I was pleasantly surprised, during my visit to Hora Musical Instruments, to see how wood “comes to life” and especially how it “speaks” through the sounds emitted by the instruments. This is yet another example of how the forest provides such a versatile material – wood.

Creativity has driven humans, from the very beginning, to explore and process wood, transforming it into various useful tools, including musical instruments, through which they expressed their joys, sadness, and melancholy, conveying the depth of the soul’s emotions through music and sound. Wood has been and still is present in human life and even accompanies the feelings expressed through song.

Famous composers such as Beethoven and Mozart delighted the public with the genius of their creations, highlighted by extraordinary instruments. Music intertwined with the fiber of wood, shaping into perfect harmony to convey the beauty and depth of feelings and creativity, expressed through music and sound.

The instruments we had the chance to admire at the Hora factory “assisted” us like silent witnesses, imposing respect and admiration with their smooth, perfect shapes, but especially with the extraordinary quality given by the resonance and special tone of Carpathian wood.

At HORA S.A., around 70,000 musical instruments are produced, many of which are string instruments such as violins, violas, cellos, double basses, as well as plucked instruments like classical and acoustic guitars, mandolins, bouzoukis, and ukuleles. The resonant wood used, sourced locally from the Carpathian Mountains, includes spruce and maple, and is of the highest quality. In the skilled hands of the luthiers, the wood is shaped and processed to achieve the best acoustic qualities and superior, long-lasting stability. I also saw exotic woods such as ebony, rosewood, mahogany, red cedar, and Brazilian wood being used in the production of the instruments.

The musical instruments produced at HORA S.A. under the careful supervision of Eng. Nicolae Bâzgan are of superior quality.

The psaltery holds a special place in all Christian denominations, and of all the psalms, Psalm 150, the last psalm, is a sort of grand finale, where all the instruments bring praise to God.

Psalm 150

1. Praise the Lord! Praise God in His sanctuary; praise Him in His mighty heavens!
2. Praise Him for His acts of power; praise Him for His surpassing greatness!
3. Praise Him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise Him with the harp and lyre!
4. Praise Him with timbrel and dancing, praise Him with the strings and pipe!
5. Praise Him with the clash of cymbals, praise Him with resounding cymbals!
6. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!

Trees provide many economic, social, and environmental benefits that lead to improved well-being and a better quality of life.

The benefits provided by trees in one year are:

Energy Conservation
Trees are one of the most effective natural methods of capturing and storing carbon emissions. Strategically placed trees help conserve energy around your home.

Stormwater Control
To manage stormwater runoff, cities are forced to invest in building expensive systems to capture and control rainwater. Trees capture precipitation and store it efficiently.

Clean and Cool Air
Urban areas generate heat and pollution, whereas trees provide shade, filter the air, and reduce temperatures.

Community Well-being and Human Health
Numerous studies have shown that environments with trees help reduce stress. Areas surrounded by healthy trees provide a pleasant, relaxing, and invigorating atmosphere, and trees placed along streets reduce the frequency and severity of traffic accidents while also acting as a sound barrier.

Property Values
Even a single tree that generates shade can increase a property’s value by up to 10%. Invest in your home or community by planting at least one tree!

Job Creation
The rational use of forest resources within a community contributes significantly to the local economy, providing jobs and substantial income for those communities.

Greece never stops being surprising. Beyond the joy it brings to visitors, and known mostly as a vacation destination, Greece has hidden treasures that always reveal themselves in more challenging ways. Among these surprising treasures is the olive tree from Vouves, located in the village of Ano Vouves in the Kolymvari municipal unit, Chania regional unit, Crete. The connection between the olive tree and Greece has legendary origins, with one of the legends associated with the olive tree being the emergence of the city of Athens, linked to the goddess of the same name and symbolizing stability, durability, and wisdom. Therefore, it is no surprise that the olive tree in Vouves, scientifically known as Olea Europaea, probably one of the oldest olive trees in the entire Mediterranean Basin and perhaps in the world, still produces olives today. The exact age of the tree cannot be precisely determined, but it has been estimated by the University of Crete to be between 3,000 and 4,000 years old.

The tree remains productive to this day, grafted with the "Tsounati" variety.
In 1997, the tree was declared a protected natural monument. Branches from this tree were used to create the crowns for the winners of the 2004 Athens Olympics and the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Olive trees, with their dignified stature that transcends time, continue to bring joy and inspiration, telling a story of ancient times, enveloped in the savory and bitter taste of legend.