| The organ which was defined by Guillaume de Machault the king of all instruments, was known in its archaic forms since ancient times . Its origin dates back to the III Century B.C. thanks to Ctesibio of Alexandria of Egypt who built the first hydraulic organ. Byzantium was the first important centre for the building of organs. At the beginning the instruments were very different from the ones we see nowadays in our churches . We know for example that in the very first organs the pipe width didn’t change in proportion to their height and this caused a lack of homogeneity in the sound. Besides, the keyboard didn’t exist and appeared only towards 1200 A.D.. | ||
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In the late Middle Ages , the organs were produced in different sizes. The smallest was the "portativo", so called because it could be played while it was carried baldric-wise or laid on one’s knees. It was operated by one only person who used his right hand on the keyboard and his left hand to operate the set of bellows. The biggest one was the "positivo", which was fixed on a base and could not be moved. |  |