Michael Levy News: New Collaboration!

Michael Levy has kept busy during this semi-plague and has new connections with interesting entities. Read his announcements below and follow the links.

New Collaboration with the Ancient History Encyclopedia & a 'Latter-Day Miracle' from Brazil's First Temple of Antinous!

Dear Loyal Lyre Fans, 

Firstly, I am delighted to announce the official start of my collaboration with the Ancient History Encyclopedia - whom I have given permission to feature my ancient-themed lyre music in each and any of their audio presentations, podcasts & video productions, in perpetuity - the nearest I can get, to a record company, for getting my music out to the 'potentially receptive, niche global target audience'!

Here is a list of some of the Ancient History Encyclopedia podcasts and YouTube videos recently produced, which feature my music:

Daily Life in Ancient Mesopotamia

Dogs in the Ancient World

Ergamenes

Greek Mythology

The Life and Death of Ancient Cities - Interview with Author Greg Woolf 

Carthage

The Minoans: A Civilization of Bronze Age Crete

The Mycenaeans: A Civilization of Bronze Age Greece



Secondly - I finally have some actual video footage from the premiere of Rufus Wainwright's epic second opera, "Hadrian" -  featuring his arrangement of my ancient tyre theme, "Hymn to Zeus"  in Act II Scene IV!

How I finally managed to acquire this video footage was almost like divine intervention from Antinous himself! After learning the awful truth, that my laptop screen capture app miserably failed to record the one-off "Watch Party" livestream of the premiere on 10th August & after pleading on Twitter, if anyone else out there had recorded it, I was contacted by an actual latter-day Priest from Brazil's First Temple of Antinous...who finally enabled me to see the opera; almost 2 years after the premiere in Toronto!!! The best things in life, are certainly those worth waiting for...

My Lyre Theme - in Rufus Wainwright's HADRIAN


Wishing you all health, happiniess...and the continuation of sanity, during these troubled times (towards this goal, please enjoy the meditative mood of your free bonus track, "The Scented Gardens of Alcinous" - track 1 from my 2020 album of the same tiitle; actually recorded, produced & released during the peak of the pandemic here in the UK). Thanks once more, for your continued & invaluable support in my musical quest.

 

Good News for Fans of the Ancient Lyre

I haven't done a darn thing during the Covid-19 crisis except clean out my garage, but Michael Levy does not suffer from my sort of creative malaise.  Read his announcement below for some good news:

1. I have just been contacted by a music curator from the BRITISH LIBRARY SOUND ARCHIVE - who wants to preserve for posterity in the NATIONAL COLLECTION, the entire repertoire of my 'New Ancestral' musical creations...for all future generations!!

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!

Not only will each and every track from each and every album and single I have continually been releasing since 2008 be painstakingly conserved and preserved, but also, so will the original, raw 'live' YouTube audio which originally resulted from my 2008 'live from my spare room' rendition of the oldest written melody in history (Hurrian Hymn Text H6) - currently the most viewed presentation of any extremely early music, on the planet!

This is about the nearest I have ever come to something akin to the iconic Sci Fi ideal of  achieving immortal...via mind-uploading!

Indeed, to quote Grimes, from her utterly epic 2018 single, "We Appreciate Power"... 

"...And if you long to never die 
Baby, plug in, upload your mind 
Come on, you're not even alive
If you're not backed up on a drive 
And if you long to never die 
Baby, plug in, upload your mind 
Come on, you're not even alive
If you're not backed up, backed up on a drive" - I AM NOW!!

2. Other important news - as well as all the usual digital music platforms, all my albums can also be purchased direct from my website! Simply visit the either the "Music" & all the sub-pages of the "Albums for Solo Lyre" sections to make your meditative track selections!

In particular, this new option of my website will now enable you to either preview in full or purchase my new album, "The Scented Gardens of Alcinous", ahead of its release across the usual digital music platforms on 3rd May! As a taster, just for you loyal subscribers, attached is track 2, "Sacred Rites of the Priestesses of Cybele" - enjoy!

Hoping all you lovely lyre music fans stay safe, sane and well during the ongoing global crisis - you are all in my thoughts. I sincerely hope that my music brings you all some much needed inner peace during these, the most challenging and troubled of our modern times.

Echoes of Ancient Mesopotamia and Canaan

Michael Levy has a new album available!  Follow the links and order today . . .

ECHOES OF ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA & CANAAN

I am pleased to announce that my new album, "Echoes of Ancient Mesopotamia & Canaan" is available to pre-order from Amazon & iTunes from TODAY, ahead of its general digital release across all the usual major digital music platforms on 1st March 2020!

For all the details and to download a free PDF booklet of the detailed album notes, please see my new webpage about the release:

https://ancientlyre.com/ancient-near-east-themed-albums

Pre-order this album on iTunes!

Pre-order this album on Amazon!

This album is my mostly historically inspired evocation, of the lost music of ancient Mesopotamia & Canaan; but as the final track, this release also features my most recent arrangement of the reconstructed melody of an actual bronze age hymn to Nikkal; the oldest notated fragment of music which can still be interpreted and performed today; performed this time, on a replica of an actual surviving bronze age lyre!

For most of the tracks, I play this fascinating replica of an actual, typical bronze age Canaanite form of asymmetric lyre; custom-made for me by Luthieros. The design of this lyre was based on the same proportions of a Canaanite form of lyre found in Egypt, dating to circa 1,500 BCE and which is preserved in Leiden.

These types of lyres were almost certainly introduced into Egypt during the reign of the Canaanite Hyksos kings, that ruled northern Egypt as the 15th dynasty, c.1630–1523 BCE. The exotic, sitar-like tone of the bass strings of this lyre, are due to the flat-topped, groove-less bridge. As almost all the lyres still played throughout the African continent today still retain this distinctive buzzing timbre (particularly the Ethiopian begena), since the lyre originally probably came to Africa via ancient trade routes between the ancient Near East and Egypt, it is indeed far more likely, that this buzzing timbre of the lyre was much closer to the original ancient near eastern/middle eastern lyres of antiquity.

For some of the tracks, I also use the more sinister, darker timbre of my tenor register 10-string lyre - ideal for evoking the mystery of the long-forgotten pantheon of ancient Mesopotamian & Canaanite gods!

As a taster, here is a YouTube presentation of track 4, "The Magic of Marduk":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeaVIu02_5g

Mr Spock's Harp

Some of you may recall an episode from the original Star Trek series in which Mr. Spock is forced to play the harp and sing for a bunch of mean, telekinetic aliens – and he's actually really good at it. The interesting thing is that Leonard Nimoy, who wove some of his Judaic traditions into his role as Spock, comes from a long line of harp-loving folk, including King David. So it only makes sense that Michael Levy should pay tribute to Mr Spock in his newest album. Click the links below! No harp and/or Star Trek collection is complete without this wonderful new album!

Alien Harp - Music From An Alternate Universe

I am pleased to announce the release of the third in my recently ultra-experimental EP length albums, dedicated to providing the lyre of antiquitywith a new voice for the 21st century, and hopefully way beyond!"Alien Harp: Music From An Alternate Universe" is my own personal tribute to the late Leonard Nimoy, inspired by his Star Trek character Spock's 'Vulcan Harp' - featuring original compositions for solo lyre, transformed by a veritable vista of contemporary studio effects, evoking an 'alternate universe' of mysterious, alien soundscapes, going boldly where no lyre has gone before...Here are all the main purchase links:

Buy This Album on iTunes
Buy This Album on Amazon
Buy This Album on Google Play
Buy This Album on CD Baby
Buy This Album on Bandcamp

A free PDF of the detailed album notes can be downloaded here.

As an independent artist, without the benefit of a record company to do all the promotional stuff on my behalf, my music only really manages to 'get out there', thanks to the infinitely appreciated efforts of ALL you lovely lyre lovers out there, in each and every Facebook share, tweet, web blog about my music and album review - thank you all, for your continued support in my musical mission, to reintroduce the lyre of antiquity back into the 21st century musical world!