Ever have one of those moment where you ask yourself, “Why am I just now hearing about this?” That happened to us when we were asked to help restring this Aeolian Wind Harp.
So apparently the Aeolian Wind Harp has been around for centuries and was first conceived by the Ancient Greeks. Named after Aeolus, the God of Wind in Greek mythology, these musical instruments employ the wind to sing their enchanting songs.
Since wind harps work with the natural power of the wind, they are usually placed in an outdoor setting like a garden or near an open window. Wind moves through the strings causing them to vibrate and eventually work harmonically together to produce sounds.
Although the wind harp was around during ancient times, it found a boost in popularity during the Romantic Era in Europe near the end of the 18th century. Still today Aeolian Wind Harps are made in many different varieties. Some resemble a box zither, where others are made from metal. If you search around the internet, you can find wind harps made for monumental public display, sometimes know as sound sculptures.
They come in many different sizes and shapes but the one thing that they all have in common is that the “playing” comes from wind power. And since no human interaction takes place while the wind harp is played, it’s an example of aleatoric music; music where some part of it’s composition is left to chance.
#aeolianwindharp #windharp #windharps #ancientgreece #ancientinstrument #MusicalInstruments #musichistory #AleatoricMusic #Aeolus #georgetown_music #georgetownmusic
