"What did the music sound like?"

There are three different tuning systems currently under consideration.
These are based on:

1. Theories derived from Mesopotamian clay tablets

2. Lliving lyre traditions, particularly the Sudanese "begena" and Ethiopian "krar"

3. The silver pipes found in the same excavation at Ur

Detailed notes on each of the above subjects are awaited

The Lyre of Ur is a fine work of art by itself. But it will also be played by any musician who feels he can contribute to our aims. This project started out as a result of a harp festival and we feel that any one in the world might feel connected to this instrument from our common past.

Music has been composed for it already thanks to a grant from the Performing Right Association (New Music Awards). The first work is entitled "I never wanted to say goodbye" by Eleanor Turner received its World Première at the Stamford International Harp Festival in 2004. This instrument will never be a complete perfect copy of the original and our ideas of the original pitch and tuning is inexact. But it can tell a story and, alongside other instrumentalists, it is a memorable thing to listen to.