There are only fragmentary desciptions of the Roman water organ. Supposedly, it was invented in 25 BC (Ctebius), and was popular for many years.
Has anyone built a modern replica? And, does any Roman music exist (that was played on this instrument)?
Seems like an awkward instrument (you had to be near a stream)-wouldn’t bellows-drive organs be easier?
The sixteenth-century Water Organ in the gardens of the Villa D’Este at Tivoli was directly inspired by the reports of the Roman examples. There are various Youtube videos of it playing.
Sounds much like any other organ. I doubt that the Roman ones were any less of a gimmick.
Looks like there’s a playable replica, and a recreation/restoration of one at the Aquincum in Budapest. A few snips of info:
http://www.orgona.hu/orgonaink/tuzolto_orgona_e.html
http://www.aquincum.hu/programok/aktualisangol.htm
http://www.aquincum.hu/orgona/orgonaangol.htm
For comparison, the wave organ is unpowered and random.
I like thisone =)
How does the one posted by aruvqan work?