Swallow's nest organ

In swallow's nest organs from the Renaissance period, the base of the suspended platform, called a tribuna, typically tapered into a point.

[2] Swallow's nest organs were particularly common in churches during the Middle Ages and Renaissance where they were symbolic of "divine music" stemming from the effect of the instrument floating above the congregation.

[3][4] The first "great organ" at the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris was a swallow's nest built in the early 1300s and suspended above the nave.

The oldest swallow's nest organ which still plays, was built in 1435 and is housed in the Notre-Dame de Valère basilica in Sion, Switzerland.

In this painting a swallow's nest organ with its chest doors open is depicted behind two large columns with the congregation gathered below.