Bernardo Pasquini: Variazioni per il Paggio Todesco, Michael Borgstede - Organ (made from wood)

Michael Borgstede - organo di legno

I had been to the beautiful city of Montepulciano a few times before I discovered this stunning organ in the church Santa Maria delle Grazie, outside of the ancient city. It’s a bit of a walk but the reward is an instrument that really is unique in the true sense of the world.
As far as I know it is one of only two surviving baroque instruments with pipes made from cypress wood. The other organ is located in the ‘Silberne Kapelle’ in Innsbruck. But the one in Montepulciano is unique in that really the complete instrument is made from wood: From the smallest pipe with 3.8 cm to the biggest one with almost 2 ½ meters.
The history of this instrument is a bit foggy: We know that between 1713 and 1717 the Dominican monk Antonio Buratti, an organ builder specialized in the construction of entirely wooden instruments, lived in the nearby convent of Sant'Agnese. During the four years of his stay in Montepulciano, he built a new organ for the church of Sant'Agnese. The instrument was replaced in 1832 by a larger one and most likely taken to the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, where it is still to be found today. It was restored by Pier Paolo Donati from 1980 to 1983 and is still in remarkably good condition.

The temperament is ¼ comma meantone, the ambitus is C1-C5 with a short octave in the bass and coupled pedal. Obviously everything is mechanical.
The disposition is:
Principale
Ottava
Decima Quinta e Nona
Vigesima Seconda e Nona
Flauto in Ottava
Flauto in Duodecima
Flauto in Decima Quinta

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