The harpsichord and organ were the most prominent typesof keyboard instruments in the Renaissance and Baroque periods.
The HARPSICHORD (an ancestor to the modern piano)
The harpsichord's distinctive "plucked" sound is due to its unique key mechanism: When one of its keys is pressed, a quill attached to a lever plucks the respective string, producing a sharp,dry sound that dies away quickly. The harpsichord was the most popular keyboard instrument of the Renaissance and Baroque periods. It is still used todayby performers specializing in early music
The ORGAN
The organ—the most complex Western instrument ever devised— is comprised of a series of wooden or metal pipes connected to one or more keyboards (called manuals) via a set of "stops" (mechanical levers or electrical switches that open or close air flow to the individual pipes). Before the advent of electric motors, the wind pressure had to be supplied by an assistant pumping a bellows (a corrugated air bag).
The ORGAN
The organ—the most complex Western instrument ever devised— is comprised of a series of wooden or metal pipes connected to one or more keyboards (called manuals) via a set of "stops" (mechanical levers or electrical switches that open or close air flow to the individual pipes). Before the advent of electric motors, the wind pressure had to be supplied by an assistant pumping a bellows (a corrugated air bag).
This cross-section diagram of an 18th-century French organ, shows the hand-pumped air bellowsand several manuals(keyboards) on the organ's console. A cut-away view of an interior church wall is located in the center of the diagram (the organist is to the right of the wall, the bellows operator is to the left of the wall).
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