Clock with flutes and chimes

The first mechanical music dates from around the 10th century. Bells and soon chimes marked the passage of time in the Middle Ages. Every event had its own melody, such as the mournful tocsin. A cylinder with sprockets activated levers that struck the bells at the right moment. These ingenious sprocketed cylinders were used to produce other movements and sounds, opening and closing organ valves and vibrating chords and blades. This was the era of clocks with sets of bells, flutes and organ pipes. In the 18th century, clockmakers proud of their mechanical inventions showed off their mastery of their art in musical masterpieces such as these skeleton clocks. Their cylinders often had eight melodies side by side, composed by famous musicians such as Bach, Mozart and Händel.