The ancient lyre, the symbol of the most creative and revolutionary period of antiquity, has already made her come back. A new recording project, is dedicated to the role of music that was forgotten yet is needed more than anything during the difficult times we have been through this last decade.
Angie Lemon
Believing that music had the power to heal, philosophers used the lyre, along with flutes and zithers, to calm and heal their patients through music. Of all the ancient Greek instruments, it was the ancient harp or lyre that has been consistently associated with healing, poetry, music and dance.
With that in mind has come an album called “Sacred harmony”, which aims to carry the healing traditions of the lyre forward in time with a creative affiliation of lyre pioneers and musicians from the Seikilo Ancient World Museum. This cultural institution, founded in 2016 by members of the Koumartzis family and based in the city of Thessaloniki, is dedicated to ancient Greek musical instruments and the culture of Greek civilization.
Featuring lyre virtuoso and vocalist, Thanasis Kleopas, this new project was composed and produced by two Koumartzis brothers: Theodore, lyre pioneer, and Jordan, composer, luthier and bassist.
It is a collection of mostly original compositions recorded over the course of two weeks in the Greek Island of Aegina. The album starts with a ritual song or summons to the Greek god of spring breezes, Zephyrus. In Greek mythology, there were many wind gods, collectively called the Anemoi, with the main being Boreas (North), Zephyrus (West), Notos (South), and Eurus (East). ‘Zephyrus’ is also dedicated to the album’s engineer, Evagoras Bekiaris, who crafted so much of its soundscapes.
The other musical pieces that make up the album are: Evagoras, Dayiaho, Vacania, The foreign lands of love, Colibri Dorado, The Wolf y A Sufi’s dream As Theodore Koumartzis says, “The ancient lyre, the symbol of the most creative and revolutionary period of antiquity, has already made her come back. This album is dedicated to the role of music that was forgotten yet is needed more than anything during the difficult times we have been through this last decade. That is to heal and remind us how we can live and respect each other under any circumstances.”
“Sacred harmony” is the new music project from the Seikilo Ancient World Music record label and publisher, whose last project called “Pausis” was a Songlines Top Of The World album and is being released through Seikilo Ancient World Museum.
Operating both on and offline, the museum’s work includes musical instrument and ancient civilisation workshops and lectures in notable cultural institutions across Europe and around the world.
(Photos: Press Office, provided by Angie Lemon)
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