Regal
Small organ with reed pipes.
What it means
The regal is a small organ that has reed pipes exclusively. The pipes are very short and have tiny resonators, so that the instrument stays small. A bellows supplies the wind, usually worked by a helper. The sound is sharp, buzzing and nasal.
Musical use
The regal was popular in the 15th to 17th centuries and served to accompany singing and for figured bass, for instance in Claudio Monteverdi's Orfeo (1607), where it is used for the underworld. A special form is the Bibelregal, which could be folded shut like a book. Later the regal was displaced by larger organs and the harpsichord. In the organ the name also denotes a single reed stop.
The regal should be distinguished from the positive organ, which has flue pipes, and from the portative, which is carried.
Performance practice
When you accompany on a regal, think of the sharp tone color: keep the notes short and distinct, since a buzzing sound easily covers fast movement. Adjust the tuning carefully, since reed pipes are sensitive.