Plan Today – to Let Your Lyre Sing Tomorrow!

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LANA Legacy Giving –
a lasting gift of harmony for future generations

The Lyre Association of North America invites you to consider making your lyre part of a living legacy! Through LANA’s Legacy Giving, you can ensure that your lyre continues to bring music, healing, and inspiration long into the future. We warmly encourage LANA members and friends to consider the idea of planned gifts of lyres, lyre music, or financial gifts through wills and other legal designations. 

When a lyrist chooses to leave his or her lyre to LANA, it becomes part of our ongoing Lyre Rental or Rent-to-Buy Programs – supporting new players who may not yet have the means to purchase their own instruments. Your lyre will continue its purpose to sound in classrooms, communities, and homes across the world. Lyre friends can also leave their lyre music collections to LANA. This much-appreciated music will then be resold to continue to fund LANA’s efforts to support our membership.

Your generosity will help to keep the art of the modern lyre alive and accessible by supporting new players and music educators, extending your musical legacy to the next generation.

Members and friends can include the Lyre Association of North America in their planned giving in the following ways:

  • Bequest: Name LANA as a beneficiary in your will or estate plan

  • Donation: Pledge your lyre or lyre music for donation

  • Living Legacy: Gift your lyre now for immediate use in our rental program, or consider an annual financial donation to LANA

Learn more and consider a pledge to create your legacy today! 

Contact us about your legacy or email info@lyreassociation.org.

Soundings Vol 2, No.2 – Now available in the LANA store as a PDF Download

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Soundings: A Lyre Review

Volume 2, No. 2 – Summer 2008

This second issue of Volume 2 Soundings Lyre Review includes both the second part of an interview with Christof-Andreas Lindenberg as well as the second installment of his Lyre Tutor.

Christof-Andreas Lindenberg: A Biography – Part 2

Catherine Read continues the biography of Christof-Andreas Lindenberg, focusing on his life after a serious car accident in 1974, highlighting his contributions to music therapy, including his work in Camphill communities, and his pivotal role in founding the Lyre Association of North America, in promoting the lyre’s therapeutic applications.

The Lyre: A Tutor for a New Instrument – Part 2

In this second installement of his lyre tutor, Christof-Andreas provides practical lessons for the technique of playing the modern lyre. He introduces foundational exercises for finger placement and stroking techniques to help players develop a comfortable and expressive playing style. He also highlights the unique role of listening to create and refine tone production. This essay provides a valuable resource for both beginners and experienced players, offering insights into the lyre’s potential for musical and spiritual expression.

Therapeutic Lemniscates

In this article, Robert Grace explores the therapeutic applications of the planetary scales, linking them to human health and well-being. He describes how each planetary scale corresponds to different aspects of the human organism, such as the metabolic, rhythmic, and neuro-sensorial systems, emphasizing their ability to awaken life forces and balance the body, soul, and spirit. He provides a structured method for engaging with the scales, including pre-hearing, active playing, and inner listening, integrating anthroposophical principles with music therapy and offering profound insights into healing through sound.

Music Supplement 2-2

Index of Titles in Music Supplement Vol. 2, No. 2

At the Threshold and Beyond – Compositions by Christof-Andreas Lindenberg

  • Musical “Verse” for One’s Destiny When Facing Perhaps a Terminal Illness

  • For Octogenarians Who Long for the Interval of the Second

  • A Garden Gate for the Elderly

  • A Gateway for an Elderly Dying, Lyre Music at Deathbed and Beyond

  • For Serious Moments II

  • Well Known Tune and Variations to “The Lord is my Shepherd”

  • Aeolian Sun Scale and Scansions

  • Suggestion for a Tune for a Young Child up to Age 11 Who Died

  • Suggestion for a Very Small Child Below Age 4 Who Returned to Heaven

  • For Those Who Died a Violent Death

  • A Mantle of Light

  • For George C. to Accompany Veronica’s Soul-Spirit

  • Seeking Peace

  • For Reading to the Dead

  • For the Dark Time of the Year

Click below to purchase and download …

Vol. 2.2 Soundings and Music Supplement

Soundings: A Lyre Review – Available as PDF Download in LANA Store

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Archived issues of our Soundings journals and Music Supplements are now available as PDF Downloads in our LANA Music Store!

Since 2007, LANA has published 14 volumes of Soundings journals and Music Supplements. All of our members received these volumes as they were published, and some of the original print copies of journals and music supplements are still available for purchase in the LANA Store.

We would now like to expand access to this rich collection of articles and music materials, while at the same time creating the ability to search for their content via our website. To facilitate both these objectives, we are publishing a summary of the content of each volume, including an index of the related music supplement along with a link to the LANA Store for purchase of these downloadable versions. In time, we will have all the volumes of Soundings and their music supplements available for download in the store.

Our members will still receive exclusive access to new journal volumes and supplements at time of publication.

Now available: Vol 1 & Vol 2.1

Soundings Vol 2, No.1 – Summary and Music Index

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Soundings: A Lyre Review – Summer 2008

This second issue of our Soundings Lyre Review includes both the second part of an interview with Christof-Andreas Lindenberg and second installment of his Lyre Tutor, as well as an article by Robert Grace on “Therapeutic Lemniscates”.

 

Christof-Andreas Lindenberg: A Biography (Part 2)

Catherine Read continues the biography of Christof-Andreas Lindenberg, focusing on his life after a serious car accident in 1974, highlighting his contributions to music therapy, including his work in Camphill communities, and his pivotal role in founding the Lyre Association of North America and promoting the lyre’s therapeutic applications.

The Lyre: A Tutor for a New Instrument (Part 2)

In this second installement of his lyre tutor, Christof-Andreas provides practical lessons for the technique of playing the modern lyre. He introduces foundational exercises for finger placement and stroking techniques to help players develop a comfortable and expressive playing style. He also highlights to unique role of listening to create and refine tone production. This essay provides a valuable resource for both beginners and experienced players, offering insights into the lyre’s potential for musical and spiritual expression.

Therapeutic Lemniscates

In this article, Robert Grace explores the therapeutic applications of the planetary scales, linking them to human health and well-being. He describes how each planetary scale corresponds to different aspects of the human organism, such as the metabolic, rhythmic, and neuro-sensorial systems, emphasizing their ability to awaken life forces and balance the body, soul, and spirit. He provides a structured method for engaging with the scales, including pre-hearing, active playing, and inner listening, integrating anthroposophical principles with music therapy and offering profound insights into healing through sound.

Music Supplement

Index of Titles in Music Supplement Vol 2, No. 1

At the Threshold and Beyond –
Compositions by Christof-Andreas Lindenberg

  • Introduction – About Playing Music for Those Who Have Died

  • Musical “Verse” for Harmony in One’s Destiny – A Meditative Approach

  • Approaching Death (In another room from where the dying person is lying)

  • For Serious Moments

  • For the Unconscious

  • Active Listening

  • Tunes in Mindfulness of the Crossing the Threshold I – Part A by Zoltán Kodály  Singübung; Part B by Christof-Andreas Lindenberg

  • Tunes in Mindfulness of the Crossing the Threshold II -  Part A by Zoltán Kodály  Singübung; Part B by Christof-Andreas Lindenberg

  • For a Child that Died at Age 12

  • Accompanying Those Who Have Died

  • Reading for the Dead When Reading for the Dead

  • The Friends Gone Before

Click here to download V2.1 Soundings Journal and Music Supplement

LANA is Sending Healing Wishes to John Billing

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Lyrist John Billing

 

Japanese lyrist Michiko Natsumoto has shared that international lyrist John Billing is in the midst of some ongoing health challenges.  She requests support for him from the Japanese and international lyre community.  In Japan, the crane is a symbol of good wishes, and she has suggested that we fold origami cranes for him, which he loves, sending prayers and good wishes to John with each fold of the paper.

 
Click here for a video with step by step instructions to fold a crane

Example of Japanese Paper Folded Cranes

You can read more about John’s situation on the John Billing Welcome to Japan page on Facebook.

John Billing Welcome to Japan - Facebook



Lyre Tips - Caring for the Strings of the Lyre

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Here are some timely tips that Kerry Lee submitted to the LANA blog back in 2016.  

Choroi Pentatonic Lyre

Choroi String Oil

In preparing for the start of the 2nd grade children's pentatonic harp class at the Waldorf School, I care for the strings each year. Here’s how: Using a special cleaner, which you can order through Choroi or go to the local music store and get string oil, wipe the strings with a soft cloth. (Look at the cloth…. Yuck!! You can see how dirty the strings are!) You would be surprised how much better the lyre strings sound when they are clean!!

If there is a string that sounds funny, loosen it to see if there is dust at the bottom or the top of the lyre where it touches against a piece of wood. Then bring it back to the desired pitch. Also look to see if the string is touching where the string is wound onto the peg at the top, or only lightly touching the string against the wood. If it is only lightly touching, it will create a buzz; it needs to have a firmer touch. See if that does the trick. Check on the wound strings if the winding is loose; in this case the only thing to do is replace the string. (Restringing will be left for another discussion.) Dust off the lyre, tune, and in most cases you are ready to go. You can do this with your own lyres. Have fun!

Soundings Vol 1, No.1 – Now available in the LANA store as a PDF Download

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Soundings: A Lyre Review

Volume 1, No. 1

Autumn 2007

LANA has decided to make available previous issues of our Soundings journals and Music Supplements as PDF Downloads in our Store.

Introduction to Soundings: A Lyre Review

Autumn 2007 marked the inaugural issue of a new journal dedicated to the lyre and music related to anthroposophy. ​Since this first release, the Lyre Association of North America has published eleven more issues of Soundings. 

Volume 1, No. 1 celebrates the 25th anniversary of the Lyre Association and features a biography of Christof-Andreas Lindenberg and his contributions to our lyre impulse in North America.

Christof-Andreas Lindenberg: A Biography

Part 1

The opening article of Vol 1, No 1 details the early life and musical journey of Christof-Andreas Lindenberg, one of the principal founders of the lyre work in North America. In Part One of this interview with editor Catherine Read, we follow Christof-Andreas’ musical path from his childhood home through post-World War II Waldorf school experiences, where he learned violin, clarinet, and piano, before taking up the lyre in earnest during his early years of working with children with special needs in a Camphill community in Scotland.

The Lyre: A Tutor for a New Instrument

Part 1

For the second article, we are very pleased to reprint the first installment from a series of essays Christof-Andreas has crafted as a tutor of the new instrument of the lyre. In this opening installment, he discusses the historical context and significance of the lyre as a modern musical instrument, and how the lyre represents a shift away from traditional instruments against the backdrop of the musical landscape of the early 20th century. He goes on to introduce the reader to the practical steps in learning to play the lyre effectively, including proper handling and positioning of the lyre, the importance of touch and movement, and the connection between the player and the instrument. 

Towards a World Lyre Community:

The Birth of an idea inspired by Lyre 2006

In our final article of this premiere volume of Soundings, Sheila P. Johns and Channa Seidenberg share an idea inspired by the 2006 International Lyre Conference in Belfast, N.I. The authors discuss the need to develop a supportive community among lyre builders and lyre players in order to exchange needed dialogue that will allow the builders to create instruments that best serve the needs of the players. After acknowledging the isolation of lyre builders and the challenges they face, the authors propose the creation of a Lyre Builders’ Fund to support builders financially and spiritually. ​

They go on to outline the philosophical principles guiding the lyre community, rooted in anthroposophy and the Threefold Social Order, emphasizing that economic support should enable creative work rather than serve as mere payment for services. They further suggest that lyre players and teachers consider that we have a moral imperative to support lyre builders for the future of the lyre in the world.

 

Music Supplement

Index of Titles in Music Supplement 1:

  • Michael Stands Now at Our Door – Channa A. Seidenberg

  • Michaelmas – Words by A.C. Harwood; Music by John Clark

  • In Autumn St. Michael – Music by John Clark, text by Anke Weihs & Morwenna Bucknall

  • Raise Up Thine Eyes, traditional Welsh melody – Verses 1 & 2 by Anke Weihs, Verse 3 and the arrangement by Merwin Lewis

  • Maria Walks Amid the Thorn (Maria durch ein’ Dornwald ging) – Traditional words and melody; arrangement by Esther Schwedeler

  • In Dulci Jubilo – Original Latin & German words by Heinrich Suso; 14th century melody;

  • Limu leimen – Traditional Swedish Air, arrangement by Esther Schwedeler

  • From the Suite in D, No. 3 for strings by J.S. Bach, adapted for lyres

  • Accompanying Those Who Have Died – Christof-Andreas Lindenberg

It is the hope of our Soundings editorial staff to continue to receive contributions of substance from our worldwide readership for future editions!  
Email: lyrists@gmail.com for more information.

Lyre Ensemble for Anthroposophical Society Annual Meeting

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The annual meeting of the Anthroposophical Society of America will be held in Detroit on the weekend of October 10–12. A lovely opportunity has arisen to include some lyre music in the opening evening!

Conference Registration link

Please contact me if you or other lyrists you know are planning to go to this meeting and would be interested in joining me to create a small lyre ensemble for this occasion on Friday, October 10th.  It would be wonderful if we could share some music that we already know and love!

Additionally, this would give the Society members a chance to hear and possibly support the lyre as we raise funds for our special international lyre gathering at the Goetheanum next summer. 

Please contact me if you would like to participate: nancycarpenter@detroitwaldorf.org

Musically yours,
Nancy Carpenter

Michaelmas Lyre Notes – Call for Articles

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Michael with Lyre Beckoning - David Newblatt

Michaelmas is upon us!  And the fourth Lyre Notes publication for 2025 will be coming out soon.

Please consider contributing a story or narrative of your experience with the Lyre in Michaelmas time.  Also, and importantly, we will be describing the wonderful LANA Lyre Conference that took place at Camphill Copake in August with Master Teacher Christian Giersch.  We would love  to hear anything you have to contribute about your experiences of the conference, both playing and listening.

Please send your email contributions by September 20th to Catherine Read at catherine@carter-read.net.  Please either include the text in the body of your email, or attach a Word document.

Looking forward to your wonderful contributions!

Catherine Read
Editor, Lyre Notes  

2024-2025 Annual Report

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Click on Image to View 2024-2025 Annual Report

The Board of the Lyre Association of North America is very pleased to share with our members and friends our 2024-2025 Annual Report, which highlights the activities of our association from April 2024 to the end of March 2025. All of our Board members have responsibility for different areas of LANA’s multi-faceted work that spans our Cultural, Rights, and Economic Realms, and you will hear from each one of them accordingly in the report linked in the image to the left.

Our Annual Report serves as our summer issue of Lyre Notes, and looking toward our autumn Michaelmas-themed issue, we warmly invite all members and friends to consider submitting an update on lyre activities in your area, brief reflections on your experience attending our 2025 Lyre Conference, or brief reflections on lyre-related themes by September 20th. All Lyre Notes contributions should be sent to Catherine Read at catherine@carter-read.net.

We hope you will each enjoy reading through this accounting of the working of the LANA Board over the previous fiscal year!

Catherine Read for the LANA Board

LAST OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF EARLY BIRD PRICING FOR OUR 2025 SUMMER LYRE CONFERENCE!

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The Board of the Lyre Association of North America is very excited to welcome master lyrist Christian Giersch from Germany to Copake, New York, where we will work together with the theme ‘Let the Tone Come Alive!’ during the five days of our upcoming August conference. Lyre players of all levels are encouraged to join us as we explore this theme together. This conference will be, in many ways, a preparation for the historic 100-year anniversary of the birth of the lyre that will be celebrated at our International Lyre Conference in Dornach, Switzerland in the summer of 2026. We are most fortunate this summer to have the opportunity to work directly with one of the master lyre teachers in Europe, who also happens to be one of the organizers of next summer’s international conference! For further details, see last week’s LANA blog. Register TODAY at the following link to still receive our EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT!

Register Here

A beautiful, simple 10-part round for all levels of players!

Our guest lyre master teacher and composer, Christian Giersch, has gifted us a further piece of music that will form a part of the full group repertoire for our upcoming lyre conference. Adding to the several other pieces composed for the 2026 International Lyre Conference, participants in our upcoming Summer Lyre Conference will get to enjoy a sneak preview of this majestic 8-bar canon for lyres in 10 parts, which serves as the prelude for a powerful sung 3-part round on the text Unitas en Sonum Est, translated roughly from the Latin as “Unity in Sounding” All participants will find this glorious Canon and Round, which builds from a single line of eight tones to richly textured full harmony, to be both compelling and easily accessible for all!

Follow the link below to download the music:

Finale Ostinato - Unitas en Sonum Est

A deeper glimpse of our master teacher, Christian Giersch

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Lyre 2025 Conference Registration

This week, our LANA Blog will feature a deeper glimpse of our master teacher, Christian Giersch, who will be leading our 2025 Summer Lyre Conference in August. In the articles below, you can read reflections from one of Christian’s students, Board member Saeko Shibayama, followed by a short autobiography by Christian himself. Following these two ponderings, we are pleased to announce the formation of an American Lyre Ensemble for our international lyre conference in 2026! 

Last week to register for the summer Lyre Conference!