FRIDAY SURPRISE: Perpetual music

Friday, December 07, 2007 Filed in: Friday Surprise!, Completely irrelevant
I'll admit that today's Friday Surprise is a bit "out there" - but it's also awfully neat.

On the Croatian shore is a very unusual musical instrument: an organ powered and played by the sea. The engineers installed a rank (the organ term for a group or line) of pipes beneath some concrete stairs. As the waves lick the shoreline, the water pushes air out of individual pipes, and the size and duration of those waves controls the volume and sustain of each note.

sea_organ1

Here's an MP3 clip of the organ playing. Yes, it's a bit abstract but also hauntingly compelling. While not directly comparable, the spare, open sound of the wave organ reminds me a bit of the wide sound that Aaron Copland was able to coax from the orchestra - particularly in his Symphony #3. I find myself waiting in rapt attention for the next note.

Should I ever find myself in Croatia, you can bet I'll visit!

Courtesy of the Oddmusic homepage. Be sure to check out some of their other unusual entries!

-=[ Grant ]=-

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