The lyre, kithara, or yoke lute is one of the oldest known stringed instruments. Its history dates back 5,000 years to Mesopotamia. In 1926, instrument maker Lothar Gärtner, in collaboration with musician Edmund Pracht, developed a new form of the instrument, which is now celebrating its 100th anniversary. Wolfgang Held spoke with three musicians and therapists: Viola Heckel, Susann Temperli, and Christian Giersch.
Wolfgang Held: Many people associate the lyre with troubadours, ancient times, or Schubert’s “Der Leiermann.” What is this instrument?
Christian Giersch: That is precisely the misunderstanding. The lyre is not a revival from antiquity. It emerged in the 20th century out of a search for an instrument that would bring people into more immediate contact with tone. Edmund Pracht, composer and pianist, and the sculptor Lothar Gärtner developed it in Arlesheim, Switzerland. The starting point was Rudolf Steiner’s quest for an instrument for tone eurythmy.
Susann Temperli: Steiner said that tone eurythmy required an instrument that possessed the qualities of the piano but without its mechanical transmission of tone. This led to the creation of the lyre. Ita Wegman understood its potential early on and introduced it into many supportive (“special needs”) education institutions.
Viola Heckel: That is why the lyre is often mainly associated with supportive education. Its origin, however, is in the arts. At the same time, work with the lyre provided an important foundation for anthroposophical music therapy where it has become a central instrument.
Is the Greek lyre its predecessor?
Giersch: The modern lyre is more closely related to the piano, zither, or dulcimer than to the ancient lyre. It has a chromatic tuning with steel strings but no action mechanism. A key design inspiration for Gärtner, who developed the first lyre, was asymmetry. The ancient lyre is symmetrical; the modern lyre is not. Instead, it is shaped like a grand piano.
Are there different types?
Giersch: Yes. From alto to bass instruments, from closed-back bodies to open-back designs. The type of wood used also has a significant impact on the instrument’s character.
Temperli: Over the decades, many variations emerged: Choroi lyre, Bordun lyre, and children’s harps. Each development opened up new possibilities, especially for group music-making.
Tone Is Not Material
What sets the lyre apart from other instruments?
Giersch: In classical music, tones are often thought of as the material through which the composer expresses something. The lyre takes a different path. It asks, “Who are you, Tone? What happens when I encounter you?” The instrument opens a window through which the tone itself can speak. For me, that was a pivotal experience. When I heard the lyre for the first time, I had the feeling: Here, something is answering the question, “Where does music come from, and where is it when it isn’t being played?”
Temperli: For me, the essential aspect is resonance. It is not the external sounding of the tone itself that matters, but what happens after. The tone draws us into silence. As we listen closely, we begin to experience the true quality of tone.
Giersch: Exactly. When the tone sounds, the instrumentalist’s work actually begins. The listener follows the tone as if it were a loved one slowly walking away. This act of accompanying opens up a new inner space. In this way, the lyre trains the ear. Those who play it often find that they hear the piano, flute, or vocals differently afterward. It changes the way we perceive music.
Temperli: Steiner sought an instrument that would appeal to the life forces. Instead of affecting the realm of emotional experience, the lyre affects a deeper layer of the human being—that’s why it played such an important role in supportive education and, later, in music therapy.
Heckel: I can confirm this from my therapeutic work. People often describe very specific experiences. They feel the force that the delicate quality of the lyre’s tone can unfold. They describe warmth, vitality, inner freshness, and a greater sense of being present. A seriously ill patient once said, “I feel a flow coursing through my whole body—and I am fully present.” It is precisely this sense of presence that is central for me. The lyre can help people reconnect with their own vitality and sense of presence.
Does that also mean, from a therapeutic perspective, that patients can play it themselves?
Heckel: Absolutely. Listening and playing go together. What is most special about playing the lyre is the basic movement: pressing and releasing. This gesture, which we encounter everywhere in living things, underlies both the flowing play across many strings and the playing of individual tones to form a melody. Many people have the experience that the lyre says nothing to them. Often this is because they perceive only the outer movement. But when we experience this pressing and releasing ourselves, something entirely different opens up.
Giersch: The instrument requires a special posture and gesture. With a piano, the action mechanism takes care of a lot of the work. With the lyre, I am directly responsible for every tone. My physical body, any tension, and the quality of my movements all influence the sound. That is why I see the basic gesture of playing the lyre as an invitation. You don’t simply produce a tone on the lyre; you ask for it, so to speak.
A Threshold Instrument
The word “threshold” comes up again and again—why?
Giersch: To me, the lyre is a threshold instrument. It moves along that boundary between audible tone and what we experience inwardly.
Heckel: That is why it is often encountered at pivotal moments in one’s biography, with newborns, premature babies, during the postpartum period, in end-of-life care, or in religious rituals. It accompanies processes of arrival and letting go. That is what defines its special quality. What especially touches me is the liberating nature of the lyre. It wants nothing. It simply makes an offering. Every person remains completely free to accept it or not.
So, the lyre doesn’t want anything from me?
Heckel: That’s how I see it. It’s simply there. That’s what makes it such a modern instrument for me. It gives us freedom.
How could someone first get acquainted with the lyre?
Giersch: The best way is through the people who play them. There are networks, courses, and initiatives. With good guidance, you can gain your first experiences surprisingly quickly.
Temperli: Interestingly, the lyre is currently enjoying a boom in Brazil, China, and Russia, while in Central Europe many instruments sit unused in the corner—so there is definitely potential for a revival!
Heckel: That is precisely what our conference is all about. We hope to spark interest and raise awareness of the lyre once again, both as an artistic and therapeutic instrument and as a means of training the ear.
More 100 Years Modern Lyre Impulse, International Festive Days at the Goetheanum, July 29 – August 2, 2026, Dornach.
See also Lyre Association of North America
Translation Joshua Kelberman
Image From left to right: Susann Temperli, Viola Heckel, Christian Giersch. Photo: Wolfgang Held
