Making connections: William Byrd, 'virtual' networks and the English keyboard dance

Although an official inventory of Portuguese historic organs has yet to be prepared, enough information has been collected to allow a general comparison between the instruments built in Portugal and Spain during that period, and to indicate significant differences between Portuguese and Spanish organ building. One of the reasons for the changes wrought on the Portuguese organ landscape was the increase in organ building. Although differences can be found between Cerveira and Fontanes in terms of construction technique, several common features in the instruments of these two organ builders allow the identification of a type of 'Portuguese' organ of the late eighteenth century. The organs of Antonio Xavier Machado e Cerveira and Joaquim Antonio Peres Fontanes always use this system, even in the case of smaller-sized instruments, which suggests that the ability to perform rapid dynamic alternations was desired by players, regardless of the size of the instrument.