The water organ dates to 3rd Century BC Alexandria, and is thought to be the first keyboard musical instrument in history. Also known as the hydraulis or hydraulic organ, its invention is usually credited to the scientist Ctesibius.
While the actual sounds from the organ pipes were produced much like today's pipe organs, the air that is required to pass through the pipes was powered by running water. The rising water within a chamber known as the camera aeolis would compress the air at the top, providing the potential energy for the air to surge through the appropriate pipe when triggered to make a musical note.
The source of water for water organs was usually a natural stream, but the famous Coliseum in Rome featured a water organ fed by an elaborate aquaduct system that also provided drinking water and even flush toilets for the patrons.
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In addition to having a keyboard, many water organs were capable of playing continuous music thanks to rotating cylinders. These cylinders had projections, or bumps, strategically placed so as to activate the right key at the right moment. The resulting music could be monophonic or polyphonic, much like the player pianos that followed centuries later. So long as the water source remained flowing, the cylinder would replay whatever its content indefinitely,
Water organs remained popular until the end of the Sixteenth Century, and are mentioned as existing in Italy, Hungary, and as far away as the British Isles. One famous water organ was powered by a waterfall at the Italian villa d'este in Tivoli.
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