St Francis of Assisi Church, Valletta
About the Organ
The Mascioni Organ - St.Francis Church, Valletta.
The Friary Church of St. Francis in Republic Street Valletta has the good fortune to possess a fine pipe organ built in 1932 by the Italian firm of Mascioni. This instrument is listed as Opus 443, one of 11 examples around the Maltese islands the largest of which is situated in the Co-Cathedral, Valletta.
In 2014 the organ was restored an upgraded by Noel Gallo & Michael Farley Organ Builders. It was the first pneumatic action organ in Malta that was converted to electro-pneumatic action and now playable from two consoles.
The pipework and tone of this modest size organ is excellent and one the Church is proud of. The speech and the pipework has been carefully restored and preserved throughout. Layers of dirt which accumulated throughout the years has been removed and every one of the more than 1,400 pipes, which range in length from 16’ to the size of a pencil, removed and carefully cleaned. Some required specialist repair before being replaced, tuned and finely regulated. This particular organ has a unique named stop found in Malta the ‘Corno camoscio’ which is a soft toned stop and a Mixture stop (Ripieno) of 6 to 5 ranks.
The original action – the mechanism between the keyboards and the valves, which allow wind into the pipes – was operated pneumatically which involved a series of lead tubes from each key sending wind through an intricate labyrinth of machines containing thousands of valves and action parts many of which were made of very thin leather. With such limited space inside the organ and the heat and humidity of the Maltese climate it was impossible to maintain in reliable order, therefore a new electro-pneumatic action has been introduced. This has simplified the action, removed the need for 90% of the fine leather and allowed the organ to be made more resourceful. Modern technology now operates the action whilst maintaining totally the tonal qualities and pipework in its original form.
Such technology has enabled an additional console to be placed at ground level in the Church. The console attached to the organ has been restored and functions as it always did but the ground level console has additional playing aids; - i.e. an transposing device and pistons – these are buttons that can be preset to bring
out a selection of stops in the middle of a piece of music instantly assisting the organist in dynamic control of the instrument.
A playback system has been fitted which enables an organists to pre-recording music so the organ can still be played if an organist is not available when required. Similar to a pianola and player organ did with rolls in years gone by.
Despite this new technology, the wind system is still operated by a series of reservoirs or bellows, which are ribbed and rise when wind from a blowing plant is delivered to it. These four bellows, which take up most of the floor area at the lower level, steady the wind and regulate the amount of pressure that is delivered to the pipes.
The ribs and corners of these bellows are still covered with traditional sheepskin and cow hide leather (though a much thicker variety than the smaller action motors that have been removed). Traditional restoration methods using hot animal glue is still employed on this part of the restoration.
The Friary Church of St. Francis in Republic Street Valletta has the good fortune to possess a fine pipe organ built in 1932 by the Italian firm of Mascioni. This instrument is listed as Opus 443, one of 11 examples around the Maltese islands the largest of which is situated in the Co-Cathedral, Valletta.
In 2014 the organ was restored an upgraded by Noel Gallo & Michael Farley Organ Builders. It was the first pneumatic action organ in Malta that was converted to electro-pneumatic action and now playable from two consoles.
The pipework and tone of this modest size organ is excellent and one the Church is proud of. The speech and the pipework has been carefully restored and preserved throughout. Layers of dirt which accumulated throughout the years has been removed and every one of the more than 1,400 pipes, which range in length from 16’ to the size of a pencil, removed and carefully cleaned. Some required specialist repair before being replaced, tuned and finely regulated. This particular organ has a unique named stop found in Malta the ‘Corno camoscio’ which is a soft toned stop and a Mixture stop (Ripieno) of 6 to 5 ranks.
The original action – the mechanism between the keyboards and the valves, which allow wind into the pipes – was operated pneumatically which involved a series of lead tubes from each key sending wind through an intricate labyrinth of machines containing thousands of valves and action parts many of which were made of very thin leather. With such limited space inside the organ and the heat and humidity of the Maltese climate it was impossible to maintain in reliable order, therefore a new electro-pneumatic action has been introduced. This has simplified the action, removed the need for 90% of the fine leather and allowed the organ to be made more resourceful. Modern technology now operates the action whilst maintaining totally the tonal qualities and pipework in its original form.
Such technology has enabled an additional console to be placed at ground level in the Church. The console attached to the organ has been restored and functions as it always did but the ground level console has additional playing aids; - i.e. an transposing device and pistons – these are buttons that can be preset to bring
out a selection of stops in the middle of a piece of music instantly assisting the organist in dynamic control of the instrument.
A playback system has been fitted which enables an organists to pre-recording music so the organ can still be played if an organist is not available when required. Similar to a pianola and player organ did with rolls in years gone by.
Despite this new technology, the wind system is still operated by a series of reservoirs or bellows, which are ribbed and rise when wind from a blowing plant is delivered to it. These four bellows, which take up most of the floor area at the lower level, steady the wind and regulate the amount of pressure that is delivered to the pipes.
The ribs and corners of these bellows are still covered with traditional sheepskin and cow hide leather (though a much thicker variety than the smaller action motors that have been removed). Traditional restoration methods using hot animal glue is still employed on this part of the restoration.
History
St. Francis of Assisi Church, Valletta.
Situated near the top of Republic Street, the busy main road in Valletta, the Church of St Francis is worth a visit both for its artistic quality and for the classical music concerts held frequently in its baroque oratory. Built in 1598 by the Franciscans, it was entirely rebuilt in 1681 by the Italian Grand Master Gregorio Carafa, whose coat of arms in Maltese stone embellishes the church facade.
Carafa is celebrated inside the church. Mattia Preti painted an exquisite altarpiece with Saint Mary with the Child and Saint Anne, Saint Gregory Thaumaturgus and the portrait of Grand Master Gregorio Carafa. The scene shows St Gregory presenting to the Virgin a portrait of the Grand Master, a ’painting within a painting’ executed with great skill. Carafa also commissioned from Preti an entire cycle of paintings dedicated to Saint Francis of Assisi and Saint Anthony of Padua. On the main altar you can see the Miracle by Saint Anthony of Padua, while to the sides lie the Vision of Saint Francis and the Virgin donating the cord to gird the habit to Saint Francis.
Finally, by the first altar on the right, is found one of the few paintings actually dated and signed by Mattia Preti: Saint Luke drawing Saint Mary with the Child, which includes the painter’s coat of arms and the Latin abbreviation Fecit Matthia Preti-1671.
Saint Luke is the patron saint of artists and it is arguable that by painting him Preti wanted to a certain extent to celebrate himself and his art. In fact, Grand Master Carafa was so pleased with the final result that Preti became his favourite painter, at which point Preti had no problems in obtaining further major commissions from his new patron.
(Text taken from visitmalta.com)
Situated near the top of Republic Street, the busy main road in Valletta, the Church of St Francis is worth a visit both for its artistic quality and for the classical music concerts held frequently in its baroque oratory. Built in 1598 by the Franciscans, it was entirely rebuilt in 1681 by the Italian Grand Master Gregorio Carafa, whose coat of arms in Maltese stone embellishes the church facade.
Carafa is celebrated inside the church. Mattia Preti painted an exquisite altarpiece with Saint Mary with the Child and Saint Anne, Saint Gregory Thaumaturgus and the portrait of Grand Master Gregorio Carafa. The scene shows St Gregory presenting to the Virgin a portrait of the Grand Master, a ’painting within a painting’ executed with great skill. Carafa also commissioned from Preti an entire cycle of paintings dedicated to Saint Francis of Assisi and Saint Anthony of Padua. On the main altar you can see the Miracle by Saint Anthony of Padua, while to the sides lie the Vision of Saint Francis and the Virgin donating the cord to gird the habit to Saint Francis.
Finally, by the first altar on the right, is found one of the few paintings actually dated and signed by Mattia Preti: Saint Luke drawing Saint Mary with the Child, which includes the painter’s coat of arms and the Latin abbreviation Fecit Matthia Preti-1671.
Saint Luke is the patron saint of artists and it is arguable that by painting him Preti wanted to a certain extent to celebrate himself and his art. In fact, Grand Master Carafa was so pleased with the final result that Preti became his favourite painter, at which point Preti had no problems in obtaining further major commissions from his new patron.
(Text taken from visitmalta.com)
