JERUSALEM (AP) — After 800 years of silence, a pipe organ that researchers say is the oldest in the Christian world roared back to life Tuesday, its ancient sound echoing through a monastery in Jerusalem’s Old City.
Composed of original pipes from the 11th century, the instrument emitted a full, hearty sound as musician David Catalunya played a liturgical chant called Benedicamus Domino Flos Filius. The swell of music inside Saint Saviour’s Monastery mingled with church bells tolling in the distance.
Before unveiling the instrument Monday, Catalunya told a news conference that attendees were witnessing a grand development in the history of music.