Giant Xylophone in Japanese Forest Uses Gravity to Play the Most Ethereal Music

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You are walking through a Japanese forest on the southern island of Kyushu. Among the trees you can hear the song of the birds. A gentle breeze shakes the leaves. A melody that you have heard before sounds faintly in the air. What is that? Bach.

This magical experience is real, thanks to creative director Morihiro Harano and his team at Mori Inc.

In collaboration with carpenter Mitsuo Tsuda and sound engineer Kenjiro Matsuo, they made and placed a huge xylophone designed to play Jesu, joy of desire of man-the final movement of the famous Bach cantata Heart and mouth and work and life.

The xylophone is made of hundreds of pieces of wood of different sizes; each panel along its length emits a different sound when struck by a cascading wooden ball placed on top of the instrument.

A behind the scenes video how it was made is a fascinating watch.

But for now, how about a little break to see the xylophone in action?

(HEAR the instrument in action in the video below).