" Listening to it I have to say that the Universe is a lousy musical instrument"

Astronomers have recaptured the sounds of the early Universe showing it was born not with a bang but a quiet whisper that became a dull roar.

Mark Whittle of the University of Virginia has analysed the so-called background radiation that was born 400,000 years after the Big Bang.

Ripples in the radiation are like sound waves bouncing through the cosmos.

Over the first million years the music of the cosmos changed from a bright major chord to a sombre minor one.