Aquincum organ
The Aquincum organ was a 3rd century Roman organ that was located in Aquincum in what is now Budapest . It is the best preserved Roman organ.
history
It was given to the fire brigade college there by the town councilor Gaius Iulius Viatorinus of Aquincum in AD 228, according to a preserved inscription.
"G (aius) IVL (ius) VIATORINVS DEC (urio) COL (oniae) AQ (uinci) AEDILICIVS PRAEF (ectus) COL (egii) CENT (onariorum) HYDRAM COLL (egio) S (upra) S (cripto) DE SUO D (onum) D (edit) MODESTO ET PROBO CO (n) S (ulibus) "
English translation
Gaius Julius Viatorinus, councillor of the colonia of Aquincum, former aedile, the commander of the association of textile dealers, gave this organ to the aforementioned association at his own expense in the consulship of Modestus and Probus. AD 228.
The instrument was probably made from scratch. A few decades later the fire station burned down. The organ was buried by the rubble.
In 1931 the Hungarian archaeologist Lajos Nagy found the remains of the instrument, around 400 metal parts, some of which were in good condition, and the wooden wind chest. A part was lost in the Second World War, today around 300 are still preserved. These can be found in the museum of the archaeological site Aquincum in Budapest.
organ
The organ was relatively small, about 60 cm high, 30 cm wide and 12 cm deep. There were a total of four joinable registers with 13 pipes each . Three rows were closed, one open. The range was probably in the range between an octave and a duodecime . The preserved metal parts such as the register, clay slides, organ pipes and kettles were made of various copper alloys , the pipe rod of a lead alloy . The wind chest was made of spruce wood, the stoppers of the covered pipes of oak wood, one of elm. The keys were probably made of wood too. The supply of wind is unknown and is still controversial today, a bellows technique that emerged at this time is possible, but the name hydra meant a more traditional water organ .
Reconstructions
Various replicas have been made since 1935 that show different possible modes of operation.
| year | builder | storage | image | Wind supply | range | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1935 | Emil Angster | Aquincum Museum Budapest |
 |
op. 1102, 1970 restoration, possibly a second model available | ||
| 1936 | Emil Angster | Museum in Rome? ( Mostra Augusteana 1938) | Remaining unclear, op. 1121 | |||
| 1965, 1969 | Werner Walcker-Mayer | Privately owned | two or three models | |||
| 2005/2006 | Martin Braun, Justus Wilberg | Privately owned |
 |
hydraulic | four different keys, also playable in plenary | is performed regularly in concerts |
| 2012 | Michael Zierenberg, Susanne Rühling | Roman-Germanic Central Museum Mainz; Privately owned | hydraulic | octave | two identical models, with the assistance of Schuke Orgelbau |
Other Roman organ fragments
- Dion's water organ , Greece, 1st century BC BC, oldest remains of a Roman organ
- Organ from Aventicum (Avenches), Switzerland, approx. 1/3. Century AD, only a few small parts survive
No more fragments of Roman organs are known to date.
literature
- Ernő Gegus; Eugene L. Szonntagh: Roman copper alloys and the Aquincum organ. In: International Symposium Organ of Classical Antiquity. The Aquincum Organ AD 228 . Musikwissenschaftlicher Verlag, Kleinblittersdorf 1997, pp. 79–83.
- Judit B. Perjés: History of the restoration of the Roman organ at Aquincum. In: International Symposium Organ of Classical Antiquity. The Aquincum Organ AD 228. Musikwissenschaftlicher Verlag, Kleinblittersdorf 1997, p. 119.
- Kilián Szigeti: The unsolved problems of the Roman organ of Aquincum . In: Studia Musicologia, 13, 1971, pp. 1-13.
- Werner Walcker-Mayer : The Roman organ from Aquincum. Stuttgart 1970.
- Lajos Nagy : Az aquincumi orgona [The organ of Aquincum] . Budapest, 1933.
Web links
- Replica of an ancient Roman organ after a find in Budapest Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum Mainz
- Hydraulis hydraulis.de
- The Aquincum organ Aquincum Museum Budapest
Individual evidence
- ↑ Susanne Rühling: Impressing, brilliant, making music - organ sounds for God, Emperor and sport. In: F. Daim, D. Heher, C. Rapp (eds.): People, images, languages, things. Ways of communication between Byzantium and the West. Volume 1. Mainz 2018. pp. 205–223, here p. 207 pdf
- ↑ Werner Walcker-Mayer: The Roman organ of Aquincum . Stuttgart 1970
- ↑ Our replica Hydraulis.de
- ↑ Ancient organ sounds Susanne Rühling Blog
- ↑ Replica of an ancient Roman organ based on a find in Budapest. Roman-Germanic Central Museum