Luogo e data di registrazione		-
	Registrazione: live / studio		studio
	Recording Supervision		-
	Edizione LP		TELEFUNKEN - 6.42812 AZ - (1 LP - durata 43' 29") - (p) 1983 - Digitale
	Originale LP		-
	Prima Edizione CD		-
	Note		Regal von Michael Klotz, Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nürnberg

In his "Syntagma musicum" of 1619 Michael Praetorius explained the concept "Regal" as follows: "The word Regall does not only mean Schnarrwerk (reeds), which are usually pipes made of brass in the Brustwerk at the front of the organ; rather is the term regall used in imperial, royal, electoral and princely chapels when one or more Schnarrwerke are concealed in a narrow, oblong box with two bellows at the back, which is placed on a table and can be conveniently used and indeed is much better for music-making than a harpsichord or symphony." The origin of the regal is intimately bound up with the development of reed stops on the organ. Pictorial evidence confirms the existence of regals from the beginning of the 16th century, and the oldest specimens still extant date from the second half of that century. In the period of 250 years up to the late baroque the instrument turned up in various constructions, the most frequent of which was that described by Praetorius, in which the pipes were arranged horizontally underneath the keyboard. The wind was supplied by two bellows at the back, into the underside of wich the main structure, consisting of keyboard, soundboard und pipes, could usually be folder, making the instrument portable. Regals could, however, also be built into games boards, books (bible regals) and tables. Table regals were particularly popular in France during the 18th century. In 1766 the organ builder Dom Bedos described them as "not suitable for concerts" but "a charming delight in the home". According to Praetorius the regal could be used "not only in princely establishments at mealtime and for other convivialities, but also in churches great and small, where it was almost better than a positive". A century later Johann Mattheson, in the "Neueröffnetes Orchestre" of 1713, expressed his surprise "that in this place (Hamburg) these rattling, most unpleasant regals are still in use in the churches". In his editorial notes on Nied's treatise his comments on the regal culminated with the words" ... If I so much as read or write about the regal I feel sick." The age of the regal in Germany was at an end. It had been in use from the beginning of the 16th century as a solo instrument in church, for processions, indoors and outdoors. It was also very popular as an accompanying instrument for church music, operas and oratorios, even for dance music; in the 18th century it was also in use in Germany for domestic devotions. The choice of music, ranging from the 16th to the 18th century, has been determined by the types of regal available. Sence no instrument from the early 16th century is preserved, the pieces from that period had to be reproduced on a regal dating from the second half of the century. The instruments were tuned to mean-tone temperament, although the pitch of individual regals was generally adhered to, atherwise there would have been even greater problems with tuning; even so, maintaining a stable intonation was sometimes difficult. On account of the characteristic sound pattern of the original instruments, however, slight inconsistencies, such as may occur when changing from one bellow to the other, appear insignificant; in this context it should be noted that variations in the reflective area produced by the movement of the bellows affect the sound of the regals. Reinhardt Menger (Translation: Lindsay Craig)