The time when the wind-organ took the place of the water-organ is not ascertained; some saj- in the 7th centurv. We have no trustworthy evidence of any im- provement having been made in the organ from that time until the loth century, when the pedals were in- vented in Italy by Bernhard, a German organist at the court of the doge of Venice. In the 11th centurj' a monk, named Theophilus, wrote a curious treatise on organ-building, but it was not until the 15th century that tlie organ began to be anything like the noble in- strument which it now is. In the ICth century the system of pipes was divided into registers. The family of Antignati, in Brescia, had a great name as organ- builders in the 15th and 16th centuries. The organs of England were also in high repute, but the puritanism of the civil war doomed most of them to destruction ; and when they had to be replaced after the Restoration, it was found that there was no longer a sufficiency of builders in the country. Foreign organ-builders were therefore invited to settle in England, the most remark- able of whom were Bernhard Schmidt (generally called Father Schmidt) and his nephews, and Kenatiis Harris. Christopher Schreider, Snetzler, and Byfield succeeded them ; and at a later period Green and Avery, some of whose organs have never been surpassed in tone, though in mechanism those of modern builders are an immense advance on them. The German organs are remarkable for preserving the balance of power well among the va- rious masses, but in mechanical contrivances they are surpassed by those of England. In the United States organ-building has been carried to a perfection rivalled only by England. Tlie largest organ in this coinitry is at Boston : it was built bj' a German, Walcker, of Lud- wigsburg, and has 4 manuals, 89 stops, and 4000 pipes. Many of the large churches have organs buUt by Amer-
icans which nearly rival the great instrument at Boston. One of the largest organs used in churches is that of the Roman Catholic cathedral at Montreal. It was built by R. S.Warren, of that city. The largest organ in the world is in Albert Hall, London, was built by Henry Willis in 1870, and contains 138 stops, 4 manuals, and nearly 10,000 pipes, all of which are of metal. The wind is supplied by steam-power. Thirteen couplers connect or disconnect the various subdivisions of the organ at the will of the performer.
II. OpposiHon to the Use of the Organ in Christian Worship.— The. question as to the propriety of using the organ in Christian song in churches has been de- bated from the days of Hospinian down to our own. It was never adopted in the Eastern Church. In the West it is to the present day excluded from the pa- pal chapel. In the 16th century the abuse which had been made of it was so great as to lead to a strongly supported motion being presented to the Council of Trent for its suppression. It was retained, however, through the influence of emperor Ferdinand. The Re- formed Church discarded the organ from the first, and although it has since been reinstalled in the Reformed churches of Basle and some other places, it has never been resumed by the denomination at large. In the Lutheran Church, on the contrary', it has always been used, notwithstanding Luther's prejudice against it. See Musical Instruments, in vol. vi, p. 762, col. i (3). The Presbyterian churches of Scotland have made stout and continued resistance against the use of or- gans. In the Church of Scotland the matter was dis- cussed in connection with the use of an organ by the congregation of St. Andrew's, Glasgow. The case was brought before the Presbytery of Glasgow, and no ap- peal was made. On Oct. 7, 1807, tlie following motion was carried :
"That the presbytery are of opinion that the use of the organ in the public worship of God is contrary to the law nf the land, and to the law and constitution of our Estab- lished Church, and therefore prohihit it in all the churches and chapels withiu their bounds."
In 1829 the question was brought up in the Relief Syn- od, as an organ had been introduced into Roxburgh Place Chapel, Edinburgh. The deliverance, given by a verj' large majority, was as follows :
"It being admitted and incontrovertibly true that the Rev. John Johnston had introduced in.'^tnnnental music into the public worship of God iu the Relief Congrega- tion, Roxburgh Place, Edinburgh, which innovation the synod are of opinion is unauthorized by the laws of the New Testament, contrary to the universal practice of the Church in the first and purest periods of her history, con- trary to the universal practice of the Church of Scotland, and contrary to the consuetudinary laws of the synod of Relief, and highly inexpedient, the synod agree to ex- press their regret that any individual member of their body should have liad the temerity to introduce such a dangerous innovation into the public worship of God in this country, which has a manifest tendency to offend many serious Christians and congiegations, and create a schism in the body, without having first submitted it to the consideration ofhis brethren according to nsual form. On all these accounts the synod agree to enjoin the Rev. John Johnston to give up this practice instauter, with cer- titication if he do not, the Edinbm-gh Presbytery shall hold a meeting on the second Tuesday of September next, and strike Ins name ofi' the roll of presbytery, and declare him incapable of holding ofHce as a minister iu the Relief denomination. And further, to prevent tlie re- currence of this or any similar practice, the synod enjoin a copy of this sentence to be sent to every minister in the synod, to be laid before his session, and read after public worship in his congregation, for their satisfaction, and to deter others from following similar courses iu all time coming."