Portative organ
Aportative organ(from theLatinverbportare,"to carry" ), also known during ItalianTrecentoas theorganetto,is a smallpipe organthat consists of one rank offlue pipes,sometimes arranged in two rows, to be played while strapped to the performer at a right angle. The performer manipulates thebellowswith one hand and fingers the keys with the other. The portative organ lacks a reservoir to retain a supply of wind, thus it will only produce sound while the bellows are being operated. The instrument was commonly used in European secular music from the 12th to the 16th centuries.[1]
The Italian composerFrancesco Landiniis known to have played the instrument. There are performers on the instrument again as a result of theEarly Music Revival.Some contemporary music has been written for it, for example byJosé María Sánchez-Verdú.[2]Dolly Collinsalso used it in modern English folk music.
Terminology[edit]
The portative organ is also called aportatif organ,portativ organ,or simplyportative,portatif,orportativ.
Construction[edit]
The portative is constructed simply in order to make it as portable as possible. The pipes are arranged on a small rectangular windchest and supplied with wind by one or two bellows placed at the back, or under the instrument. The row of pipes is supported by posts at either end and an oblique bar. The earlier style ofkeyboardon the portative consists of one button for each pipe. When a button is pushed in, the corresponding pipe sounds. The button is restored to its normal position by a horn spring.Renaissanceinstruments use keyboards similar to Renaissance harpsichords.[3]
Definitions[edit]
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In principle, the portative is a smaller instrument than thepositive organ,which features more ranks of pipes and a larger keyboard. The portative also should not be confused with theregal,a small keyboard instrument that contains a rank of short-lengthreed pipesinstead of flue pipes.
In practice, however, since theorgan reform movementrevival of small organs, also small positives with a bass register and played with both hands have come to be called portatives, especially when their pipe arrangement or general layout resembles that of the genuine portative. One of the most well-known modern proponents of that kind of 'large portative' organ wasDolly Collins,who accompanied her vocalist sisterShirley Collinson many albums of traditional English folk songs.
History[edit]
Towards the middle of the 13th century,miniatures of illuminated manuscriptsdepict portatives with modern, balanced-action keyboards. An example can be seen in the Spanish manuscript known as theCantigas de Santa Maria,[4]which contains 51 miniatures of instrumentalists. It is evident from the position of the organist's thumb in these miniatures that the keys are pressed down to make the notes sound. There are nine pipes and nine keys, which is sufficient for a C-major diatonic scale of one octave with an added B-flat.[3]
Medieval portative organs, so extensively used during the 14th and 15th centuries, were revivals of those used by theRomans,of which a specimen excavated atPompeiiin 1876 is preserved in theMuseo Archeologico Nazionale Napoli.The case measures 14.5 by 9.33 in (36.8 by 23.7 cm) and contains nine pipes, of which the longest measures only 9.75 in (24.8 cm); six of the pipes have oblong holes at a short distance from the top similar to those made ingambapipes of modern organs to give them their reedy quality, and also to those cuamboo pipes of the Chinesesheng,which is a mouth organ furnished with free reeds. From the description of these remains byC. F. Abdy Williams,[5]it would seem that a bronze plate 11.5 by 2.75 in (29.2 by 7.0 cm) having 18 rectangular slits arranged in three rows to form vandykes was found inside the case, with three little plates of bronze just wide enough to pass through the slits lying by it; this plate possibly formed part of the mechanism for the sliders of the keys.[3]
The small instrument that is often taken for asyrinxon acontorniatemedallion of Sallust in the Cabinet Impérial de France in Paris may be meant for a miniature portative.[3]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^"Portative organ."Encyclopædia Britannica(2007). Encyclopædia Britannica Online, accessed December 23, 2007.http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9060959.
- ^"Guillermo Pérez".Retrieved2019-12-09.
- ^abcdSchlesinger 1911,p. 111.
- ^Schlesinger 1911,p. 111 notes: for a reproduction see J. F. Riaño,Studies of Early Spanish Music,pp. 119–127 (London, 1887).
- ^Schlesinger 1911,p. 111 citesQuarterly Musical Review,(August, 1893).
Attribution[edit]
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Schlesinger, Kathleen (1911). "Portative Organ".InChisholm, Hugh(ed.).Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 22 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 111.
External links[edit]
- Modern portative organs
- Portative organs, Organetti
- Virtual portative under GrandOrgue
- Portative organs (historically informed)
- Medieval portative organs, Musiconis database
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