De Organographia

With his Syntagma Musicum, German composer, organist, court music director, and music theorist Michael Praetorius (ca. 1571/72–1571) created one of the most important works on music theory and performance practice of the early modern period. The series consists of three volumes, the second of which is particularly fascinating. In De Organographia, Praetorius classifies and describes various instruments of his time. He pays particular attention to the organ, which he describes as the “instrument of instruments” and which he also played himself. He devotes two of the four chapters to the instrument and its history. A year after the publication of the treatise, Praetorius had the famous Theatrum Instrumentorum printed as a supplement and fifth chapter or picture section. It comprises 44 copperplate plates showing the instruments described by Praetorius, including the oldest known depiction of a pluriarc. Together, De Organographia and the Theatrum Instrumentorum are now one of the most important sources on Renaissance and Baroque instruments and are of crucial relevance for their reconstruction.