Artifacts Wacky and Sublime

If there is one thing I despise, it's the trend of ticky-tacky housing developments in most of the formerly wild, empty places in Arizona between cities. This is one of the things going through my mind as Ernie and I drive up Cave Creek road from Phoenix toward the city of Cave Creek. I love the empty, pristine deserts that still reign throughout most of the Basin and Range Province; it is in this God-forsaken desolation that, perversely, I feel closest to God. How could I do otherwise in this perfect silence, broken only by the cries of cactus wrens, quails, and mourning doves? Though I like to visit the pines from time to time, they can't compete with my Uncle Saguaro and Aunt Cholla.

Yet, as we motor north-east from Phoenix, I get a kick out of the older shops and buildings we can see from the road. Many of them are from an earlier era, and it's like traveling in a time machine. Like many people who no longer remember the Bad Stuff, I have fond memories of the 50s, 60s, and 70s. But in my defense, this is partly because of the wackiness of those times, and the interesting artifacts they've left behind.

The town of Cave Creek is one of those artifacts. It was founded by people who truly love the desert, and because many of them used to be real estate moguls, they're extremely canny about preserving what they love. One of their greatest accomplishments is the Cave Creek Regional Park, a lovely preserve that was destined to be another ticky-tacky development until the citizens of Cave Creek intervened. Now it has a nifty visitor's center and several beautiful trails where you can hike or go horseback riding while enjoying gorgeous views. We took a trail that looped around Vulture Mountain and back again, a hike of about an hour-an-a-half. Here is the dust of the trail on my shoe.

From there we headed into Cave Creek to visit some of our favorite haunts.  First, Buffalo Bill's, a shop built on a hillside.  The merchandise (pots and garden items) is displayed on terraces out back, giving the place a magical quality.

Next we ate at El Encanto, which has the best mole sauce in the known galaxy.

And finally, we shopped at The Town Dump, where several arcane and delightful items were purchased.

So my friends, you can keep New York, San Francisco, and Paris.  We've got Cave Creek and Vulture Mountain.  You just can't top that.

Valentina's Mission To Mars

Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman to go into space, flew her mission 50 years ago – and now she's ready to go to Mars. I would love to see her do that. Talk about your cosmonaut/astronaut dream team! The mission to Mars may seem like a lot of talk right now, but it will happen. Let's hope Valentina has a place on that crew.

Some Happy Snippets Of Lyre Playing Glory

Michael Levy's music will once again be used to add beauty and depth to some interesting subjects – see the links below!

My lyre music is to feature at the Royal Ontario Museum!

I am pleased to announce that my new arrangement of Dr Richard Dumbrill's interpretation of the 3400 Hurrian Hymn (Text H6) is to be used in support of a new exhibition, "Mesopotamia", to be held at the Royal Ontario Museum, between June 22, 2013 to January 5, 2014...I just wish I could leave the rain ravaged UK to be there to see it!

43 Seconds of Lyre Playing "Glory"!

There will be 43 seconds of my (barely noticeable!) background lyre music playing "glory" again this Wednesday, 5th June at 23.45 GMT, on the repeat of episode 2 of Waldemar Januszczak's BBC4 television documentary series "The Dark Ages An Age of Light"...and an entire nano-second of blazing televised stardom with my name in the credits at the end!!! 

The 43 second clip (which I spent an entire day travelling to be filmed for the sadly unused film shoot at the Ancient Technology Centre in Dorset!), is of my arrangement of the ancient Greek music fragment, "Lament of Simonides", merging into my own composition "Ancient Visions" at the end (the clip of my lyre playing can be heard towards the end of the episode, in between some relentless waffle about Goths & Visigoths etc!) 

A few precious nano-seconds of Corwen Broch's awesome Anglo-Saxon lyre-playing can also be heard - episode 2 of the series is also available to watch now, on BBC iPlayer:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00zbtmp

Don't blink - or you may just miss it!!

Reaching the Promised Land (and the Roman Baths and British Museum)

Michael Levy has posted a link to a fascinating video about an ancient seed in Israel that germinated against all odds. And don't miss his upcoming concerts at the Roman Baths and the British Museum. While you're at the museum, stop in their gift shop and buy some of Michael's CDs, the same music you'll hear playing in the "Silver Service" exhibit. Mark your calendars . . .

My Ancient Biblical Lyre has reached "The Promised Land"!

I was very pleased to stumble upon a direct link to a fascinating video by the Israeli Radio & TV journalist, Yishai Fleisher , featuring music from my album "The Ancient Biblical Lyre" - my evocation of the lost sound of the ancient Biblical lyres has finally reached "The Promised Land"!

Here are some details about this awesome video: 

"Yishai Fleisher heads south to visit the Arava Institute and the date palm they are growing from a 2,000 year old seed. The growth of this ancient seed against all odds surprised the scientists who nurtured it. Arava’s Dr. Elaine Solowey describes the miraculous process of bringing the ancient seed back to life and growing it into a young tree. As the Jewish people tenaciously cling to the Land of Israel, this little seedling hangs in there with them." 

Here is a direct link to the video:

http://yishaifleisher.com/tv/up-close-and-personal-with-2000-year-old-baby-judean-palm-tree/ 

Many thanks to you all, for all your invaluable support in my dailly quest to "get my music out there"... please "spread the word"!

Live lyre gigs at the Roman Baths & British Museum and physical CDs of my Roman-themed albums soon available from the British Museum Shop!

I am pleased to announce some live lyre gigs coming up very soon, at both the world famous Roman Baths at Bath Spa, UK on Saturday 18th May & at the British Museum on 17th June - for full details on these events, please see my website calendar:

http://www.ancientlyre.com/calendar

UPDATE: 

My Lyre Concert at the British Museum on 17th June is for British Museum Members Only!

I have just learnt that my live lyre concert at the British Musuem on 17th Juneis to be a free event, held exclusively fr British Museum Members ONLY - please do not turn up on the day and request a ticket, as you will not be let in!!

In order to susbscribe for British Museum Memerbship to take advantage of free membership events like htis one, please see the following link:

 http://www.britishmuseum.org/membership.aspx

Sorry about this misunderstanding, everyone!

Besides these live lyre concerts, I was also delighted to be contacted by Dr Andrew Shapland , curator of the Greek Bronze Age collection at the British Museum, who also has selected tracks from my albums, "Ode To Ancient Rome" & "Echoes of Ancient Rome", in support of a new display on Roman Dining, in Room 3 of the British Museum. As Dr Shapland explained to me "The display is part of our 'Objects in Focus' series which will feature the Mildenhall Great Dish displayed in the context of a late Roman dining room, including an evocation of a stibadium, the semi-circular couch which would have been in use at the time the dish was produced.Your music, along with a cinnamon smell, will contribute to the atmosphere. Room 3 is a small room next to the front entrance where we hold a series of temporary displays. This one is called "Silver Service: Fine Dining in Roman Britain" and will run from 23 May-4 August, coinciding with the Pompeii exhibition."

The display is going to be called "Silver Service - Fine Dining in Roman Britain" and will run from 23th May - 4th August. It will use a loop of tracks from my albums "Ode To Ancient Rome" & "Echoes of Ancient Rome", played continuously to all those lovely international visitors to the British Museum, from 10am - 6pm, right from 23rd May - 4th August.

Not only this - since my Roman-themed albums are to feature so prominently in these events, I have also been contacted by the British Museum Shop, who have just ordered 60 copies of my physical CDs of "Ode To Ancient Rome" & "Echoes of Ancient Rome"! The order has just been dispatched from Audiolife, the USA manufacturer of my physical CDs on demand from Reverbnation) and will be available to purchase in the British Museum Shop within the next week or so...it has been a busy few weeks!

Abbott And Costello Meet The Mogollon Monster

In a perfect world, Ernie and I would be traveling around Arizona at will, staying in cheap motels, ogling weird and wacky roadside attractions, and hiking mysterious realms. This may occur after we retire, but for the time being we have to be satisfied with day trips.

On Mondo Ernesto, Ernie wrote about a couple of those day trips: ROAD DAZED, DEEP IN THE HEART OF ARIZONA and UP CAVE CREEK WITHOUT A PADDLE. His illustrations probably do our adventures more justice than my photographs, but here they are anyway.

Behold HWY 260. It runs East-West (and in some places North-South) between Camp Verde and Payson. It does so at the edge of the Mogollon Rim, which might give you the idea that it skirts a distinct scarp for a good part of the way. But there is very little of the Mogollon Rim that is actually a recognizable rim. HWY 260 winds among hills, buttes, mountains, and valleys in the Transition Zone, and often the only indication that you've climbed onto the rim is a change in climate from high desert to scrubby juniper forest. As we got closer to Strawberry, the trees became ponderosas, and we saw snow on the ground.

When you look at the road cuts, you can see that much of the area along HWY 260 was shaped by volcanic explosions that laid down layers of ash. I resisted getting out to lay hands on the stuff as long as I could, but finally succumbed. Along about this time, Ernie spotted footprints that he felt might belong to the Mogollon Monster. Take a close look – this is the only photograph that definitively proves that the Mogollon Monster wears high heels.

I had some half-baked plans about exploring fossil Creek, but the road was closed, so we headed over to Tonto Natural Bridge. I was still recovering from a bug that put me in the hospital a couple of weeks before, so we tried crawling along the creek that flows under the travertine bridge. We were doing fine until we got to a part where we had to get into the water if we wanted to continue. Ernie wisely advised that we turn around, but I thought we'd only have to go in up to our knees to get where we wanted to be. A few moments later, I was up to my waist. Ernie said he wouldn't follow, his wallet might get wet. That's when I remembered my wallet, which had to be emptied of a few ounces of water once I climbed out again.

Drying out after falling into a creek takes an amazingly long time. By the time Ernie and I had driven HWY 260 into Payson and settled at the slightly mis-signed El Sierra Mexican Restaurant, I was still damp around the edges. But the food quickly made me forget my discomfort, and fortified us for the diagonal trip home on HWY 87 to Phoenix, through dazzling displays of wildflowers. Were would we go next? When we saw the sign that said HAZARDOUS MATERIALS MUST EXIT, did that mean us? Fasten your seat belt for the next installment – monsters lurk beyond that rim, and some of them are wearing spiked heels . . .

Forget the Cartoon History of the World -- It's the Podcast History of the world!

Devoted history/music fans can tune into the history of the world in this nifty podcast that features Michael Levy's ancient lyre music. Just click on the links below . . .

My Lyre Music Featured in Rob Monaco's New "Podcast History of the World" Series!

I am pleased to announce that my arrangement for solo lyre of the timeless ancient Greek melody, "Epitaph of Seikilos" (from my recent release"A Well Tuned Lyre - The Just Intonation of Antiquity"), has been featured in Rob Monaco's new "Podcast History of the World" series, on the emergence of the ancient Greeks.

These fascinating free iTunes podcasts by Rob Monaco are a great way of bringing my recreation of the music of antiquity to a whole new global audience, who also share my passion for ancient history. 

The podcast featuring my lyre music can be freely downloaded here:

http://podcasthistoryofourworld.blogspot.co.uk/ 

Please "spread the word"! Many thanks, everyone, for all your invaluable support, in helping me in my relentless mission, to "get my music out there"...

War Dance For Tap, Tabla, and Tuba

Raymond Scott's music is still being arranged and performed – check out G. Tarjan's Youtube video . . .

Spiffy New Redesign For Michael Levy's Website!

Michael Levy has made his website even better – click on the link and check it out!

Like a Phoenix Rising From The Ashes of Cyberspace!

Like a Phoenix rising from the ashes of cyberspace, I am pleased to announce the relaunch of my greatly improved website!

 In the new awesome web template, (besides the stunning ancient lyre player graphics!) I have been able to group together my ever-growing collection of research blogs into the lyres of the ancient world, into one book-sized "Historical Research" section, with each new chapter forming it's own clickable subpage:

 http://www.ancientlyre.com/historical_research

The new website also is now in a more compatible format to view on all iPods & Tablets etc...

Please "spread the word"!! Thanks, everyone...

Concerts at the Roman Baths

Lucky people in the UK will have the opportunity to catch a couple of concerts by Michael Levy in May and June – see the links below . . .

Live lyre concerts at the Roman Baths & the British Museum!

I am delighted to announce that I will be performing my lyre, live, at both the Roman Baths at Bath Spa, UK & the British Museum itself...I have finally become a "National Treasure"!

All details of these gigs have just been posted in the "Calendar" section of my website:

http://www.ancientlyre.com/calendar.html

Please "spread the word", everyone! Many thanks..

The Cave God

Lots of people have heard of Carlsbad Caverns and Mammoth Cave, but few would suspect that Arizona, home to four of the great deserts in North America, would have a wet, living cave that is still making formations. That's because most people don't know that Arizona was once covered in shallow seas that formed layers of limestone, or that our desert soil, so rich in minerals, also has pockets of underground water.

Two people who did know these things were Randy Tufts and Gary Tenen, amateur cavers who followed a hunch. Kartchner Caverns, by Neil Miller, tells the story of how these two men discovered and preserved one of the great natural wonders of Arizona. The story is full of twists and turns, much like the cave itself.

We learn that caving clubs in Arizona are a secretive bunch for very good reasons: caves, like fossils, Indian artifacts, and petroglyphs, are the targets of considerable greed and destruction. This book documents some of that, illustrating the ticking clock that threatened Kartchner Caverns once it was discovered.

Yet even Tufts and Tenen were surprised by just how long that clock ran – 25 years slipped by while they plotted, planned, and recruited allies, including the family that owned the land. At any point in this story, someone could have revealed the secret and doomed the cave. Why this never quite happened is the reason this book is just as much a thriller as it is the biography of a cave and its champions.

Randy Tufts and Gary Tenen were two very different people who were united in their love of a cave and their passion to both share and preserve it. Their differences could have driven them apart and doomed the cave, but instead those differences balanced their partnership and made them an excellent team. My take on the situation after reading this book is that there were some essential qualities that made it possible for Kartchner Caverns to become a state park: passion, dedication, and patience as infinite as the patience of a cave that turns dripping water into beautiful formations, ion by ion.

The book is lavishly illustrated with photos of the cave and the people who loved it. It also contains a timeline and a bibliography. Deftly blending science with Arizona history, Kartchner Caverns, like the place itself, is something you'll want to visit again and again.

Music Archaeology

Michael Levy has had another nifty link added to his web profile – check it out!

My website has just been added to the artist links on the International Study Group on Music Archaelogy!
http://www.musicarchaeology.org/links/artists

Artists | musicarchaeology

www.musicarchaeology.org

Sedona Through Time

Sedona Through Time (3^rd edition), by Wayne Ranney, is the third book in what I like to call Ranney's Rock Trilogy. Book One, Ancient Landscapes Of The Colorado Plateau (co-written with Ron Blakey), takes us step-by-step through the landscape changes in the Four Corners area, beautifully illustrating each geologic occurrence with Paleogeographic maps. Book Two, Carving Grand Canyon, zooms in on the most breathtaking landform in North America, delving into a lesser-known feature called the Mogollon Highlands, which turns out to be one of the major forces in the formation of the Grand Canyon and of Sedona, the focus of Book Three.

By the time you read Sedona Through Time, you've got a much better idea of how the layers in Sedona formed, because they are many of the same layers present in the Grand Canyon. But once you go Southeast to Sedona, those layers have changed a bit in character, and some unique features appear, like the Schnebly Hill Formation. The helpful diagrams, maps, and photographs that are present in Books One & Two of Ranney's Rock Trilogy are also present in Book Three, and they are very effective in illustrating the geologic events that created Sedona.

Anyone who visits Sedona and nearby Oak Creek Canyon is struck by their beauty and serenity. They possess a profound spirit that is as beautiful as what you can experience in the Grand Canyon, but is much more up-close and personal. Having some knowledge of what the rocks are and how they got there enhances that experience. For visitors whose curiosity is piqued, the book also includes a point-by-point road and trail guide. So take it with you when you visit – you'll see Sedona and Oak Creek Canyon as you've never seen them before.   

Jango Radio Airplay

As Kickstarter is for writers and other creative folks, so Jango Radio is for unsigned artists trying to get wider exposure for their music. Michael Levy has a campaign going with links below, so check them out!

Classical music is my favorite genre, and I'll do anything I can to help musicians and composers make the music they love. I'm thrilled that the internet gives we creative folk broader opportunities to gain an audience. Please spread the word . . .

Yet MORE juicy gems of news...I am currently running a Jango Radio Airplay Campaign, in my efforts to gain a more global audience & at last, I am beginning to see the fruits of my labours blossoming - in the last few days, I have had new fans of my music, from as far afield as Venezuela, Dubai, Israel & the Netherlands:

http://www.jango.com/music/Michael+Levy

Jango Radio offers the unsigned artist like myself, the unique opportunity for exposure to a global audience, with controllable levels of global airplay, specifically tailored suit the tastes of a audiences who already like a variety of similar-sounding artists to myself, from the World/NewAge/Classical /Early Music genres...

Tracks from my albums are featured in paid airplay, in Jango Stations from similar-sounding, already established signed artists & composers from the World/New Age/Classical genres - these include Ofra Haza, Jean Michel Jarre, Hayley Westenra, Claude Debussy, Enigma, Yanni, Zefir Records Early Music Channel, Yasmin Levy, Dominik Johnson, Enya, Amethystium, Kitaro,Ray Lynch, Loreena McKennitt, Andreas Vollenweider Vangelis & Ravi Shankar.

It was quite a challenge trying to think of artists who sound similar to my lyre compositions & arrangements, but in coming up with the list, what I considered most was not so much the actual sound of my lyre, but the general serene, meditative, contemplative mood/feel I attempt to convey in
most of my compositions & arrangements - all these established artists & composers all seem to tick most of these boxes.

Here is my blog about my discovery of the potential of Jango Radio has for the unsigned artist, in offering the opportunity of global audience:

http://www.ancientlyre.com/blog.html/launch_of_my_jango_radio_station

Thanks once more, for helping me in my relentless mission, to rescue of the forgotten refrains of the lyre of antiquity & strive to see it rise like a Phoenix from the ashes of its dusty, ancient slumbers, to become once more, the vehicle of the sweetest means of musical expression that was once known to Mankind!

Bandcamp Goodies And Children's Stories

Here are more freebees and fabulosities from the lyre of Michael Levy. See the links below . . .

Free Bonus Features Now Available For All Downloads of My Lyre Albums on Bandcamp!

I am pleased to announce that there are now unique free bonus features available for downloads of all my lyre album releases, only available on Bancamp!

Bandcamp is a little known but incredibly versatile digital music download store, specifically designed for the unsigned artist. Bandcamp not only offers downloads cheaper than both iTunes & Amazon (just $7 for an LP album, compared with $9.99 for a standard iTunes LP, or $8.99 for Amazon), but also offers the best audio quality - either amazing lossless audio files,identical to the original quality studio recording mix (e.g. 24-bit WAV of FLAC audio files) or broadcast quality 320kbps quality MP3s.

Not only this - for all my albums on Bandcamp, there are now 2 totally free bonus features included for each & every album download! These free bonus features are:

1. The detailed, fully illustrated PDF booklet of album notes of all the essential historical background & research behind each of my albums.

2. A free download of the HD video of my lyre playing as filmed by the BBC - the sadly missing outtake from episode 2 of the BBC4 series, "The Dark Ages An Age of Light" - which after an entire day of filming, for the final cut of the episode, they only used a meagre 40 second clip of "audio only" of my lyre playing, recorded during the film shoot!

Here is the all important link to my albums on Bandcamp:

 http://michaellevy.bandcamp.com/

For anyone who really want to show their appreciation of the daily struggle of us unsigned artists, there is also an option to pay a tip! Only on Bandcamp, there is an option to chose to pay more than the standard $7 download price offered - the more appreciative purchaser of my albums on Bandcamp can chose to pay whatever they think the album is actually worth!

If you are all able to share this link with the rest of the known Universe, this would be greatly appreciated - thank you all, for your support in my relentless efforts to "get my music out there"!

New CD of Educational Children's Stories - Featuring Tracks From "The Ancient Egyptian Harp"!

I was very pleased to recently hear from Robina Wilson, an author of children's stories, right here in the rainy UK! She wanted to use tracks from my experimental EP "The Ancient Egyptian Harp", for the publication of her unique CD,  "Music in Stories".

This educational CD features stories and instruments from Iraq (oud), Persia (daff), Turkey (kaval), Palestine (rebaba) and Egypt (story 5 - featuring my archaic arched harp - almost identical to the ancient Egyptian Shoulder Harp of the New Kingdom, some 3500 years ago!).

I would be really grateful if you could please kindly show your support to this author & "spread the word" about her CD to any parents, schools or book stores out there, who may be interested in this fascinating collection of stories & world music - here is the link to all the details about Robina's CD:

http://www.musicinstories.co.uk/

Ancient Ring Tones

What kind of ring tone would Plato have? Follow Michael's links below and get one for yourself!

Seriously Serene Lyre Music - For Your Cell Phone!

One of the precious few advantages I have of living in the 21st century CE (instead of BCE...where I more truly belong!), is the ever increasing, new fangled & wonderful ways there seem to be, of "getting my lyre music out there" - it is now even possible to download hundreds of tracks from my albums, directly to your mobile phone!

If you too wish to have a seriously serene, utterly unique ancient lyre music RINGTONE for your mobile phone, it is possible to download one from both Nokia Music & my Reverbnation Store - below are the download links:

Download My Lyre Music Ringtones From Nokia Music!

Download My Lyre Music Ringtones From Reverbnation! 

Who knows, some day, somehow,  I will get every once annoying mobile phone in the world, ringing to the glorious lyre music of the ancient world...please keep "spreading the word"!!!

also in my latest new bulletin:

http://www.ancientyre.com/news.html

Other bits of news - for every new individual out there, who decides to subscribe to the ancientlyre.com mailing list, they now recieve an automatic email of thanks, which includes free download links, to the HD video the outtake of my BBC4 film shoot (which I mercifully managed to wrangle from the BBC!), a free MP3 of a bonus track, "Ancient Lyre Strings" (not featured on any of my album releases) & free download links
to the detailed PDF booklets of my detailed album notes for all of my releases...in the hope that in return, new listeners might hopefully feel like sparing a few moments to rate & review my releases on major digital stores such as iTunes & Amazon - so far, my album reviews are the best means i have of gaining attention, from the rest of the unuspecting world!

Musical Adventures In Time Travel

I'm delighted to announce that Michael Levy has a new album available, with multiple links for downloading listed below. You fans of the harp, of ancient music, and/or of history – unite and buy this album!

Release of my Second Compilation Album Today!

Five years in the making, I am pleased to announce the release today, of my second compilation album of solo lyre music, "Musical Adventures in Time Travel"! In conjunction with my first compilation album, "Ancient Landscapes", this new compilation was created to provide a broad cross-section of some of my own personal favourite compositions for solo lyre, as originally featured in my many other releases since 2008.

In addition, "Musical Adventures in Time Travel" also features a brand new composition for solo lyre, in the war-like ancient Greek Dorian Mode: "The Battle of Thermopylae" . Here is a link to view a video featuring this track on my Youtube Channel:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Osg0ZAfir0

This epic 22 track compilaton also includes my brand new arrangement of Dr Richard Dumbrill's magnificant interpretation of the 3400 year old Hurrian Hymn Text H6 - this time, performed on my new hand-made lyre, with natural fibre silk strings, tuned in the wonderfully pure just intonation of antiquity.

The fully illustrated PDF booklet of the detailed album notes can be freely download here.

Below are the major download links for the album:

Buy This Album From iTunes

Buy This Album From Amazon

Buy This Album From CD Baby

Download Lossless Audio Files/320kbps Quality MP3s from Bandcamp

The physical CD of the album can also be ordered now, anywhere in the world, from Reverbnation:

Buy The Physical CD of This Album From Reverbnation 

(Due to the epic proportions of this compilation for the physical CD, I had to remove 2 of the tracks, simply in order to fit them onto a single CD!) 

Please "Spread the Word" - many thanks!!