!!!Middle Ages/Geistliche Kultur !!Regal or portable reed organ %%columns-fill [{Image src='Wissenssammlungen/Musik-Lexikon/Regal/040104a.jpg' height='250' alt='Regal' caption='Regal\\© Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien' width='299'}] ---- [{Image src='Wissenssammlungen/Musik-Lexikon/Regal/040104b.jpg' height='250' alt='Regal' caption='Sound spectrum of a Regal\\© Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien' width='412'}] %% The illustration shows a Regal (ca. 1580, Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna). The existence of such small portable organs can be documented from as early as the 11th/12th c. and were called by this name during the 15th-17th c. The instrument consists of a narrow chest which contains the wind chest and reed pipes. In front of these is a keyboard where a musician plays the instrument, and in back, two bellows which require a second person to pump. When it was being played, the Regal was set on a table. It was extremely popular not only in church music but also in the theatre, at banquets (Tafelmusik), dances and private music-making. In the 18th c., musical tastes changed and the Regal went out of fashion because of its nasal-sounding, overtone-heavy texture. The musical example ''Ave maris stella'' does not come from Austria. It should however serve as a listening example of the Regal. (E. Stadler) !Sound Clip [{Audio src='Wissenssammlungen/Musik-Lexikon/Regal/040104am.mp3' caption='Audio sample of a Regal\\© Romano Zölss, Frankenau (Burgenland). Aufnahme und Klangspektrum: GM-Tonstudio-Musikverlag Dr. Werner Jauk'}] [{Metadata Suchbegriff='' Kontrolle='Nein'}] %%language [Back to the Austrian Version|Wissenssammlungen/Musik-Lexikon/Regal|class='wikipage austrian'] %%