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| Restoration of the 1896 William Hill & Son organ at S. Francesco, Pistoia (Italy) |
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The organ was bought by the Accademia in 1997. When Martin saw it in 2002, it appeared to be largely intact, but in an amazing pile of bits. The general condition of the organ was quite good, though it had been dried out while still at Rosslyn Hill. The wind chests particularly had to be dismantled and restored. The pipes had been mishandled, but the voicing was generally unaltered. Three of the stops had been replaced in the 1970s – contemporary stops were found to replace them. The case had to be extended, as it was originally in a chamber and is now free-standing. The organ was inaugurated with a late Victorian evensong performed by the Welbeck Singers, with Naomi Gregory on organ, in the presence of notables from the town of Pistoia and the Fondazione. Our involvement with the
organ was the responsibility of Christopher Stembridge and Pier Paolo
Donati. Martin Goetze was in overall control of the restoration project.
Apart from our team, we were assisted particularly by Clive Sidney,
whose wife comes from Pistoia, by Warren Marsh and Mark Booth. Chris
Wells stained the new woodwork to match the old.
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