Early History Of The Pipe Organ :: essays research papers fc

Early History of the Pipe OrganThe king of instruments has a long history, sensation which can arguably be tracedto the invention of a collection of doctor-pitched pipes blown by a single player(such as the panpipes) (Randel 583). The first examples of pipe organs withthe basic features of today can be traced to the third century B.C.E. in theGreco-Roman arena it is said to have been invented by Ktesibios of Alexanderand contained a mechanism to supply air under pressure, a wind-chest to storeand distribute it, keys and valves to admit wind to the pipes, and unmatched or moregraded sets of fixed-pitch pipes. (Randel 583) These early organs used wateras a inwardness to supply air-pressure, hence the use of the terms hydraulic andhydraulis.Hydraulic organs were in use for several hundred years before the concept ofbellows, alike in concept and style to those of a blacksmith, came into usewith the organ. Numerous bellows were used to supply air to the wind-chest,often being pumpe d in pairs by men. The disadvantages of this method of airsupply include the lack of consistent pressure, which leads to inconsistentpitch and tuning also, many people were required to operate the bellows since on that point were upwards of twenty-four bellows per organ (Hopkins & Rimbault 35).Also, with organs of this size, the bellows took up large amounts of space, thusforcing the organ to be located in a fixed place, such as a church.Up until the eleventh century (approximately), pitch and range of organs wereextremely limited, mainly in part to the lack of a any style of keyboard. Keysof a sort were introduced around this time, though not in the manner we areaccustomed to. The earliest keyboards were sets of levers played by the handrather than the fingers. (Randel 428) They looked similar to large rectangles an ell long and three inches wide (Hopkins & Rimbault 33) and were played bypushing on them with a hand, although some were large enough that one might needto step on the m. While allowing no real technical dexterity, they weresufficient to play plain-song and chant melodies, particularly with the use ofmore than one player. As time progressed, the keys became smaller and morenumerous until they began to resemble the modern keyboard (except for range) inappearance ca. 1400.While these large early organs were used in limited fashion in churches, many ofthe organs of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries were known as portatives orregals. Portatives were small enough to be carried and played by a single