Word: hydraulus
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...first mechanical pipe organ, a water-driven monster called a hydraulus, so awed the ancients that they enshrined it in a temple of Venus. A 5th century organ at Jerusalem thundered forth such a gigantic noise that admirers listened from the Mount of Olives, nearly a mile away. The stir that the organ is creating today is almost as awe-inspiring...
Roman emperors liked the organ because it was the loudest wind instrument. They called it an hydraulus because air was fed into its pipes by a water contrivance. In the Seventh Century Pope Vitalian recommended an organ for churches with a view to improving the singing of congregations. The first keys were as big as the treadle of a knife-grinder's machine. Strength was the first requisite of a player, who struck at the great slabs with his fist, had the title of "organ-beater." Early in the 15th Century pedals were introduced because the bass keys were...
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