Al Jazari’s Ingenious Clocks premiered by Houston Symphony

March 14th, 15th and 16th saw the premiere of Al Jazari’s Ingenious Clocks by the Houston Symphony under director Juraj Valčuha, as part of the orchestras “Fairy Tale Festival.” A preview article about the work appears in the Houston Chronicle and a review at EarReleavant.



Ismail al-Jazari was a 12th century Islamic polymath: a scholar, inventor, engineer, artist and mathematician. He was born in 1136 in Upper Mesopotamia and served as the chief engineer for the  Artuqid dynasty at the Artuklu Palace (located in modern-day Turkey). His remarkable treatise, The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical   Devices (1206) describes fifty machines al-Jazari crafted to perform various tasks. Coupled with his own colorful illustrations, the book evokes a fairy-tale world of automated devices: a dancing water fountain, a band of mechanical musicians, a hydraulic “perpetual flute,” a self-cleaning washbasin, and a mechanized “butler” who prepares drinks. But all of the devices were fully operational (and have been re-created in modern times). In his pioneering work we encounter for the first time many of the foundational mechanisms of engineering: the crankshaft, segmental gears, escapement mechanisms, conical valves, advanced pulley rigs, and various mechanical systems of bolts and locks. Known as the “father of robotics” for his revolutionary work in automation, al-Jazari’s devices are fascinating both functionally and aesthetically.

But perhaps his most beautiful and captivating designs are his many mechanical clocks. These include elaborate candle clocks (triggered by melting wax), an astronomical “castle clock,” (including a Zodiac dial), programmable clock of mechanical drummers (who beat out the hours!), a portable “scribe clock” and a giant “elephant clock” (left). These enchanting time machines are captivating to envision, but they are built with technology and a prescience that anticipates our automated
modern world.

Al-Jazari’s Ingenious Clocks is an evocative time piece, a journey to a vivid world of invention and imagination. It is organized as a sequence of three scenes (played without pause) that mingle together imagery inspired by medieval inventor Ismail Al-Jazari’s (1136–1206) magnificent clocks: the elements that drive them (fire, water, air); the kinetic forces they manifest (rhythm, momentum, acceleration); and the embodiment of the world seen in their visual design (animals, people, music). The candle clock tells a wafting time. Seconds, minutes, hours drift by, coiling from the candle’s wick in thin tendrils of smoke as the flame draws ever higher. As the hour approaches, the wax melts, its trail dripping a memory of time passed. The hands of the musical clock are the hands of drummers, who play a rhythmic dance. Together they try to beat time, but time will not succumb! Time can be kept but not saved, its passing marked with increasing intensity, building to an ecstatic climax. The elephant clock advances slowly, with a steady and gentle time that never forgets—but neither does it tarry. It moves forward, inexorably, irresistibly. And we all travel on its back, in a long caravan of time, each tolling bell a milestone on our journey to the future.