A music instrument that is played by the sea

On the coast of Zadar, Croatia, an inconspicuous set of elongated, white marble steps lead into the Adriatic Sea. What lies beneath, however, is a 230-foot long organ – an instrument that uses the waves and wind to make enchanting melodies, and legitimate sea breeze tunes.

Designed by architect Nikola Bašić, the Morske Orgulje, or Sea Organ, connects 35 organ pipes to the sea through a myriad of narrowly carved channels. As the waves and wind swell into the steps, they push air through the channels, each of which leads to a specifically tuned musical chord.

As the air travels through the organ pipes and out onto the steps above it produces a unique harmony based on the waves’ movement and timing.

We have heard the so called ‘sound of the sea’ through the gasps of sea shells, contemporary mixes of Whale calls and from the surf rock genre that embodies the washed out nature of the ocean. None come close, though, to the surreal experience of the Sea Organ, where every composition is momentary – never to be replicated.

The experience is also elevated by the surrounding environment: the 3,000-year-old city of Zadar captures the harshness of the coastline, the depths of the dark blue ocean, and the swaying rhythm of the lapping waves.

The beguiling soundscapes of the Sea Organ have to be heard to be believed!

Source: mixdownmag.com.au