The ocarina is a small clay flute, and is
the musical symbol of the aAmplify website. Essentially a folk instrument,
its choice as the mascot of an art music website may seem unfitting. That
choice, though, has been inspired by György Ligeti, one of the greatest
composers of the twentieth century and beyond, who has used sets of ocarinas
in his late works the Piano Concerto and the Violin Concerto.
Ligeti was exploring their microtonal possibilities, in one of his many
departures from conventional intonation.
Some historians date the ocarina back 12,000 years to China. It certainly
appeared in South American civilisation 7,000 years ago. Today some of
the best ocarinas, ranging from soprano to bass, are manufactured in Italy
by Arrido Mignani of Budrio.
Our ocarina signation has been played by a professional flautist (c.g.)
and was given the royal treatment by our resident sound engineer. Enjoy!
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