Autumn 2014 in the Butte Aux Cailles

Sunday, November 2nd. A few weeks ago I was talking to a guy who lives here and I asked him which was his favorite museum in Paris. Without hesitation he said: Cité de Musique, so today I decided to check it out.

I now have a new favorite museum! If you've never been to the Musée Musique in the Parc de la Villette, drop everything and head over there. If you aren't already in Paris, take a train or plane and get to town to experience this amazing place. The museum has over 1,000 instruments on display from all around the world. There is a great world music exhibit there with instruments from Africa, Australia, the Pacific Islands and Asia. I got the audioguide and was able to listen to recordings of the actual instrument in front of me (as long as it's in playable condition--if it isn't, a replica is played). I also took almost 200 pictures, but will only post some of them here--just to give you a taste of this outstanding museum!

As you approach the museum, there is a fountain with nubian lions spouting water from their mouths.

The Cité de la Musique

This is a slit drum from Oceania.

A digdgeridoo from Australia

A drum as tall as a man from the Solomon Islands

All of these instruments were played by men (and only men) for various religious ceremonies.

The sitar on the right is from India, the one on the left from Vietnam.

This xylophone is from Latin America though the first xylophones are of African origin.

Three African drums.

This is a box zither from West Africa.

And this is a lute from Ethiopia--It might be like the one that King David played.

A harp from the Congo

Cymbals from North Africa.

This was one of my favorite things in the museum. There were stations with examples of instruments, audio vignettes of them being played, and explanations of how they were made.
For example, the "thumb piano" from Ghana and other African countries.

Then to the western instruments of the 17th and 18th centuries

The evolution of the horn.

Strings and more strings.

This is a viola.

This Octobass is almost 8 feet tall!

An early piano

A trumpet exhibit with different interactive things to try.

These trumpet mutes each make different sounds--the one on the right makes it go: wah-wah-wah.

A beautiful harp.

This instrument is called a "harpolyre."

And then of course there were the claviers!

This one is French

And so is this one.

And this one is Italian.

Some one should write a poem about this instrument. What . . . Wallace Stevens?

Someone was demonstrating how the clavier sounds and answering questions about the history, how it was made, etc. She played for 30-45 minutes. I understand that every day there is a demonstration and concert of music using one of the instruments in the museum.