This monumental history of the organ in antiquity provides a wide overview of the technical development, use and recognition of the organ as an instrument. The interdisciplinary study relies on a comprehensive collection of literary works and archaeological monuments from Hellenistic, Roman, Jewish, Early Byzantine, Syrian and Western civilization ranging from 270 B.C. to 630 A.D., and discusses the survival of this rich heritage in Byzantium, the Islam and the Latin Middle Ages until about 1200.
The volume completes with an account of the relevant scholarship since the Renaissance and extensive indices. Fully documented and richly illustrated with numerous photographs and drawings, it will appeal to students and scholars of both the arts and the sciences. This history of the organ in antiquity will serve as an indispensable reference work for decades.

This handbook will appeal to students and scholars of both the arts and the sciences. It should interest all those concerned with the history of music and musical instruments, archaeologists, and historians of art and of science and technology.