Oxymoron of the day: Working Lunch
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Astra revives forgotten sounds
SOUNDS THAT HAVE been dead for years are being revived electronically thanks to a new computer modelling project.
By tapping into the huge computing power of the GÉANT2 and EUMEDCONNECT research networks, Astra (Ancient instruments Sound/Timbre Reconstruction Application) has managed to recreate the sounds of the Epigonion, a harp-like musical instrument from Ancient Greece.
The Epigonion is a wooden string instrument, knowledge of which is based on archaeological findings, historical pictures and literature. Musicians have likened its sound to something similar to a modern harp or a harpsichord.
The Astra team has compiled the sounds of four Epigonion instruments to recreate a medieval musical piece, making this the first time that these instruments have been heard performing together.
The team has used this to perform one of the oldest known musical scores dating back to the Middle Ages.
"For the first time we can actually hear the musical sounds of the past, using modelling techniques rather than guesswork," explained Professor De Mattia, the director of the Conservatory of Music of Salerno and Co-ordinator of the Astra project.
De Mattia hopes this achievement will help drive the project on to creating a full orchestra in the future.
According to the researchers, the physical modelling process needs extreme amounts of processing power, only made possible thanks to being able to tap into the grid computing resources of the two research networks.
"Previously the amount of computing power needed to recreate ancient music was unobtainable, but the use of high capacity research networks provides us with the ability to turn our research into reality," added Dr La Rocca, co-ordinator of ASTRA gridification.
Samples of the Epigonion and the musical piece can be downloaded here. µ
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Why not just create an Epigonion , or better 4 Epigonions and play them together? They've got all the computing power to simulate them (or better, simulate how they imagine them) and they don't have the technology to actually construct them? Gimme a break!!

drashek 
The part of my brain that comprehends the english language just got raped.
q


hmmmmmmm, was it worth the effort, did they sound like the original studio tapes ?? lol :O)

first time for 4 of um together, wowzers O_o

How do these hacks know if it is right if they do not have a working model. It's almost as insane as the so called scientists using computers to predict decades into the future and predicting global warming when the idiots can't predict two weeks out for rain.
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hahahahaaugh. ANCIENT MUSIC from Ms.MEG Whitman Ebay CEO.
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drashek