This page last revised 19 November 1999.

THE ORGAN IN BYZANTIUM

In 867, the Arab Harun ben-Jahja was brought to Constantinople as a prisoner of war. On Christmas Day he attended a banquet at the palace, given by the Emperor Basil I for Muslim captives. He wrote:

... an object called al-urgana is introduced. It is made of wood, square in shape, and looks rather like an oil-press. This press is covered with very strong leather, and supports sixty copper pipes. That section of the pipes extending above the leather is plated with gold, but only part of this is visible as each pipe is slightly taller than its neighbour. At the side of the square object there is a hole, into which bellows are inserted, like those of blacksmiths. Two men pump these, and then comes the organist, who makes the pipes sing. Each pipe gives out a note in proportion to its height, to the glory of the Emperor, while the whole company is seated at table.

The Byzantine organ had a ceremonial function, and the emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus (r. 912-959), in his treatise De Ceremoniis, noted many occasions when protocol demanded organ music. These included processions, banquets, and races at the Hippodrome.

The emperor Theophilus (r. 829-842) was especially fond of the organ. Simeon Magister Logothetes wrote:

The emperor at that time, Theophilus, who loved luxury, built... two very large organs, entirely of gold, inlaid with all kinds of precious stones.

And Constantine Manasses wrote:

The most striking outward sign of his magnificence is that he was skilled in the manufacture of splendid golden organs, in which the air, supplied by a machine, produces music that is serene and full of charm.

In time, memories of these organs became confused with those of the musical automata at Theophilus' court. The writer of the poem Titurel describes an organ in the temple of the Grail:

Above the western door, inside the temple, is an instrument that plays subtle melodies that caress the ear. It is an organ, used to accompany the celebrations of the Mass on the great feast-days... In shape it is like a tree of gold, decked with branches and foliage, in which there are birds whose sweet voices are much admired. The air is led into them by bellows, so that each sings its own particular note...

The soothing effects of organ music are related in the Ecclesiastical History by John, Bishop of Ephesus. He is speaking of the madness of the Emperor Justin II (r. 574-578):

In this disordered state of the king's intellect, those about him devised various kinds of amusements, both to divert his attention, and in the hope of restoring his reason.... Another was an organ, which they kept almost continuously playing, day and night, near his chamber. As long as he heard the sound of its music he remained quiet...

The role of the organ in Byzantine processions is evoked in the following extract from The Spring of the Ram by Dorothy Dunnett (1987). The seting is medieval Trebizond:

The sun was about to emerge, and so was the Emperor. The noise was cheering, which had been going on for some time, but was now much increased. Along with it were other sounds: of marching feet and hooves and trumpets, of cymbals and drums and the tinny snore, rising and falling, of portable organs.

While in a royal pleasure-ground:

A little organ, set in a vine arbour, breathed quiet tunes to itself.

THE ORGAN IN THE ARAB WORLD

The Book of Songs (Kitab al-aghani) by Abu'l-Faraj al-Isfahani (d. 967) contains the following scene:

Isma'il entered one day into the presence of Al-Ma'mun, when he heard music which diverted his attention. Then Al-Ma'mun said "What ails you?" He replied "I have heard something that has bewildered me, and yet I have been the most strenuous in denying that the Byzantine organ killed with delight, but now I declare it to be true".

An organ was sent to Kublai Khan by the 'Muslim Kingdoms' between 1260 and 1264; Chinese chronicles from the time describe the instrument in detail.