LYRE NOTES – Back Issues
/Spring 2025 (booklet), PDF (to download)
Previous Issues of Lyre Notes
Year-end Greetings 2016
For previous issues see our archives here.
Lyre Association of North America
We Each Live in the Other
/Dear Friends of the Lyre,
In case you missed it, here is a link to our recent edition of Lyre Notes. Enjoy!
There are just 3 days left this year and what better way to say goodbye to 2020 than by giving a tax-deductible gift of support for the work of the Lyre Association of North America!
You can make your end-of-year donation via PayPal (click link) or send a check to:
The Lyre Association of North America
2237 Kimberton Road
Phoenixville, PA 19460
(Attn: Annual Fund 2020)
On behalf of our community of lyrists, we thank you for your generosity in this year of extraordinary challenges.
Enjoy a free download for 2021 – “We Each Live in the Other” by Channa Seidenberg.
“We Each Live in the Other,"“ by Channa Seidenberg
New in our LANA Store . . . THE KERRY LEE COLLECTION
/The Lyre Association of North America is pleased to present The Kerry Lee Collection, a compilation of Kerry’s personal literature and music.
Kerry Lee, our beloved lyre colleague, crossed the threshold on September 8, 2020. A lifelong student and committed teacher, Kerry acquired many books on education, teaching, and self-development over the years. The collection she left behind includes books on curative music therapy, music education and pedagogy, science, religion, health and healing, the natural world, and anthroposophy as well as volumes of music. Books have always been highly valued in the Lee family, so most are in good condition and some are like new.
To browse and select items in our store, click the button above and go to “KL Collection” (A-M & N-Z). You can also view The Kerry Lee Collection catalog here.
All proceeds will go to the Lee family.
Kerry Virginia Lee (6/26/47 - 9/8/20)
Give the Gift of Music!
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This year especially we are in need of music to cheer us, to nourish us, and to light our path through the lengthening days. If you are looking for seasonal music to support your Advent or Christmas festivals, be sure check out LANA’s music store. We have lyre and choral music as well as beautiful notecards, CD’s and accessories. For this month, we particularly recommend Colin Tanser’s Madonna Healing Sequence, Beatrijs Gradenwitz’ setting of Olaf Asteson, and Christof-Andreas Lindenberg’s In Praise of the Seasons (plus the Child’s Praise of the Seasons for ages 7 to 14). We also have beautiful Madonna cards and Olaf Asteson notecards which make lovely gifts.
And for the lyrists in your life who are eager to expand their repertoire, we have new music by John Billing, John Clark, Anna Cooper, Thomas Pedroli and Colin Tanser. For soloists or ensembles, pentatonic or chromatic lyres, and even for recorders, gongs, and voices…. you will find music for everyone who needs it right now.
Click here to see our catalog.
Our store features music books and journals, PDF downloads, and accessories. For a current list of featured book reviews click here. Be sure to check the LANA blog for monthly reviews!
Calling for Contributions for Lyre Notes for Advent 2020
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We welcome news, stories, short articles, photos, and announcements of lyre happenings in your region, reviews about any item in our music sales store, and ads from our members ... also your favorite songs to play at your region’s Advent Gardens.
The copy deadline is November 29th.
We look forward to hearing from you!! Contributions may be sent to wendypolich@hotmail.com.
From the Kimberton Ensemble’s list….
Visit www.lyreassociation.org!
/Learn more about LANA membership, or renew.
See back issues of Lyre Notes.
Our online store (click here) features music books and journals, PDF downloads, and accessories.
See a current list of featured book reviews.
Be sure to check the LANA blog for monthly reviews!
Book Review: “Variety and Poetry - A New Volume of Preludes for Soprano Lyre” by John Billing
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Second Book of 8 Preludes for Soprano Lyre
A new volume of preludes for soprano lyre by John Billing
[Reviewed by Christian Giersch, Germany]
It is always very fortunate for the lyre and its development when compositions arise that are inspired entirely by the lyre itself and how it is played, rather than by imaginations of different instruments. Regarding the preludes by John Billing one can say that they are sounding forth straight out of the heart of the instrument. And no explanations are necessary in order for them to be understood by the human soul.
Each piece is given a clear key signature which, in most cases, is never veered from (there are hardly any accidentals). In this way the composer achieves a very deep in-breathing of the respective tonal sphere in major or minor. Equally clear and approachable are the rhythmical motifs, which give each piece it's individual character. Here has come about a wonderful unity between imagination (in the invention) and consequence (in keeping with a motif). And while practicing, the player will be richly rewarded, although the pieces are not for beginners. They come out of a musical realm of thirds, which we think we know from the classical and romantic periods. But these pieces present this realm as if in a new, clear and unsentimental light, as is the case with so many other pieces by John Billing.
I wish the preludes many industrious players — thank you, John!
A “Second Book of 8 Preludes for Soprano Lyre” is available in our web store as a printed booklet (click here), or as a PDF download (click here). Our store features music books and journals, PDF downloads, and accessories. For a current list of featured book reviews click here. Be sure to check the LANA blog for monthly reviews!
For the Lyre Mantle Project: "A Piece for Musical Clock" by Joseph Haydn
/Arranged by Veronika Roemer for the Lyre Mantle Project
“I found this delightful little piece in a volume of piano arrangements of music Haydn wrote for musical clocks. I'm always hunting for classical music suitable for lyre arrangement, and this one seems to fit the bill quite well!” -Veronika Roemer, Quakertown, PA
Book Review: “A Round of Rounds for the 52 Weeks of the Year” by Brien Masters
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Reviewed by Debbie Barford, Chicago, IL
By itself, the title of this gathering of musical offerings portends already the excitement of moving from one to the many. A ‘round’ in music, also referred to as a ‘perpetual canon’ is a single line of music written in such a way that it can be sung with different voices coming in at separate times, layering the sound (and harmony) from one to a second and third, and in the case of this collection, as many as five, or more. Imagine that Brien Masters then, after living many years with Rudolf Steiner’s 52 Soul Calendar verses, which follow the soul’s changing relation with the moods of the earth and nature through the round of the year, was inspired to compose these little rounds and accompanying verses, out of his experience of Nature in his own country.
Read MoreA message from Kerry Lee's children
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Dear Lyre Association and colleagues of our loving mother,
We would like to ask whether there are any instruments belonging to Kerry out there; likewise, whether Kerry had borrowed any instruments from someone who hasn’t gotten them returned. If so, please email lyrists@gmail.com.
We would also like to use this opportunity to extend our deepest gratitude for the help, support, and love shown to our mother over the past six months during her illness. It was a wonderful display of compassion and solidarity. Thank you.
Best wishes,
Cameron, Heather, and Jennifer
Note from LANA: Coming soon we will be offering a page in our web store containing music books from Kerry Lee's personal collection. All proceeds will go to Kerry's family.
Experience after Dying
/(from Herbert Hahn: Rudolf Steiner)
Now Rudolf Steiner spoke about death, of the experience which the soul has immediately after the moment of leaving this earthly life. He reminded us how the soul experiences its whole earthly life like an immense panorama.
But, Rudolf Steiner continued, the most grandiose of all is the fact that this whole picture-world is at the same time a sounding, musical experience. And like a gigantic symphony, the whole cosmos is floating toward these 'sounding' pictures and absorbs them. In the midst of this symphony, the listening soul suddenly hears one sound—one tone that rises above all other sounds.
Read MoreA Michaelmas Gift to the Lyre Community
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With gratitude to the composer, we share with you John Clark’s beautiful round, “Michaelmas.” This round (or canon) was written for two to twelve voices and can be sung in various groupings, including a two-part canon or a four-part round. Perfect for the season!
Read MoreLyre Mantle II
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It has been five months since we began to weave the Lyre Mantle. Surely it has become the most beautiful and stunning fabric, woven from the sounds of many different lyres, varying in size, range, structure, wood, and being played by people from many different cultural backgrounds.
In March, I imagined that we would work on this mantle for a few months. Now, however, it seems that the world needs it as much, if not more, than ever before.
Read MoreCall for Contributions for Michaelmas Lyre Notes
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We are dedicating the Michaelmas issue of Lyre Notes to our dear friend and colleague, Kerry Lee, who crossed the threshold of death on Tuesday, September 8th at 1:40 pm EDT. We invite anyone who is so moved to contribute a reflection, a paragraph, or an article, in tribute to Kerry. Photos are also welcome.
Read MoreCalling for Contributions for Lyre Notes Fall 2020!
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We are looking for short articles - or a paragraph with pictures - about World Lyre Day 2020 and more:
We welcome news, stories, photos, and announcements of lyre happenings in your region.... also reviews about any item in our store and ads from our members. Deadline is September 20th. We look forward to hearing from you!! Contributions may be sent to wendypolich@hotmail.com.
Read MoreA Time for Reflection ...
/We invite you to offer your reflections about LANA’s programs and services for the Lyre Association’s Annual Directors’ Retreat (taking place this week). If you have input about Music Sales, Lyre Rentals, Membership, Publications, Website, and more – please send an email to lyrists@gmail.com.
Read MoreBook Review: “Iberian Retreat” by John Billing
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[Reviewed by Thomas Pedroli, Germany/China ]
John Billing is one of those rare lyre players who dedicates his professional life to this beautiful instrument by playing music and giving workshops in many countries around the world, and by writing music that touches the heart. Returning from a long Winter retreat in San Jose, Portugal, John brought back a wonderful booklet with newly composed lyre music: Iberian Retreat.
Read MoreBook Review: Music for Alto and Soprano Lyre by Murray Wright
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[Reviewed by Sheila Johns, Cuenca, Ecuador]
I am delighted to enthusiastically recommend this beautiful small collection of lyre music composed by Murray Wright, lyre builder, composer, and player from Melbourne, Australia.
Music for Alto and Soprano Lyre is a volume of eight early intermediate lyre pieces. Although only the first two pieces are written on a single staff, it is actually possible to play all of the first four pieces on one lyre.
Read MoreIt’s Retreat Time for the Board of the Lyre Association of North America!
/The LANA Board will be holding its Annual Directors’ Meeting on August 26-27. Our 2020 lyrists’ “gathering” was our well-attended Zoom call on International Lyre Day. Next year, however, we hope to all be together again at the International Lyre Conference in the Czech Republic. There, members and friends of LANA will gather for an in-person Annual Members’ Meeting to reflect on the past year as an organization, to collect thoughts and ideas from everyone, and to share with one another our regional lyre work.
Read More