Hornwork (instrument)

A horn work on the facade of the collegiate church of Rein Abbey

The hornwork is a mechanical organ instrument . In its original form it only consisted of a wind box , bellows and whistles , which, when the bellows were actuated, produced a triad amplified many times . In the Middle Ages , such instruments were built into the fortifications of cities and monasteries in special horn towers. They performed signal functions comparable to a siren , e.g. B. acoustically indicated the beginning and end of the working day to the population.

literature

• Hartmut Krones : Hornwerk. In: Oesterreichisches Musiklexikon . Online edition, Vienna 2002 ff., ISBN 3-7001-3077-5 ; Print edition: Volume 2, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna 2003, ISBN 3-7001-3044-9 .

Web links

• The Salzburg bull - a unique horn work (actually a stationary barrel organ or Walzenogel) ( Memento from September 3, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
• Sound samples of the "Salzburg bull"