Please support the restoration of the Antegnati organ
The Antegnati Organ
The Church of S. Giuseppe in the historic centre of Brescia is the home of a unique masterpiece, the organ built in 1581 by Graziadio Antegnati with the collaboration of his son, Costanzo. GR DEUS ANTEGNATUS CIV BRIX A MDLXXXI (Graziadio Antegnati citizen of Brescia, in the year 1581) appears in gold lettering in four panels at the base of the case-front, while an engraved inscription inside the largest pipe indicates the fact that his son Costanzo took part in building the instrument.
In addition to the high quality of its construction, the instrument is remarkable on account of its towering proportions. It is notably the largest Antegnati organ to have survived, with a range from 58 keys: CC (16′) which gives it a rare depth of sound.
The twentieth century saw a fundamentally new approach to the question of the care of historic musical instruments.The restoration of this organ carried out under the direction of Luigi Ferdinando Tagliavini in the 1950s opened the door to a new sense of awareness so that such organs came to be regarded as genuine works of art that require care and conservation. Since then the very distinctive sound of this instrument as heard in recitals and recordings has come to be viewed as something of an ideal by musicians all over the world. It is now in such a condition that its sound cannot be appreciated.
A restoration that cannot be postponed
In addition to having suffered incorrect treatment over the centuries, today the Antegnati organ is threatened by pipe corrosion and deterioration of some wooden parts. Its functioning is much impaired and its preservation at risk.
Historic and scientific analysis show that immediate action must be taken. It is our duty to preserve this instrument so that it will provide an opportunity to rediscover and appreciate such a jewel of the history of organ-buiding.
Saving the Antegnati organ is tantamount to bringing back to life a unique piece of Europe’s heritage. If this is to succeed we need your help!
The organ and its church
From the very beginning S. Giuseppe was the church of the city’s artists and craftsmen. Here, from the end of the sixteenth century, was the centre for the artists’ and craftsmen’s guilds which also commissioned works of art to enrich the place that are still in evidence. It is therefore not surprising that it is in this church that many very notable artists and craftsmen are buried: the goldsmith and sculptor Bernardino delle Croci, the printer Francesco Tebaldino, the Venetian composer Benedetto Marcello, the violin-maker Gasparo da Salò, the organ-builder Cesare Bolognini and both of the famous Antegnatis, Graziadio e Costanzo. Here we have a full assembly of arts, crafts, and knowledge representing Brescia’s unique heritage, where the 16th-century organ of the Antegnati family can continue to evoke the echoes of a whole era.
The restoration project:
The restoration work is being promoted by the parish of SS. Faustino & Giovita which has the church of S. Giuseppe in its charge together with the Antegnati organ which belongs to the Italian state.
The project consists of:
- Preliminary investigations
- Dismantling the organ
- Restoration of the metal pipes, the main windchest, the pipe-rack, tracker action and stop mechanism
- Restoring pipes to their original length
- Reconstruction of the keyboard, the pedalboard and the stop-action on the lines of surviving contemporary examples
- Reconstruction of the bellows system
- Installation of an automatic system of operating the bellows (with software that can simulate operating them by hand)
- Restoration work on the walls of the bellows-chamber
- Restoration of the wooden organ-case, of the gallery, and of their painted decoratins (in charge of the Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio of the provinces of Brescia and Bergamo)
- Reassembling the organ
- The production of a technical-scientific report
The Laboratorio di Antropologia e Odontoiatria Forense of Milan University, under the direction fo Dr. Cristina Cattaneo will concurrently carry out anthropologic research to establish the history of the Antegnati family on the basis of remains preserved in the tomb beneath the church floor.
The Organ Restoration Committee
Parish priest of SS. Faustino & Giovita: Monsignor Gianbattista Francesconi
Secretary: Alberto Chiari
Marco Bizzarini,
Lucia Braghini,
Alberto Donini,
Umberto Forni,
Claudia Franceschini,
Massimiliano Guido,
Francesco Onofri,
Luigi Panzeri,
Marco Ruggeri,
Mariella Sala,
Roberto Soldati,
Susanna Soffiantini,
Giuseppe Spataro,
Bruno Strada
he restoration work will be carried out by: Marco Fratti
Would you like to know more about the Antegnati in S. Giuseppe?
Compile the form and we will send you a description of the instrument and its history.