Traveling back in time
Who has seen a music barrel performing live?
I saw this kind man yesterday and I was standing there like a fool listening to the melodies, as I was being carried away ...
It felt like going back to a time I did never live in, I liked it so much!
Next time I will also try to make a video and show it to you.
What is that anyway? - music barrel or barrel organ or laterna (λατέρνα) in Greek
A barrel organ (also called roller organ or crank organ) is a mechanical musical instrument consisting of bellows and one or more ranks of pipes housed in a case, usually of wood, and often highly decorated. The basic principle is the same as a traditional pipe organ, but rather than being played by an organist, the barrel organ is activated either by a person turning a crank, or by clockwork driven by weights or springs.
Apparently the world itself (laterna) comes from la torno = something that turns around and the first one was created in 1808 by a piano maker from Bristol. The first version of the Laterna was created by the Greek Iosif Armaos and the Italian Jugepe Turconi in 1880.
In Greece the people who played the laterna would keep it in best shape, very well ornamented with flowers, paintings etc.
Something worth mentioning is a Greek expression "She is dressed like a Laterna" for women who have too much jewellery and too much ornamented clothes.
Do you ever see this instrument where you live?
Thank you so much for visiting!
A few sources in Greek:
https://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%9B%CE%B1%CF%84%CE%AD%CF%81%CE%BD%CE%B1
https://laterna.info/site/history/
And here is a new collage I created about my city @aboutheraklion - do you like it?
You can follow @abouterhaklion on instagram
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