Reconstructed music ensemble

Discussion in 'Off-Topic Discussions' started by telefax, Mar 13, 2009.

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  1. telefax

    telefax Member

    A little unusual, but I think it's a cool project. DG

    http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/u ... 870992.ece

    The long-lost sounds of the epigonion, the salpinx and the kithara could be about to form the strangest musical group yet, thanks to the world's largest physics project. The epigonion <http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Epigonion>, a harp-like musical instrument, was last played in Ancient Greece. But computer scientists have managed to resurrect its sound as part of the Astra Project<http://www.astraproject.org/index.html>, conjuring up an orchestra of long-lost instruments.

    The technology used is the "physical modeling synthesis," a complex digital audio rendering technique which allows modeling the time-domain physics of the instrument. In other words the basic idea is to recreate a model of the musical instrument and produce the sound by simulating its behavior as a mechanical system. The ultimate aim is a concert played on instruments that have not been heard for more than 2,000 years.

    The revival of the sound of ancient instruments is done through data collected by archaeologists, engineers and historians, who help to describe the materials and shape of the ancient instruments. This is all translated into a computer program that is run on hundreds of computers in Europe that make up the Grid. The process takes four hours to produce just 30 seconds of music.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 13, 2009

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