Water organ

Not to be confused with Hydraulophone or Sea organ, the water organ or hydraulic organ is a special kind of pipe organ. Instead of using a bellows or a fan to push air, it uses water to create the air needed to play. This water can come from natural sources like a waterfall or be pushed by a hand pump.

The water organ is different from an instrument called the hydraulis, made by Ctesibius of Alexandria in ancient Greece. The hydraulis uses a tank of air placed in a container of water. When you push air into the tank with hand pumps, the water helps keep the air pressured as it flows out through the pipes to make music.

Since the 15th century, water organs have also used water to power a part of the instrument that works like a barrel organ. This part can play a set song stored on a wooden barrel with pins. Even though people often think the hydraulis could play music automatically, there is no proof that it actually could.

Hydraulis

A hydraulis is an early type of pipe organ that used the power of flowing water to create air pressure. This pressure made the pipes produce sound. The name "hydraulis" means "water (driven) pipe (instrument)". It was created by the scientist Ctesibius of Alexandria in the 3rd century BC. The hydraulis was the first keyboard instrument in the world and was the ancestor of the modern pipe organ. You could play the hydraulis by pressing keys with a light touch.

Mechanics

Water organs use water to create music. Water flows from a higher place into a pipe, and as it moves, it pulls air along with it. This mix of water and air goes into a special chamber called the camera aeolis. In this chamber, the water and air separate, and the air is sent to blow into the organ pipes to make music.

The water that separates from the air powers a small wheel, which moves parts of the organ. To start the music, someone turns on the water, and it keeps playing until the water is turned off. Some water organs have ways to keep the water pressure just right for playing music.

History

Water organs were written about by famous people like Ctesibius and Philo of Byzantium in the 3rd century BC, and later by Hero of Alexandria around 62 AD. These organs were special because they used water to make music, unlike other organs that needed bellows to blow air. They were important in Greek culture and might have been used to copy bird sounds.

After the Greeks invented them, water organs were used for many years, especially in the Roman world. We know about them from pictures, paintings, writings, and a few pieces that have been found. In 1931, parts of an old water organ were found in Hungary, showing it was made in 228 AD. Though most of it had broken down, the metal parts helped experts make a new one that works today.

During the Middle Ages, people in the Eastern Roman Empire, Medieval Europe, and the Muslim world kept making and improving these organs. They were used in churches and important places. In the Renaissance, water organs became popular in gardens and palaces, where they not only played music but also had moving figures and other surprises to entertain people.

One of the most famous water organs was built in the late 1500s at the Villa d'Este in Tivoli. It used a waterfall to play music automatically and even had a keyboard. Other gardens in Italy also had water organs, though many of them are gone today.

In the 1600s, water organs were built in England and other places. They were amazing to see and hear, but because they were hard to keep working, they were mostly forgotten by the end of the 1600s. Later, people learned more about how these organs worked by studying old methods used in factories.

The hydraulis of Dion

Main article: Hydraulis of Dion

In 1992, workers found the remains of a very old pipe organ in Dion, an ancient city in Greece near Mount Olympus. This organ had 24 pipes of different sizes. The first 19 pipes were part of an ancient Greek music system, and the last five pipes were smaller and seemed to extend that system.

In 1995, people started a project to rebuild this organ, and by 1999, they made a working copy based on what they found and old descriptions. You can see the original pieces at the Archaeological Museum of Dion.