Este, 1937 [Hauptwerk]

Mascioni, op. 498 (1937), Este, Italy

The church of Santa Madonna delle Grazie in Este (PD), contains a mid-sized organ by the leading Italian firm Mascioni. It was created in 1937 as their opus 498. The organ has two manuals, pedal, and 28 speaking stops. The organ spans the space over the presbytery on both the left (G.O. + Pedal) and on the right (Ripieno) of the altar. The organ console is situated behind the altar.

The description of the original church, built in 1489 by the Conventual Dominicans, already mentions an organ installed in the choir. However, there are no indications of its supplier, nor of what kind of organ it might have been. But we know the Dominicans often turned to external firms rather than to the local area.

In 1717, construction began on the current basilica, which is larger than the previous structure. Here, too, we find references to an organ; the most explicit information can be found in a note from 1885 that refers to the construction of the staircase leading to the venerated icon of the Madonna. In this note, the writer complains that the staircase was rebuilt several times because it 'had to pass through one of the rooms where the organ was placed'.

The organ that exists today was built by the Mascioni di Cuvio organ company, inaugurated in 1937 by the famous maestro Concertista and composer Oreste Ravanello. This event completed both the installation of the new organ and the transition of the church from parish to basilica.

The organ served well for half a century, after which its restoration was carried out in 1980 by the Ruffatti company. One other repair, including replacement of the keyboards and modification of the electrical system, was carried out in 2006 by the organ builders Scarparo and Vecchiato.

The instrument is a fine example of the Italian Cecilian reform organ. Its multifaceted symphonic characteristics are remarkable, notwithstanding the limited stop layout. The stops blend extremely well and the glorious church acoustics (the reverb time up to 7 seconds) adds to the spectacular result. Both manuals have full principal choruses crowned with multi-rank mixtures. There are the typical solo stops Viola, Dulciana, Flute 8 (which is a Flute harmonique), colorful reeds Clarinetto and Trompeta, and there are two undulating stops, very characteristic for Italian repertoire. The first one, the Coro Viole on the Recitativo, is intended to be combined with the Viola 8'. The Coro Viole is a three-rank string stop, where one of the ranks is made to beat against all the others. The effect is decisively pronounced, almost creating the effect of a singing choir. The second undulating voice is the Unda Maris on the Grande Organo manual, which is traditionally combined with the Principale 8' of the Grande Organo to produce an ample and rapid beating that is indispensable for Italian music such as the Elevation of the host. A tip: try decreasing the beating of the Unda Maris by about -5 cents using the Hauptwerk voicing, and combine it with the Flute 8 to experience a mystical beauty of the beating flutes.