As one of the oldest
instruments still in use,
the organ has a long
and rich history.
The word organ
originates from the Latin word "organum",
the earliest
predecessor of the instrument used in ancient
Roman circus games
and similar to a modern portative.
The organ dates back
to classical antiquity.
The earliest organs
were hydraulic. The inventor most often
credited is
Ctesibius of Alexandria,
an engineer of the
3rd century BC, who created an instrument
called the
hydraulis. The hydraulis was common in the Roman
Empire, where its
immensely loud tone was heard during games
and circuses in
amphitheaters and processions.
Characteristics of
this instrument have been inferred from mosaics, paintings,
literary references
and partial remains, but knowledge of details of its
construction remain
sparse, and almost nothing is known of the actual music it played.
Pipes may
be classified in several ways, each of which results in a
different timbre:
* by the material they are made of (wood or metal)
* by the mechanism of sound production (flue pipes vs. reed pipes,
* also called labial and lingual)
* by the shape of the pipe (cylindrical, conical, or irregular)
* by the construction of the ends (open or closed).
Because a pipe
produces only one pitch at a time, ideally there is at
least one pipe for
each controlling key or pedal. (Occasionally some
pipes,
especially in the bass, to save space or material, are rigged
to provide multiple
pitches like big recorders: this method was
employed especially
by a few builders in the early 20th century.)
Thus, a keyboard
with 61 notes would have 61 pipes per rank.
