levy for sharing your talents with us. I am very blessed by this music and I feel it creates an atmosphere where I can draw near to God in holiness. The music is very special to me and I know that God has written the very chords of these melodies for the angels of God and man to enjoy. I recommend this album for anyone who wishes to create a peaceful and holy environment in the home but also to those who appreciate world music from the ancient Middle East"
Yakov Israel - iTunes (UK) Review of "The Ancient Biblical Lyre"
BEAUTIFUL HISTORIC MUSIC
This Historic music was a beautiful addition to our history studies of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece and India. It is very relaxing. We use it as back ground music while painting.
"Here is a treasure to find. Michael Levy recreates this music in five superb tracks. My favourite is the beautiful Extemporisation on an Ancient Harp of Kemet, which transports listeners to times long ago"
My Bandcamp Store is linked to my new Facebook Page:
Bandcamp offers instant download of either lossless audio files (WAVs, FLACs etc) or amazing 320kbps broadcast quality MP3s of all of my albums!!!
ANCIENT GREEK POETRY SET TO MY LYRE MUSIC!
Below is a video which has recently been made, which features my arrangement for lyre, of the 1st Delphic Hymn To Apollo (c.128BCE), from my album, "The Ancient Greek Lyre", set to a the ancient Greek poem "Parmenides' Journey":
If anyone out there "in the know", who knowns anyone or anybody I could contact, to use my ancient lyre music for similar themes eg as background music for documentaries on "The History Channel" etc, this would be amazingly appreciated...my biggest frustration, is that apart from this website and my Youtube Channel, my voluminous virtuosity on the lyre, is virtually unknown!!!
MY EARLY EXPERIMENTS AT PLAYING ANCIENT GREEK MUSIC ON YOUTUBE
I recently stumbled on the following interesting threads of online discussion, about some of my earliest experiments at arranging ancient Greek music on my lyre...as featured on my "Klezfiddle1" Youtube Channel:
http://thewoundedbird.blogspot.com/2011/09/beautiful-ancient-greek-music-played-on.html
Hi Everyone!
I am pleased to announce the launch of 2 Facebook Pages, where either physical CDs of any of my albums can be ordered, or MP3s of any track of any of my albums can be downloaded, anywhere in the world!
My CD Baby Store is now online on my new Facebook Page:
"Michael Levy Music"
Although downloads of all my albums is of course available from iTunes, unlike the annoying territory restriction of iTunes Store, CD Baby sells MP3s of any track of any of my albums, to ABSOLUTELY ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD... from Egypt to Antartica!!!
My Reverbnation Store is linked to my other Facebook Page:
"Music of the Ancient World".
Reverbnation manufactures physical CDs on demand, of all of my albums, as well as really funky stuff, like Ringtones of any track from any of my albums, "Archaeomusicological Fashion Accessories" & other assorted "semi surreal" Fan Merchandise!!!
On my Personal Facebook Profile I regularly post bulletins of all of my musical projects and new Youtube videos etc - please feel free to add me as a friend!
Bye For Now!
Michael
On the recommendation of John Wheeler (editor of Suzanne Haik Vantoura's book, "The Music of the Bible - Revealed"), I have just ordered one of the amazingly well-crafted, hand-made Davidic Harps made by Marini Made Harps
The acoustic tone of these little 10-string lyres is beautifully harp-like and more resonant than the replica Kinnor I have, which one of the incredibly affordable range of Kinnors made by Mid East Ethnic Instruments
Hopefully, the new, improved tone of this hand-made lyre will inspire me with yet more lush,"Neo-Levitical Lovliness"...keep an eye out for new experimental video featuring this lyre (when it arrives!) on my "Klezfiddle1" Youtube Channel"!
A quick bulletin to let you know all of some important changes to www.ancientlyre.com!
To hopefully enable more people out there to find all the myriads of fascinating topics I have researched in the previously book-length "Historical Research" section of the website, I have now posted each research topic as an individual blog, in the "Blogs" section...this also makes it easier for each topic in each blog to be shared on the Web (by simply clicking the small blue "share" button at the bottom of every webpage of every individual blog)
The "Historical Research" section now covers just my more extensive research into the incredible history of the Biblical Lyres, once played over 2000 years ago, by my very own, very ancient Levite ancestors - now that's what I call "Roots Music"! ;o)
To further aid the hopefully viral spread of the content of www.ancientlyre.com to the millions of social networking sites out there, besides the small blue "share" buttons at the bottom of each webpage on the site, I have also added both Facebook "Like" buttons to all the pages I can (with my very limited self-taught technical ability at web design!), as well as prominent batteries of "Share" buttons on the top of the Homepage, "Albums", "Sample Tracks", "Biography" & "Historical Research" sections...please keep "spreading the word"!!!
I have been toying with the idea of self-publishing the now book-length of research on www.ancientlyre.com in either a downloadable digital book for something like Amazon Kindle, or a self-published paper back, via Lulu.com etc - would there be any demand for this? My only problem is the knotty one of copyright over publishing photographs used on my website...most of which were simply Google-searched. Your opinions & advice on this matter would be very much valued!
An important update on the use of a selection of my lyre music in Thomas Alexander Nikolaou's forthcoming documentary on ancient Cyprus!
The final title of the documentary will be "Cyprus Throughout History". The release will be on Blu-ray and DVD and will be released in the end 2013 in Cyprus.
There are chances of collaboration with BBC Network which means that there is a good chance for a future agreement with them...so it is possible to be broadcast on the History Channel, National Geographic and Travel Channel - WATCH THIS SPACE!!
A selection of my ancient lyre music is to feature in a documentary about the historical monuments of Cyprus!
The documentary will be made by the Cypriot film-maker Thomas Alexander Nikolaou, of Lightman Films Inc.
Watch this space for news of further developments...
Hi Everyone!
A quick bulletin to let you know of an important new feature of www.ancientlyre.com - I have now added iTunes buttons for every single clip of the tracks from my lyre albums that can be heard on the media player of the website, to allow greater ease of downloading your favourite tracks directly from iTunes...
Simply visit the "Sample Tracks" section of the website, which lists in detail all the clips of the tracks which are currently playing on the ancientlyre.com website media player - the new iTunes buttons, for each & every sample track on the media player can all be found there!
iTunes buttons now also feature in the "Albums" section of the website, which provides detailed album notes for each and every one of my albums.
Best wishes,
Michael
Hi Everyone!
I am pleased to announce the release of my brand new little EP album "The Ancient Egyptian Harp"...
This album features an improvisation on an ancient Egypian scale, Egyptian folk music & original compositions in authenitc ancient Middle Eastern musical modes, uniquely arranged for my newly aquired, incredibly archaic skin-membrane arched harp, with strings made of natural fibre - almost identical to the ornate arched harps played in the New Kingdom of Ancient Egypt, some 3500 years ago...
Here are the purchase links to the album - please "spread the word"! Thanks...
Buy The Physical CD of This Album From Reverbnation!
Best wishes,
Michael
My ancient Egyptian & Greek lyre music is to feature in a display at Liverpool Planetarium! It is part of the museums celebration of the Festival of British Archaeology which runs from 16th – 29th of July. It will be on at 3.15 from the 16th – 24th, and then at 2.45 from 25th – 29th. My music is the background to this show, which demonstrates how night sky once looked like in Antiquity...
For all details, please visit:
http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/wml/spaceandtime/Planetarium/