Among the remarkable treasures found in Tutankhamun’s tomb were two ornate trumpets, one made of silver and the other of bronze. In 1939, BBC radio broadcast the trumpets’ music to 150 million people, and they’re now re-releasing the original audio.
The trumpet music – performed 72 years ago by bandsman and soldier James Tappern – forms part of BBC Radio 4’s upcoming program Ghost Music, which charts the remarkable history of the trumpets. Earlier this year, one of the trumpets was stolen during looting of the Cairo Museum. Thankfully, it was later recovered, along with a bunch of other Tutankhamun artifacts, reportedly found in a bag on the Cairo Metro.
The trumpets themselves are very fragile and have only been played on exceedingly rare occasions, with Tappern’s 1939 performance being close to their own public display in thousands of years. The full radio program looking at the trumpets’ history airs tomorrow, but you can hear the original, haunting performance right now by checking out this BBC News article, which also features an interesting rundown on the growing field of archaeomusicology, which attempts to revive the music of ancient instruments.
