- Componium
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The componium was a mechanical musical instrument constructed in 1821 by Dietrich Nikolaus Winkel (Lippstatt, Germany, 1773 - Amsterdam, Netherlands, 1826) that composed novel music. It was an automatic organ consisting of two barrels that revolve simultaneously. The barrels take turns performing two measures of randomly chosen music while the other pauses. The componium's compositional power is thus limited to new combinations of the music provided in its barrels. This Instrument was a copy of Johann Nepomuk Mälzels panharmonicon.
The componium, in a rather bad shape now, is in the collection of the Brussels Museum of Instruments.
Further reading
- Ord-Hume, W. J. G. (1978). Barrel Organ. George Allen & Unwin. ISBN 0047890053. Has some pictures of the componium.
External links
Categories:- Mechanical musical instruments
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