IMPROVING on the Lyre of Orpheus?
59Can the original lyres of antiquity be IMPROVED upon? As this video attempts to demonstrate, YES THEY CAN!
This presentation features a demonstration of my Marini-Made 'Davidic Harp' - a beautifully hand-made lyre; which of all the lyres I have ever played, manages to capture the purity and power of a concert harp, but with the complete palette of ancient lyre playing techniques made possible by the limitless combination of plectrum plucked & strummed tones, alternating with harp-like finger plucked tones:
https://www.marinimadeharps.com/davidic.htm
The main improvements on this wonderful modern evocation of an ancient lyre, compared to more authentically recreated ancient lyres, are:
1. The use of a firm, solid base on this lyre; which prevents the instrument slipping and sliding on the lap whilst being played. Replica tortoise shell lyres are top-heavy, round-bottomed and tend to slide everywhere - this would not have been a problem in antiquity, since the round shell of the resonator would have snuggly nestled into the folds of the tunic or toga which the ancient musician was no doubt wearing 'back in the day'!
2. The much more ergonomic size of the arms compared to replica ancient Greek kithara or tortoise shell form lyres; enabing ease of access to the crossbar, which can be used as a pivot to rest the left hand fingers on, whilst using the knuckle of the thumb to act as a temporary fret on the strings to creating microtones!
3. The power, stability of tuning and wonderfully pure harp-like timbre; thanks to the use of high tension nylon harp strings - a real improvement to the low tension, low volume, unstable tuning of gut. These strings are also incredibly durable; my strings have lasted almost a decade, since I acquired this lovely lyre, way back in December 2011!
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