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The Lost Sound Orchestra is the ASTRA project (www.astraproject.org) orchestra. It is a unique orchestra made by reconstructed ancient instrument coming from the ASTRA research activities. It is the first ensemble in the world composed of only reconstructed instruments of the past. Listening to it is like jumping into the past, in a sound world completely new to our ears. The structure Its structure is in sections (plus soloists) as a standard orchestra, with the following reconstructed instruments: - Epigonion
- Chitara
- Barbiton (Bass Chitara)
- Lyra
- Pan Flute (Syrinx)
- Salpinx
- Aulos
- Ancient Percussions
The name, Lost Sounds Orchestra, reminds that it plays sounds being lost in time for many reasons: instruments too complex or too difficult to play. Or instrument too difficult to build and use today.
The current situation and the future
The orchestra is going to start its officials activities at the end of Summer 2009. Epigonions are ready and the orchestra is performing with Epigonion soloists alone or with other instrumentalists.The ASTRA project is currently preparing the remaining sounds of the orchestra: it is currently finishing modeling a few ancient instruments, belonging to the same historical age: a chitara, a salpinx and a Lyra. The next stage will be modelling the Salpinx and the Aulos. In the meanwhile the orchestra is selecting the players, working on the orchestration and organizing its first performance (probably this Summer). The GEANT2 and EUMEDCONNECT2 research networks will be heavily used in that time to produce the huge amount of high-quality sound samples needed by the orchestra. Network engineers, historians, musicians, conductors, physicists are collaborating on a large geographic area (from the lower Mediterranean to Northern Europe) to have everything ready. |
