Are you excited to explore a fascinating journey through the evolution of the organ’s exterior? From its origins in ancient Greece to the most contemporary designs, including the incredible variety of Baroque organ facades. Keith Morgan’s “The Evolution of the Early English Organ” presents an engaging chronicle of the organ’s journey in England, tracing its transformation from medieval times through the Reformation and Commonwealth eras.
A Scholar’s Perspective: Organ as Cultural Mirror
Morgan combines rigorous scholarship with an acute sense of musical context, revealing how the organ both influenced and reflected shifts in Britain’s cultural and religious landscape. This volume is an essential read for enthusiasts of music history, historical instruments, and sacred traditions, and it sets the stage for a forthcoming sequel covering later developments up to the mid-nineteenth century.
Unveiling the Organ’s Outer Beauty
Keith wants us to explore the evolution of the organ’s external appearance, from its origins in antiquity to the present day. This aspect of the organ has been less studied than its internal evolution, since the numerous contracts preserved throughout history tend to focus more on the instrument’s internal composition than on its external appearance. Therefore, we can study this evolution primarily through preserved historical organ cases or pictorial or photographic representations.
Ancient Origins: The Organ in Greece and Rome
To begin somewhere, let us start at the beginning. The origins of the organ are lost in the mists of time, and its invention is generally attributed to Ktesibius of Alexandria in the 3rd century BC. These early organs used water pressure to push the air that made the pipes sound; hence, they were called Hydraulis or Hydraulos. We have representations, descriptions, and even fragments of these instruments, such as those on display at the Dion Museum (Greece), which were discovered in the 1990s and date to the 1st century BC. This organ lacked any case or similar structure, and its façade consisted simply of a series of pipes arranged from largest to smallest according to the keyboard. At mid-height, a wooden strip, fixed at its ends to two others, supported the pipes, and the lower half of the instrument consisted of a body housing the water pumps, operated by two levers, one on each side.
An organist playing a Hydraulis and another instrumentalist playing the horn during the Gladiator Games. Mosaic from the Roman villa of Nennig (Germany).
Medieval Marvels: Case-Free Organs
The concept of an organ without a case to cover the pipes persisted throughout the Middle Ages, even after the wind-producing system was replaced by a bellows system. This is attested to by Theophilus Presbyter (first half of the 12th century), who describes in his treatise *De diversis artibus* how to build an organ in a wall that opens onto an adjoining room. Thus, for those in the church, only the pipes and the soundbox are visible, while the organist, the bellows, and the bellowsman remain invisible, as they are behind the organ and the wall in the adjoining room. There is still no case, only the pipes. These were protected from dust by a curtain held between wooden posts, which could be drawn back with a rope when the organ was played.
A similar case was that of portative organs (played while hanging from the neck with a strap) and positive organs (somewhat larger and portable, although they had to be placed on the floor or a table to be played). It seems that for centuries they retained the ancient design of the Hydraulis, arranging two rows of pipes from largest to smallest, held by a wooden beam fixed to two posts at the ends. What is striking is the great variety of shapes and sizes (although they all maintain the same general appearance).
Representations of portable and positive organs have been preserved from very early times. As you can see, all these organs formed their facade solely from the instrument’s own pipes, arranged from largest to smallest. Portative and positive organs (at least of this type) were used throughout the Middle Ages, but around the 15th and 16th centuries, they seem to have fallen into disuse and eventually disappeared. However, fixed church organs began to gain prominence and develop, making it necessary to construct a case to protect the instrument. But we’ll leave this step in their evolution of external appearance for the next installment.
Discover the full story in Keith Morgan’s “The Evolution of the glish Organ”—an essential read for anyone passionate about the history of music, culture, and innovation. Get your copy!
