tag:ancientlyre.com,2005:/blogs/my-musicMy Music 2024-02-11T07:39:30-12:00Michael Levy - Composer for Lyrefalsetag:ancientlyre.com,2005:Post/73496052024-02-11T07:39:30-12:002024-02-12T06:57:05-12:00Collaboration with Damon McMahon of Amen Dunes!<p>I am<i> really </i>excitied to announce that <a class="no-pjax" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damon_McMahon" target="_blank" data-link-type="url">Damon McMahon</a> of <a class="no-pjax" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amen_Dunes" target="_blank" data-link-type="url">Amen Dunes</a>,<i> is featuring my lyre music in his new album! </i><br><br>Amen Dunes is the musical project formed by American singer-songwriter and musician Damon McMahon in 2006.<br> </p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/392904/0a3cae25278673653ea90945c8143ea10974768a/original/6ca0bf986e204114a5a12eb81c71c6ad-756x756x1.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_m justify_center border_" /><p><br><br>A new recording of my original viral YouTube arrangement for solo lyre of the Bronze Age Hurrian Hymn Text H6 (circa 1,400 BCE - the oldest notated melody in history!) <a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.brooklynvegan.com/amen-dunes-announces-first-album-in-6-years-tour-dates-shares-purple-land/" target="_blank" data-link-type="url">will feature in a track in the new album <i>"Death Jokes"</i> by Amen Dunes - out on 10th May!</a><br> </p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/392904/84c07b1fb16eaaa02ad97f2a2e1bd79456560cd1/original/download.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_m justify_center border_" /><p><br><br>I was contacted by Damon McMahon's record company back in 2022 - who requested a bespoke re-recording, as near as possible to <a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpxN2VXPMLc" target="_blank" data-link-type="url">the audio from my original, 'live from my spare room' (10,000,000 plus views!) version of my 2008 YouTube arrangement of the 3,400 year old Hurrian Hymn.</a><a data-link-type="url"> </a><br><br>The dreamy mood Damon McMahon manages to conjure with his music serendipidously matches my own solo lyre recording projects - never having even heard of Amen Dunes here in the UK, I have since fallen in love with the wonderfully experimental, fuzzy textures he uses as a the background layers to his songs, many of which which all feature beautifully elegant melodic lines & many of which are also modal in character.<br><br>As far I so far know, the clip of my lyre music will come at the tail end or last song of this album of original songs by Damon McMahon, who releases contemporary music under Amen Dunes. No matter how brief the loop of my lyre music in whatever specific track it eventually features on Damon's new album, this amazing cross-over of musical genres is the first real small step I have come in attaining my dream, of making the lyre 'mainstream'!<br><br> </p><p> </p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/392904/fac871ea5afbbbc9eabe99dad31d10af11781878/original/lyre-rock-guitar.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" />Michael Levy - Composer for Lyretag:ancientlyre.com,2005:Post/72503172023-07-31T21:46:04-12:002023-10-16T02:59:03-12:00New Album - Released Today!<p>Now available from all major digital music platforms, I am delighted to announce the release today of my antidote to the chaos of the modern world.<i>"Musica Lyra" </i>- an ancient Roman-themed album inspired by themes from stoic philosophy. Here is Spotify album link:</p><p><a class="no-pjax" href="https://spotify.link/djKwY2RXTBb" target="_blank" data-link-type="url">https://spotify.link/djKwY2RXTBb</a></p><p>The album explores through music, the turbulent emotions of unresolved desires, grief, regrets, longings & sorrows which can cloud the positivity of life, which though endurance of the human spirit & the focus of stoic meditation, can be overcome, until the ultimate stoic ideal of “Amor Fati” - developing a love of fate, no matter what obstacles we may encounter during the brief enigma of our conscious experience of life.<br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/392904/0e5b8a591d32ae662bca64da1893e426893ca0db/original/lyre-music-inspired-by-stoic-philosophy.png/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><br><br>As I have no record company, I literally soley rely on the support of my much valued listeners in order to ‘get my music out there’ to new sets of potentially receptive ears - if any of you are able to kindly share news of the album's release across social media & include tracks in new Spotify playlists & post album reviews on platforms such as iTunes or Amazon, this would be greatly appreciated!</p><p>Warmest wishes,<br><br>MIchael</p>Michael Levy - Composer for Lyretag:ancientlyre.com,2005:Post/72194982023-06-02T02:19:11-12:002023-06-02T02:19:11-12:00My Lyre Music Featured by the Israel Museum of Jerusalem<p>I am pleased to announce that a selection of my music from my 2020 album, <a class="no-pjax" href="https://michaellevy.bandcamp.com/album/echoes-of-ancient-mesopotamia-canaan" data-link-type="url">“Echoes of Ancient Mesopotamia & Canaan” </a>have been featured as the soundscape to an exhibition currently on at the Israel Museum of Jerusalem, entitled <a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.imj.org.il/en/exhibitions/feast" data-link-type="url">“The Feast”</a> .<br><br>The exhibition explores banquets, feasts, and food in the Ancient Near East in the 4th-1st millennium BCE, presenting them as the ideal setting for the negotiation of ideologies, and as a symbol of political and social status. The exhibition is on display between May 12th 2023 - December 31th 2023.<br><br>In particular, I was delighted to learn that my music will be being played in the very same gallery which displays the iconic Megiddo Ivory - a depiction of a Canaanite-style lyre from Megiddo, which is about as close as we can get to an idea of what the actual lyre of King David might have actually looked like:<br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/392904/ebca19a72a0922b2fe6c5c8313f72210849f28a9/original/megiddo-lyre.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><br><br> </p>Michael Levy - Composer for Lyretag:ancientlyre.com,2005:Post/72194952023-06-02T02:08:32-12:002023-06-02T02:08:32-12:00Live Lyre Concert for the Biblical Archaeology Society!<p>In April, I was pleased to be invited to host an entire hour long <a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/scholar/michael-levy/" data-link-type="url">Zoom concert and talk on the Biblical Lyres for the Spring and Biblical Archaeology Festival 2023! </a><br><br>The concert and talk was in short, an evocation of the music of the ancient Biblical Temple lyres of the Levites and the lyre of King David, performed on modern recreations of the 10-string Biblical Kinnor and an actual replica of a Canaanite-style lyre discovered in Egypt - enjoy!<br> </p><div class="video-container size_xl justify_center" style=""><iframe data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="-iCEVe3MhDQ" data-video-thumb-url="" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-iCEVe3MhDQ?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></div>Michael Levy - Composer for Lyretag:ancientlyre.com,2005:Post/71568682023-02-19T07:36:38-12:002023-02-19T08:56:07-12:00Jeff Koons Featuring my Ancient Kithara Tunes - Again!<p><strong>EPIC!</strong> The iconic American artist, Jeff Koons, just contacted me <i>again! </i><br><br>Following the use of my music in <a class="no-pjax" href="https://deste.gr/hydra/jeff-koons/" data-link-type="url">Jeff Koons's exhibition last year on Hydra</a><a data-link-type="url"> of his new sculptures of Apollo</a>, my ancient Greek kithara-themed music will ONCE AGAIN be the main soundscape in a new exhibition to include his sculpture <a class="no-pjax" href="http://www.jeffkoons.com/artwork/apollo/apollo-kithara" data-link-type="url"><i>"Apollo Kithara"</i></a> at Liebieghaus Skulpturensammlung in Frankfurt. <br><br>Almost as if Apollo himself approved of this collaboration, by pure serendipity, for my live lyre concert at the British Museum back in January 2023, I was astounded to learn <i>that I would be performing in the very next gallery to where the original Greco-Roman sculpture of Apollo with Kithara, which Koons based his new sculpture on</i>, was actually located!<br> </p><p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/392904/52a7920af12cac6d1b27357925d722120b6345c2/original/apollo-and-me.png/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><br><br>The exhibition, <i>"Machine Room of the Gods: How our Future was Invented"</i>, will be on view from 8th March - 10th September 2023:<br><br><a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.liebieghaus.de/en/machine-room-of-the-gods" data-link-type="url">https://www.liebieghaus.de/en/machine-room-of-the-gods</a><br><br>________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>Michael Levy - Composer for Lyretag:ancientlyre.com,2005:Post/71401422023-01-18T22:05:48-12:002023-01-18T22:28:32-12:00My Lyre Music - at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts!<p>My ancient Greek-themed lyre music is now the soundscape to an exhibition at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts! </p>
<p>The exhibition,<em> "Making Past Present"</em> features the work of <a contents="Cy Twombly" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cy_Twombly" target="_blank">Cy Twombly</a>, a painter and sculpture who found much inspiration in the philosophy and relics of the ancient Greeks:<br><br><a contents="https://www.mfa.org/exhibition/making-past-present-cy-twombly" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.mfa.org/exhibition/making-past-present-cy-twombly" target="_blank">https://www.mfa.org/exhibition/making-past-present-cy-twombly<br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/392904/91d0538212ac5c1a09cfdc33611f6a74be776f8a/original/sc443953-ig-v2-1.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></a></p>
<p>The tracks featured, are<em> <a contents=""Orpheus's Lyre"" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://michaellevy.bandcamp.com/track/orpheuss-lyre-lament-for-solo-lyre-in-the-just-intonation-of-antiquity-2" target="_blank">"Orpheus's Lyre"</a></em> from my 2013 compilation album,<a contents=' "Musical Adventures in Time Travel" ' data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://michaellevy.bandcamp.com/album/musical-adventures-in-time-travel" target="_blank"><em> "Musical Adventures in Time Travel"</em> </a>& <em><a contents='"The Only Thing Certain is Uncertainty"' data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://michaellevy.bandcamp.com/track/the-only-thing-certain-is-uncertainty" target="_blank">"The Only Thing Certain is Uncertainty"</a></em>, from my 2023 album,<em> <a contents='"Ataraxia (Inner Harmony").' data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://michaellevy.bandcamp.com/album/ataraxia-inner-harmony" target="_blank">"Ataraxia (Inner Harmony").</a><br><br>The exhibition featuring my music, will be on display at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts between 14th January - 7th May 2023.</em><br> </p>
<hr><p> </p>Michael Levy - Composer for Lyretag:ancientlyre.com,2005:Post/71401412023-01-18T21:48:20-12:002023-01-18T21:48:20-12:00Live Lyre Concert at a British Museum Member's Evening!<p>My music is to become a 'National Treasure'!</p>
<p>For the first since 2013 and for the first time I have had any official live performances since the restrictions of the pandemic, on 23rd January 2023, my live lyre music will once again be the soundscape to a British Museum Member's Evening:</p>
<p><a href="https://www.britishmuseum.org/events/members-exclusive/members-evening-23-January?fbclid=IwAR0TpphJyx6SiavjEFVhhkL7KvIUm9NthRrcQorNiioua8bxRHitCIFDY5c" rel="nofollow noopener" role="link" tabindex="0" target="_blank">https://www.britishmuseum.org/.../members-evening-23-January</a><br><br>The event is exclusively for British Museum Members - quite possibly the perfect potentially interested new target audience for my musical mission, to continue where the ancients "left off"!<br><br>I will be providing a Greco-Roman, Mesopotamian & Ancient Egyptian-themed soundscape and will be performing near the Greek Galleries, between the following times:<br><br><strong>18.15 – 18.45<br>19.14 – 19.45 <br>20.15 – 20.45</strong><br><br>Hope to see some of you there!<br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/392904/4fad9f988538d4c91a110a4b1a9d4c00c7b70a85/original/michael-levy-ancient-lyre-music-at-the-british-museum.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<hr><p> </p>Michael Levy - Composer for Lyretag:ancientlyre.com,2005:Post/70085962022-07-06T02:48:04-12:002022-07-30T19:35:40-12:00Collaboration with Jeff Koons!<p>I am amazed to finally be able to publicly announce my collaboration with the iconic American contemporary artist, Jeff Koons!</p>
<p>My music for recreating ancient Greek kithara<em> is now the main soundscape of Jeff Koon's new animatronic sculpture, <a contents='"Apollo Kithara" (2019 - 2022)' data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CfE4A5mrBkh/" target="_blank">"Apollo Kithara" (2019 - 2022)</a></em> on display inside Jeff's magnificent recreation of a Temple of Apollo, on the Greek Island of Hydra. The exhibition is at the DESTE Foundation Project Space, Slaughterhouse, which is a free contemporary art space open to the public on the island, from 21.6.2022 to 31.10.2022: </p>
<p><a contents="https://deste.gr/hydra/jeff-koons/" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://deste.gr/hydra/jeff-koons/" target="_blank">https://deste.gr/hydra/jeff-koons/</a></p>
<p><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/392904/fce6554755c3dd53231951fd7d0154327874348f/original/apollokithara1.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Jeff is featuring 20 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.<br><br>According to Jeff's agent, Jeff wanted to incorporate my music as follows:<br><br><em>"With the recordings of your ancient kithara music, Jeff would like to overlay at times acapella recordings of contemporary singers, such as, David Bowie, Robert Plant, Lady Gaga, Lil Uzi Vert, and others. For Jeff, mixing the ancient sounds of the kithara with the acapella vocals of contemporary singers will be exhilarating and play with aspects of time, which will also be visually evident in the exhibition. Jeff seeks and desires a sensual quality to the experience of the exhibition and believes the music will amplify this connection to the past, present, and future."<br><br><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="9D9mJru6Ddw" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/9D9mJru6Ddw/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9D9mJru6Ddw?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="360" width="640" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></em><br> </p>
<p><em><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/392904/9d28c1f2e8df00df4463047eb48468aa8bb50050/original/jeff-koons-apollo.png/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.png" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></em><br> </p>
<hr><p><br> </p>Michael Levy - Composer for Lyretag:ancientlyre.com,2005:Post/68404352021-12-14T01:12:29-12:002021-12-14T01:25:56-12:00My Interview with the World History Encyclopedia!<p>I am pleased to announce the publication on YouTube, of my interview with the World History Encyclopedia - the most detailed discussion on my musical mission to date! <br><br>The interview features demonstrations of almost all my recreated ancient lyres, all the background about my musical inspiration, with detailed discussion on topics ranging from the myth of monophony in ancient music, ancient tuning systems derived from Pythagorean numerical cosmology, how ancient lyre playing techniques can be inferred from ancient classical texts & from how lyres are still being played throughout the continent of Africa today: <br> </p>
<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="MbzvK7LAiYc" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/MbzvK7LAiYc/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/MbzvK7LAiYc?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="360" width="640" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe><br> </p>
<hr><p> </p>Michael Levy - Composer for Lyretag:ancientlyre.com,2005:Post/67862522021-10-25T05:26:48-12:002021-10-25T05:26:48-12:00My Lyre Music - on the Covermount CD of Songlines Magazine!<p>I am delighted to announce that one of my arrangements for solo lyre of the 2000 year old ancient Greek <em>"Song of Seikilos"</em>, from my 2015 album,<a contents=' "The Lyre of Apollo: The Chelys Lyre of Ancient Greece"' data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://ancientlyre.com/album/1302208/the-lyre-of-apollo-the-chelys-lyre-of-ancient-greece" target="_blank"> "The Lyre of Apollo: The Chelys Lyre of Ancient Greece"</a><em> </em><em>is featured on the covermount CD of the 2021 November/December edition (Issue Number 172) of <a contents="Songlines Magazine" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.songlines.co.uk/magazine" target="_blank">Songlines Magazine</a>!</em><br><br>The magazine can either be <a contents="purchased in print" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0161LNHAG/ref=nosim?tag=wwwsonglinesc-21" target="_blank">purchased in print</a> or <a contents="digitally downloaded" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.magsubscriptions.com/music-songlines-songlines-digital" target="_blank">digitally downloaded</a> <br><br>There is also a full page story in the magazine, on the inspiration behind my ancient-themed lyre music:<br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/392904/75aade7e004545d338bb6a7c933bc2bfb2bde620/original/michael-levy-songlines-magazine.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<hr><p> </p>Michael Levy - Composer for Lyretag:ancientlyre.com,2005:Post/67653862021-10-03T21:54:04-12:002021-10-03T22:07:49-12:00Viral Video Games - and Ancient-Themed Lyre Music!<p>I am delighted to announce that My ancient-themed lyre music is now both the <em>main theme </em>& <em>entire soundscape</em>, of the brand new mod of the video game from Paradox Developement Studio, <a contents="'Crusader Kings III'" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.paradoxplaza.com/crusader-kings-iii/CKCK03GSK0000001-MASTER.html" target="_blank">'Crusader Kings III'</a>, entitled: <a contents='"APOTHEOSIS: THE HELLENISTIC AGE"' data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2618149514&fbclid=IwAR1aRBlB5sEUNL7gVxnQZ6Eukyvs2ulrh-uL7u5UChmXryxzwwMD3TigFu0" target="_blank">"APOTHEOSIS: THE HELLENISTIC AGE"</a><br><br><a contents="" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2618149514&fbclid=IwAR1aRBlB5sEUNL7gVxnQZ6Eukyvs2ulrh-uL7u5UChmXryxzwwMD3TigFu0" target="_blank"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/392904/99ad91affd597c532ae5013066a8fd737fd01ca6/original/untitled-photo-7.png/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.png" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></a><br>Featuring a wide selection of my ancient Greek-themed music, the main theme of the mod, which automatically plays each and every time the mod is first opened, is my track<a contents='&nbsp;"Paean to Ares"' data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://open.spotify.com/track/6zoLHnYfm6depzLjdEDThY?si=71d2f8f0ec2a4b36" target="_blank"> <em>"Paean to Ares"</em></a> - from my 2016 album,<em> <a contents='"Kithara of the Golden Age"' data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://open.spotify.com/album/5wV5aRpT08axHYg0tau3Xe?si=X5NBGGaoQsuWRBsTsRtDtg&dl_branch=1" target="_blank">"Kithara of the Golden Age"</a>.<br><br><strong>The awesomely ancient historically immersing mod of the game is available now, from <a contents="here" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2618149514&fbclid=IwAR1aRBlB5sEUNL7gVxnQZ6Eukyvs2ulrh-uL7u5UChmXryxzwwMD3TigFu0" target="_blank">here</a>.</strong></em><br><br>Who needs really boring stuff, like a 'record company'!<br> </p>
<hr><p><br><br> </p>2:37Michael Levy - Composer for Lyretag:ancientlyre.com,2005:Post/66699582021-06-24T22:26:36-12:002021-06-24T22:28:03-12:00Interview on the History of Egypt Podcast<p>06/25/2021<br><br>I was pleased to be invited to give an interview on Dominc Perry's <a contents='"History of Egypt Podcast"' data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com/" target="_blank">"History of Egypt Podcast"</a> in the most detailed discussion to date, on the background information to my 2020 album, <a contents='"The Ancient Egyptian Lyre"' data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://ancientlyre.com/album/1650980/the-ancient-egyptian-lyre" target="_blank">"The Ancient Egyptian Lyre"</a> and the creation of the replica of the 3,500 year old ancient Egyptian lyre preserved in Leiden, which features in it:<br><br><iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="232" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/episode/2uZtrD2GoAsLRjfsrJWtM3?t=0" width="100%"></iframe><br><br> </p>
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<p> </p>Michael Levy - Composer for Lyretag:ancientlyre.com,2005:Post/64614372020-10-22T10:21:59-12:002024-02-12T06:57:05-12:00Over ONE MILLION Streams on Spotify!<p><span><strong>10/22/2020</strong></span><br><br><span>I am literally </span><i><span>astounded</span></i><span> to annouce, that my first compilation album for solo lyre, </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://open.spotify.com/album/2f1oTK5B8x3NVmQITthAHh?si=IiUK8eOlQ26O7qOGqIx0ug" target="_blank" data-link-type="url" contents='"Ancient Landscapes"'><span>"Ancient Landscapes"</span></a><span> now has </span><i><span><strong>OVER ONE MILLION COMPLETE STREAMS </strong></span></i><span>on Spotify!!!</span><br><br> </p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/392904/b0c8bb41e498b2084da592186cc4188590e46127/original/121724310-10157815131781172-5461942177195152092-n.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsImxhcmdlIl1d.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><p><br> </p><p> </p><p>At 72 minutes in duration, astonishingly,<i> this is the equivalent of this album being played in a continuous loop, 6 hours a day...<strong>FOR 544 YEARS!!! </strong></i><br><br>Just possibly, more people have probably heard the sound of my lyre<strong> in this one release</strong>, t<i>han during the entire epoch of antiquity when the original lyres of the ancient world were still being played</i> - bring on the 'New Ancestral' Music Revolution!<br> </p><hr>Michael Levy - Composer for Lyretag:ancientlyre.com,2005:Post/64602902020-10-20T23:36:56-12:002023-01-18T22:28:32-12:00My Lyre Theme - in Rufus Wainwright's Opera!<p><br><span class="font_regular">Yes, a tune I conjured up in my spare room, has been melodically incorporated into Rufus Wainwright's <a contents='"Hadrian"' data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hadrian_(opera)" target="_blank">"Hadrian"</a> - quite possibly, the most flambouyant new opera of the 21st century...</span><br><br><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/392904/827254c305b92c5dfd6b28b61959aaa9765d986b/original/maxresdefault-1.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span><br><br><span class="font_regular">The full story of my collaboration with Rufus Wainwright <a contents='was featured in a story in "The Globe and Mail"&nbsp;' data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/music/article-a-ditty-for-a-deity-composer-michael-levy-on-having-lyre-composition/" target="_blank">was featured in a story in "The Globe and Mail" </a><br><br>In short, on 27th April 2017, I was contacted by <a contents="Cori Ellison" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://coriellison.com/" target="_blank">Cori Ellison</a>, who was serving on behalf of Canadian Opera Company in Toronto as the dramaturg for the production:<br><br><em>“Mr. Wainwright has become acquainted with your work, particularly the 'Hymn to Zeus', and would very much like to incorporate a few musical quotations from that piece and perhaps some others in his opera. Might you be amenable to that?” </em><br><br>A telephone conference was arranged between myself, Rufus and Cori on 25th May 2017, whilst Rufus was still on tour in Bergen!<br><br>During the course of the conversation, Rufus told me he particularly liked my composition, <a contents="“Hymn to Zeus” " data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://open.spotify.com/track/2xXe2H4KoH42WuqpsaixLJ?si=I_p4DGXkRcanq84531DTpA" target="_blank">“Hymn to Zeus” </a>(track 3 from my 2010 album, <a contents="“Apollo’s Lyre”" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://open.spotify.com/album/3lH4gsXBytIOeWAZdk0EUf?si=9vibYcKsTjCmQqU_fq74EA" target="_blank">“Apollo’s Lyre”</a>) which he described in our telephone conference as<br><br><em> “...a really beautiful melody”. </em><br><br><em>“Hymn to Zeus”</em> is a piece I composed for lyre, in the intense ancient Greek Dorian Mode; the equivalent intervals as E-E on the white notes of the piano (and misnamed the “Phrygian” mode by scholars in the early Middle Ages). This was also the favourite musical mode of Plato himself, who thought the Dorian mode was the only mode of true moral worth. It has a distinctively introspective and haunting meditative quality. <br><br>Incredibly, my lyre theme was melodically incorporated <em>into literally the two most dramatic scenes of the entire opera</em> - in Act II, Scene IV; when Hadrian relives the moment he first met his lover, Antinous and later, <a contents="in Act III Scene VIII; when Hadrian finally learns the awful truth behind the mystery surrounding Antinous's death" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://ancientlyre.com/album/1302191/my-lyre-theme-in-rufus-wainwright-s-second-opera-hadrian-act-iii-scene-viii" target="_blank">in Act III Scene VIII; when Hadrian finally learns the awful truth behind the mystery surrounding Antinous's death</a>.</span><br><br><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/392904/6950eadddcc1328beb801b9d9c9efb4199630b16/original/maxresdefault-2.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span></p>
<p><br><span class="font_regular">How I finally managed to acquire <a contents="the HD video footage of my lyre theme in Act II Scene IV of the premiere of the opera" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-UmewNsClg" target="_blank">the HD video footage of my lyre theme in Act II Scene IV of the premiere of the opera</a>, was almost like divine intervention from Antinous himself!</span><br><br><span class="font_regular">After learning the awful truth that my laptop screen capture app miserably failed to record the one-off <a contents='"Watch Party" livestream of the premiere' data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.coc.ca/hadrian" target="_blank">"Watch Party" livestream of the premiere</a> & after pleading on Twitter, if anyone else out there had recorded the one-off livestream of the opera, I was contacted by an actual latter-day <a contents="Priest from Brazil's First Temple of Antinous" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://antinousgaygod.blogspot.com/2016/10/brazils-first-temple-of-antinous-headed.html" target="_blank">Priest from Brazil's First Temple of Antinous</a> - <em>who finally enabled me to see the opera; almost 2 years after the premiere in Toronto!!! </em>The best things in life, are certainly those worth waiting for...</span><br><br><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/V-UmewNsClg" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><br><br> </p>
<hr><p> </p>Michael Levy - Composer for Lyretag:ancientlyre.com,2005:Post/64602232020-10-20T22:04:17-12:002021-06-24T22:18:40-12:00New Collaboration with the World History Encyclopedia!<p><br><span class="font_regular">I am delighted to announce the official start of my collaboration with the <a contents="World&nbsp;History Encyclopedia" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.worldhistory.org/" target="_blank">World</a><a contents="Ancient History Encyclopedia" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.ancient.eu/" target="_blank"> History Encyclopedia</a> - whom I have given permission to feature my ancient-themed lyre music in each and any of their audio presentations, <a contents="podcasts" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://pod.co/ancient-history-encyclopedia" target="_blank">podcasts</a> & <a contents="YouTube video productions" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXjB5CYw3yCS8soFozLhPFQ" target="_blank">YouTube video productions</a>, in perpetuity - the nearest I can get, to a record company, for getting my music out to the 'potentially receptive, niche global target audience'!</span><br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/392904/22ad98c5635491cc4d0ab8b0406e52826c0dad44/original/13458.png/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.png" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><br><br><span class="font_regular">Here are a brief selection of some of the many podcasts and videos recently produced by the World History Encyclopedia, which feature my music:</span></p>
<p><span class="font_regular"><a contents="Daily Life in Ancient Mesopotamia" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://pod.co/ancient-history-encyclopedia/daily-life-in-ancient-mesopotamia" target="_blank">Daily Life in Ancient Mesopotamia</a><br><br><a contents="Dogs in the Ancient World" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://pod.co/ancient-history-encyclopedia/dogs-in-the-ancient-world" target="_blank">Dogs in the Ancient World</a><br><br><a contents="Ergamenes" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://pod.co/ancient-history-encyclopedia/ergamenes" target="_blank">Ergamenes</a><br><br><a contents="Greek Mythology" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://pod.co/ancient-history-encyclopedia/greek-mythology" target="_blank">Greek Mythology</a></span></p>
<p><span class="font_regular"><a contents="The Life and Death of Ancient Cities - Interview with Author Greg Woolf&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://pod.co/ancient-history-encyclopedia/the-life-and-death-of-ancient-cities-interview-with-author-greg-woolf" target="_blank">The Life and Death of Ancient Cities - Interview with Author Greg Woolf </a></span></p>
<p><span class="font_regular"><a contents="Carthage" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://pod.co/ancient-history-encyclopedia/carthage-1" target="_blank">Carthage</a></span></p>
<p><span class="font_regular"><a contents="The Minoans: A Civilization of Bronze Age Crete" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxnfIe4zgO0&t=335s" target="_blank">The Minoans: A Civilization of Bronze Age Crete</a><br><br><a contents="The Mycenaeans: A Civilization of Bronze Age Greece" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZioHxDVCGE" target="_blank">The Mycenaeans: A Civilization of Bronze Age Greece</a><br><br><a contents="Pyramids Around The Globe: The Pyramids of Egypt and Beyond" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://youtu.be/Y3pkenUblcc" target="_blank">Pyramids Around The Globe: The Pyramids of Egypt and Beyond</a></span><br><br><a contents="Famous Female Pharaohs and Queens of Ancient Egypt" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgTCRNaJtqo&t=275s" target="_blank">Famous Female Pharaohs and Queens of Ancient Egypt</a><br><br><a contents="The Life and Death of Ancient Cities: Interview with Greg Woolf" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elCJtSQsvg4&t=151s" target="_blank">The Life and Death of Ancient Cities: Interview with Greg Woolf</a><br><br><a contents="The Ankh, the Djed and other Ancient Egyptian Symbols and their Meanings" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AM_iDdqKQUY&t=3s" target="_blank">The Ankh, the Djed and other Ancient Egyptian Symbols and their Meanings</a></p>
<hr><p> </p>Michael Levy - Composer for Lyretag:ancientlyre.com,2005:Post/64602212020-10-20T21:54:18-12:002020-10-22T10:42:59-12:00My Music is to become a 'National Treasure' - LITERALLY!<p><br><span class="font_regular">I have just been contacted by a music curator from the <a contents="BRITISH LIBRARY SOUND ARCHIVE" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://sounds.bl.uk/" target="_blank">BRITISH LIBRARY SOUND ARCHIVE</a> - who wants to preserve for posterity in the <a contents="NATIONAL COLLECTION" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Library_Sound_Archive" target="_blank">NATIONAL COLLECTION</a>,<em> the entire repertoire </em>of my 'New Ancestral' musical creations...<em><strong>for all future generations!!</strong></em></span><br> </p>
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<p><br><br><br><span class="font_regular">As far as my musical mission goes, at reintroducing the recreated lyres & ancient musical modes back into the modern musical world, for me, this is a truly 'MISSION ACCOMPLISHED MOMENT'! Orpheus may have been the most legendary mythological lyre player of antiquity, but unlike me, neither he nor all the actual lyre players of ancient times had the either the opportunity or the technology to preserve their musical art, forever, in perpetuity - NOW I DO!<br><br>Not only will <strong><em>each and every track from each and every album and single I have continually been releasing since 2008 </em></strong>be painstakingly conserved and preserved, but also, so will the original, raw 'live' YouTube audio which originally resulted from <a contents="my iconic 2008 'live from my spare room' rendition of the oldest written melody in history" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://ancientlyre.com/news/blog/how-my-spare-room-became-a-musical-time-machine" target="_blank">my 2008 'live from my spare room' rendition of the oldest written melody in history</a> (Hurrian Hymn Text H6) - currently the most viewed presentation of any extremely early music, on the planet!<br><br>This is about the nearest I have ever come to something akin to the iconic Sci Fi ideal of achieving immortal...via <em>mind-uploading!</em><br><br>Indeed, to quote <a contents="Grimes" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grimes_(musician)" target="_blank">Grimes</a>, from her utterly epic 2018 single, <em><a contents='"We Appreciate Power"' data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYG_4vJ4qNA" target="_blank">"We Appreciate Power"</a></em>...</span><br><br><span class="font_large"><em>"...</em>And if you long to never die <br>Baby, plug in, upload your mind <br><em>Come on, you're not even alive <br>If you're not backed up on a drive </em><br>And if you long to never die <br>Baby, plug in, upload your mind <br><strong><em>Come on, you're not even alive <br>If you're not backed up, backed up on a drive" </em></strong><br><br>...I AM NOW!!</span><br> </p>
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<hr><p><br><br> </p>Michael Levy - Composer for Lyre