The Ancient Egyptian Lyre

by Michael Levy

supported by

	/

Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Purchasable with gift card

$6 USD or more

1.	The Death of Osiris 03:14	info	buy track
2.	Passage to the Afterlife 04:22	info	buy track
3.	The Wings of Isis 04:00	info	buy track
4.	Invocation to Nephthys 02:44	info	buy track
5.	Ancient Egyptian Sorcery 02:53	info	buy track
6.	Ancient Egyptian Dance (Feat. Nick Vest) 06:40	info	buy track
7.	The Holy Nile 01:59	info	buy track

about

A series of 7 spontaneous improvisations on my magnificent replica of the 3,500 year old ancient Egyptian lyre; recreated from the original dimensions of the remarkably surviving ancient Egyptian lyre preserved in Leiden:

manniche.daes.dk/wp/wp-content/uploads/2006LeidenLyre.pdf

The lyre was custom made for me, by Luthieros:

www.luthieros.com

These type of distinctively asymmetrical shaped lyres almost certainly were introduced into Egypt during the reign of the Canaanite Hyksos kings, from circa 1,600 BC - these type of lyres were very common throughout the ancient Near East.

Fascinatingly, this type of lyre is also probably about the nearest we can get to what the lyre of King David might have actually looked like - there is an almost identical form of lyre depicted on an ivory carving from Megiddo from circa 1,300 BC; just a few centuries from before the traditional Biblical period of David!

The buzzy timbre of my lyre is due to the flat, bench-shaped grooveless bridge. Since almost all the lyres still played throughout the African continent today have this buzzing timbre (in particular, the Ethiopian begena), it is far more likely, that the first lyres introduced into Africa from the ancient Near East (probably via trade routes with Egypt), also had this distinctive timbre.

For more of my ancient Egyptian-themed albums, please see:

ancientlyre.com/ancient-egyptian-themed-albums

credits

released July 2, 2020

license

about

Michael Levy UK

Michael Levy is a composer for the recreated lyres of antiquity,

Michael has collaborated with the Rufus Wainwright - Rufus Orchestrated Michael's "Hymn to Zeus" in 2 scenes of his second opera, "Hadrian".

In 2022 - 2023, Michael collaborated with the iconic American artist, Jeff Koons – his music for ancient Greek kithara was the soundscape of Koon’s sculpture, “Apollo Kithara”. ... more

contact / help

Contact Michael Levy

Streaming and
Download help

Report this album or account

If you like Michael Levy, you may also like:

Saint Malo
by Saint Malo

A gorgeous project that explores the intersections of neoclassicism, folk, ambient and electronic textures. Bandcamp New & Notable Dec 9, 2023
go to album
The Seasons Are Not Four
by Alex Kozobolis

A meditative set of free-flowing piano improvisations from the English/Greek composer. Bandcamp New & Notable Nov 1, 2023
go to album
I the Storm
by Simon McCorry

Minimalist modern classical that captures the slowly unfolding beauty of post-rock groups like Rachel’s. Bandcamp New & Notable Sep 23, 2023
go to album
Consequential
by Samuel Sharp

The composer regularly blurs the lines between classical, jazz, and electronic music on his latest album. Bandcamp New & Notable Jun 16, 2023
go to album
Distant Intervals
by MIZU

On her debut LP, the cellist captures both the turbulence and the euphoria of transformational times. Bandcamp Album of the Day Apr 6, 2023
go to album
Play Echoes
by Alexandra Hamilton-Ayres

featured on Bandcamp Radio Feb 7, 2023
go to album
Evergreen
by Caroline Shaw & Attacca Quartet

Rapturous compositions for violin that draw on the sounds of early music and folk as well as neo-classical. Bandcamp New & Notable Sep 24, 2022
go to album