Name of Instrument: organo di legno

Maker / Brand:

Stearns Catalog #: 1347

Country of Origin: Italy

Region of Origin: Europe

Instrument Category: Aerophone

Date of Fabrication:

Location:

Description: This instrument may have come to the Stearns Collection from a highly questionable source--Leopoldo Franciolini. Many Franciolini instruments are forgeries or interesting hybrids of original instruments and scrap wood. In this case, we have an Italian Organo di Legno described in the 1921 Stearns Catalogue as: being in an upright wooden case with eighteen silvered "dummy " pipes in front. There are three draw stops; foot pedals are attached to lowest octave of keys. Each register contains forty-five pipes, all of metal, with the exception of the twelve lowest pipes of the Stopped Diapason which are of wood. In addition to this "stop" the organ contains the Flute and Super-octave. The bellows are blown by means of a handle. Its tone is very sweet and soft, as the pipes have a small percentage of tin. By means of rods running through iron rings the instrument could be transported. Its compass- from E to c".

When this instrument was restored in the 1980s by Dana Hull, she contacted Umberto Pineschi, an Italian instrument expert to discuss her findings. While Pineschi found the organ in its pre-restoration condition to be from the early 1800s, he also noted that it had been modified both before and after the early 1800s. Pineschi found one set of pipes to be almost identical to an extant set of Italian organ pipes from the 1500s. Hull's investigations also pointed out other curiosities: the instrument did not have a divided keyboard, as would be expected; the instrument had hardware that predated the 1800s (lock, handles); and, finally, the windchest and organ case showed clear evidence of having been expanded from a much smaller instrument--possibly an early Italian portativ organ. This organ, with its rich history of transformation, it thought to be the only antique instrument of its type in the United States.

Research: Dana Hull and Stearns Staff