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The organ of the fortified Basilica of Valère, Sion, Switzerland, dates back to 1435, but it was made playable again in the 1960s.
Since the dawn of Catholicism, music has played a key role in creating a spiritual connection with the divine. Pipe organs — instruments where sound is produced by driving air pressure through pipes by pressing keys on a keyboard — have come to symbolize sacred music perhaps more than any other instrument. Widely used since the 14th century, organs have come in many shapes and forms, including the portable barrel organ and the band organ.
Dating to 1435, the world’s oldest playable organ is found in Switzerland, inside the hilltop fortified Basilica of Valère, a towering church built in the 13th century above the Swiss city of Sion. Its pipes, arranged to recreate the outline of a church – with two sets of taller pipes on each side of a triangular-shaped set of pipes – have remained unchanged since their creation more than 500 years ago, save for the introduction of a series of special pipes designed to play Baroque music in the 18th century.
Continued below.
aleteia.org
Since the dawn of Catholicism, music has played a key role in creating a spiritual connection with the divine. Pipe organs — instruments where sound is produced by driving air pressure through pipes by pressing keys on a keyboard — have come to symbolize sacred music perhaps more than any other instrument. Widely used since the 14th century, organs have come in many shapes and forms, including the portable barrel organ and the band organ.
Dating to 1435, the world’s oldest playable organ is found in Switzerland, inside the hilltop fortified Basilica of Valère, a towering church built in the 13th century above the Swiss city of Sion. Its pipes, arranged to recreate the outline of a church – with two sets of taller pipes on each side of a triangular-shaped set of pipes – have remained unchanged since their creation more than 500 years ago, save for the introduction of a series of special pipes designed to play Baroque music in the 18th century.
Continued below.
The world’s most ancient organ is in a Swiss Alps basilica
The organ of the fortified Basilica of Valère, Sion, Switzerland, dates back to 1435, but it was made playable again in the 1960s.
aleteia.org
