Cat piano

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
from La Nature , 1883
from G. Schott , Magiae Universalis Naturae , 1657–59

A cat piano (also known as a cat organ ) was a musical instrument that is said to have been invented by Athanasius Kircher . In the book Strange Contributions to the World of Scholars published in 1765, it is reported that the Russian Tsar Peter the Great wanted to have Kircher's invention rebuilt, although there were doubts whether the instrument had ever been made. However, the experiment to elicit melodious tones from the cats locked in a box failed. It was not possible for the tortured animals to meow at a certain pitch . It should not have been Kircher's only foolish invention. In addition, illustrations show significantly more buttons than cats. The existence of these instruments is doubted.

Details

The cat piano is said to have consisted of a number of cats fixed in a frame , whose tails were tied under a keyboard. A nail was attached to the bottom of each key, which made the cats meow frantically when the keys are pressed. The cats were arranged according to their natural pitch. The cry of the cats was also called " cat music ".

According to a description by Johann Christian Reil (1759–1813), the purpose of the instrument was to treat patients who find it difficult to concentrate. Reil believed that a patient who is forced to see and hear the cat piano is inevitably directed to the instrument and is thus cured (Richards, 1998).

from JB. Weckerlin, Musiciana

The cat piano was also described by the French writer Jean-Baptiste Weckerlin in his book Musiciana, extraits d'ouvrages rare ou bizarre ("Musiciana, descriptions of rare or bizarre inventions"):

“When the King of Spain Philip II visited his father Charles V in Brussels in 1549 , they were both happy to see a unique parade. At the front step was a huge bull with burning horns, between which sat a little devil. Behind the bull, a boy, sewn in bearskin, rode on a horse whose ears and tail had been cut off. Then the Archangel Michael came in radiant clothes and carried a scale in his hand. "

“The strangest came with a triumphal chariot that carried the most extraordinary music imaginable. On top of it stood a bear playing an organ; instead of whistling, however, one saw sixteen cats, their bodies hidden, only their heads visible. The tails stuck out and were held like the strings of a piano. Pressing a button pulled hard on the tail, causing the cat to give a pitiful meow. The historian Juan Christoval Calvete wrote that the cats were arranged according to the pitch of their tone, so that notes of an octave could be played in ascending order (chromatic, I think). "

"This hideous orchestra was soon in a theater with monkeys, wolves, deer and other animals who danced to the infernal music."

- Weckerlin : pp. 348-349

Similar "musical instruments"

Another example of the alleged use of animals for musical sound production is Abbé de Baignes pig organ .

In the sketch “Musical Mice” by the British comedian group Monty Python , mice struck with a wooden mallet and arranged according to their pitch served as the “mouse organ”. This sketch was seen both in the television series Monty Python's Flying Circus and in the movie Monty Python's And Now for Something Completely Different (“ Monty Python's wonderful world of gravity ”).

In the television series The Muppet Show , the doll " Marvin E. Suggs " appeared regularly with creatures lined up in " stick games ", which responded to every beat with "au" in their own pitch.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Georg Heinrich Büchner: Strange Contributions to the World Course of Scholars . Martini, 1765, p. 666–671 ( google.de [accessed December 6, 2018]).
  2. ↑ Vanessa Agnew: Enlightenment Orpheus: the power of music in other worlds , Oxford 2008, pp. 157f.

literature

Web links

Commons : Cat Pianos  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
Wikisource: Katzen-Organ  - Sources and full texts
Wiktionary: Katzenklavier  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations