Museum introduces musical audio guide

An Oxford University music museum has introduced what is believed to be the first audio guide which only plays tunes recorded from the instruments on display. The Bate Collection - which houses Handel's harpsichord, a medieval double pipe and even a plaster cast of Haydn's skull - has introduced the musical tour guide after spending the last year making recordings of playing by students and professionals from Oxford University and across the world. Recordings have been taken from a 1720s recorder by Bressan, a Baroque cello by Klotz, a serpent that was played at the battle of Waterloo, a glass flute, the earliest surviving English trumpet - made by Cromwell's state trumpeter, and a tune written by Handel on his own harpsichord. Museum Manager Andy Lamb said: 'I guarantee that this audio guide contains no monotonic voices lecturing you on the history of an item, but simply the sound of historic instruments played as they would have been when they were first made. We at the Bate Collection believe these tunes tell us more about musical instruments than a mini-lecture filled with dates and facts ever could. 'The musical guide has great appeal for people of all ages and musical tastes - children love exploring the instruments and their different sounds; while music lovers, students and professionals are able to study historical instruments which are set up as they would have been when they were first played.' Mr Lamb added: 'The tunes themselves are appropriate to the instrument, and have been collected from talented musicians from all over the place.