Portative organ

Portative organ (Fr.: orgue portatif; Ger.: Portativ), small, portable organ that first appeared in the 12th c. and disappeared in the 16th c., used both for secular purposes and in church processions. Characteristically it was carried by its player, suspended from a band around his neck and held at right angles to the body. The bellows, in back of the instr., were worked by the player's left hand, the keyboard by his right. A treble instr., the portative originally had a compass of 2 octs…