Researchers Re-create Ancient Instruments
2021-12-27
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1Ancient bells and organ pipes from the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem gave researchers the idea to re-create music as it may have sounded almost 800 years ago.
2David Catalunya, a researcher from the universities of Oxford, England, and Wuerzburg, Germany, is leading a project to build copies of the instruments.
3Catalunya said that mid-13th century soldiers, known as Crusaders, buried the 13 bronze bells near the church because they were worried that the instruments might be destroyed.
4They covered the instruments in animal fat to protect them from rust, he said.
5Catalunya described re-creating the bells as "a very long process."
6With early research complete, he estimates it will take about five years to make fully usable copies.
7Meanwhile, a touch of the hand is enough to bring a clear, high-pitched sound from the originals.
8The Custody of the Holy Land for the Roman Catholic church holds the rare objects and recently showed them to the Reuters news agency.
9"It's half of the original sound, (which) was much richer and louder and a little bit lower," Catalunya said.
10The bells were part of a set that played while people sang inside the church, said Franciscan friar Father Stephane, the Custody's liturgist.
11A liturgist leads church members in ritual prayer.
12The bells were discovered in the early 20th century, along with 222 medieval copper pipes from the Church of the Nativity's organ, Father Stephane said.
13He added that the discovery happened during a building project at the church's Franciscan compound.
14The collection also includes the scepter of the Bishop of Bethlehem and candlesticks from the 12th century which, Catalunya said, were made in France.
15This suggests a shared source with the bells and organ pipes, which Father Stephane says are the oldest in Christendom.
16Father Stephane said he hoped the collection would be displayed, and played, at a Jerusalem museum the Custody plans to open by 2024.
17He used the term significant - meaning very important - when talking about the bells.
18"These bells are very significant for us because they are the bells of Bethlehem (and a) symbol of Nativity in the Christian world," he said.
19I'm John Russell.
1Ancient bells and organ pipes from the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem gave researchers the idea to re-create music as it may have sounded almost 800 years ago. 2David Catalunya, a researcher from the universities of Oxford, England, and Wuerzburg, Germany, is leading a project to build copies of the instruments. 3Catalunya said that mid-13th century soldiers, known as Crusaders, buried the 13 bronze bells near the church because they were worried that the instruments might be destroyed. They covered the instruments in animal fat to protect them from rust, he said. 4Catalunya described re-creating the bells as "a very long process." 5With early research complete, he estimates it will take about five years to make fully usable copies. 6Meanwhile, a touch of the hand is enough to bring a clear, high-pitched sound from the originals. The Custody of the Holy Land for the Roman Catholic church holds the rare objects and recently showed them to the Reuters news agency. 7"It's half of the original sound, (which) was much richer and louder and a little bit lower," Catalunya said. 8The bells were part of a set that played while people sang inside the church, said Franciscan friar Father Stephane, the Custody's liturgist. A liturgist leads church members in ritual prayer. 9The bells were discovered in the early 20th century, along with 222 medieval copper pipes from the Church of the Nativity's organ, Father Stephane said. He added that the discovery happened during a building project at the church's Franciscan compound. 10The collection also includes the scepter of the Bishop of Bethlehem and candlesticks from the 12th century which, Catalunya said, were made in France. 11This suggests a shared source with the bells and organ pipes, which Father Stephane says are the oldest in Christendom. 12Father Stephane said he hoped the collection would be displayed, and played, at a Jerusalem museum the Custody plans to open by 2024. He used the term significant - meaning very important - when talking about the bells. 13"These bells are very significant for us because they are the bells of Bethlehem (and a) symbol of Nativity in the Christian world," he said. 14I'm John Russell. 15Rinat Harash reported on this story for Reuters. John Russell adapted it for Learning English. Susan Shand was the editor. 16__________________________________________________ 17Words in This Story 18organ - n. a musical instrument that has a keyboard and pipes of different lengths and that makes sound by pushing air through the pipes 19original - n. a document, film, painting, etc., which is created by someone and from which a copy or translation is made 20scepter - n. a long decorated stick 21symbol -n. an action, object, event, etc., that expresses or represents a particular idea or quality