Michael Levy, a prolific composer of the ancient lyre and kithara, shares his inspiration and deep knowledge of these remarkable instruments.

A few tortoiseshell lyres have survived—most famously the Elgin Lyre in the British Museum—and several ancient Egyptian lyres remain as well. Michael plays a replica of the Leiden Lyre, crafted by Luthieros, based on the original preserved in Leiden and dating to around 1500 BCE. Among ancient Greek lyres, only the tortoiseshell chelys lyres have survived; unfortunately, no examples of the wooden kithara remain due to the material’s fragility.

Michael explains how his playing techniques come from studying ancient images of lyre players. On Greek pottery and paintings, musicians are shown using the left hand to block specific strings while striking others with a chunky plectrum. Unlike a harp, where strings are muted to stop unwanted sustain, lyre players block only the strings they don’t want to sound, keeping the needed ones open to create chords.

He also describes the tonal and social differences between the instruments. The kithara has a deeper tone and, in antiquity, was played only by professionals. The chelys lyre, by contrast, was used in domestic settings—such as symposia, the famous Greek drinking parties. Plato even recommends in the Republic that young boys learn musical theory on the lyre because of its clear, pure notes.

— MICHAEL'S LINKS —

Michael Website https://www.ancientlyre.com

Find Michael on Spotify! https://open.spotify.com/artist/7Dx2vFEg8DmOJ5YCRm4A5v?si=emacIH9CRieFNGXRUyJ9

Find Michael on Youtube! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ1X6F7lGMEadnNETSzTv8A

Luthieros, whose wonderfully recreated ancient Greek lyres & kithara has made Michael's ongoing musical mission possible for so long. They are reintroducing the recreated ancient Greek lyres & kithara back into the hands of modern musicians to 'continue where the ancients left off. https://www.luthieros.com

The specialist musician who performs the replica of the aulos Barnaby Brown https://barnabybrown.info/

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— CHAPTERS —

0:00​ Introduction

0:45 Why the lyre? Why did you start playing the lyre?

5:55 Do the different lyres and kitharas need different playing techniques?

10:20 Everything that you know about the lyre, is that all from surviving images?

12:17 How do you go about learning the lyre?

13:43 Performance of The Cave of Hermes

16:19 Ancient Tuning Methods

31:57 Is it meant to be played alone or with other instruments?

34:06 Performance of Hymn to the Stars

37:35 Tell us about the track, Hymn to the Stars!

41:43 Do you have a favourite song that you have composed?

43:47 Outro

— WANT TO KNOW MORE? —

Lyre https://www.worldhistory.org/Lyre/

Ancient Greek Music https://www.worldhistory.org/Greek_Music/

Aulos https://www.worldhistory.org/Aulos/

Kithara https://www.worldhistory.org/Kithara/

Hermes https://www.worldhistory.org/Hermes/

Pythagoras https://www.worldhistory.org/Pythagoras/

— ATTRIBUTIONS —

The music used in this recording is the intellectual copyright of Michael Levy, a prolific composer for the recreated lyres of antiquity, and used with the creator's permission. Michael Levy's music is available to stream at all the major digital music platforms. Find out more on:

https://www.ancientlyre.com

https://open.spotify.com/artist/7Dx2vFEg8DmOJ5YCRm4A5v?si=emacIH9CRieFNGXRUyJ9

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ1X6F7lGMEadnNETSzTv8A

World History Encyclopedia

www.worldhistory.org