The 1677 Carboni Organ

Santuario Nostra Signora della Caravina,
Valsolda/Como, Italia

Introduction and History

The organ is located in a middle-sized baroque church in Valsolda/Italy near  Lugano. Due to large amount of marbled walls, the architecture has surprising acoustical properties with a rich and long reverberation. The organ was built by a the Ticinese organ manufacturer Michele Carboni in 1675 to 1677.  The original room ambience with a  reverberation time of about 4 seconds and the original tracker noises are captured precisely within this project.

This instrument is a typical historical Italian organ, which normally has one manual and a small pedalboard compass, serving only as a bass fundament. Italian historical organs normally serve especially for liturgical purposes and accompaniment of  the choir, thus being not a special solistic instrument . There are no combined stops, such as mixtures with a common repetition scheme found in other European organs. The overtone stops are realized as separate Principal ranks (very often up to 1/8 ') which only repeat in high keys, such having the ability to built very special tonal structures and mixture-like sounds. A typical stop is the "Voce umana", which is not a reed stop, but a special slightly detuned pipe rank for chorus like effects.  Italian organs are based on sonouros and warm Principal ranks and additionally have high and powerful overtone ranks for harpsichord like sounds.  The organ  has relations to Antegnati sound characteristics, having bright and rich overtones (compare the Venetian Callido 18th type).
Another special feature is the "Terzo mano" (third hand), an intra-manual octave coupler, which leads to an extraordinary full sound, but which was probably first added in 18th or 19th century and shouldn't normally be used for 17th century music. 

Unfortunately the organ was set to equal temperament in the 19th century. To get back its 17th century sound, we decided to set back the organ to mean tone temperament. The organ now can again be heard in its probably most authentic sound.

The Carboni organ is in a very good shape due to a lot of pilgrim donations for the Santuary.

 

SHORT HISTORY OF THE SANCTUARY*

On the international road between Lugano and Porlezza, on the shores of the Ceresio, locality Cressogno, you find the pretty and devotional Sanctuary of Madonna della Caravina.

Fogazzaro in his book "Piccolo Mondo Antico" sang romantically the poetic beauty of the spot where the Sanctuary stands, just on the threshold of Valsolda, the only land in Italy having been able over thousand years to preserve inviolate its liberty and independence. Indeed, since Charlemagne till May 15th 1783, when Valsolda was sadly admitted to Austria, it always stood as a free common under the high sovereignity of the Archbishop of Milan who has still the title of "Signore della Valsolda".

 

THE MIRACLE *

On May 1 1th 1562, Monday after Ascension-day and first day of the litanies according to the Ambrosian rite, towards midday ended in Cima the procession of Penance. The parishioners returned home a few at a time. Two women, Pedrina di Cortivo and Beltramina Mazzucchi, arrived at Caravina, wanted to enter the little chapel to greet the Madonna. They were astonished on seeing her weeping. Immediately the news spread like wildfire:  "The Madonna of Caravina is weeping!" Other miracles confirmed the same day the Virgin's miraculous weeping.  This miracle and other ones came to the ear of the Archbishop of Milan, at that time S. Carlo Borromeo. He ordered the canonical proceedings with the result that the Ecclesiastical Authorities proclaimed miraculous the picture of Caravina and ordered the foundation of a Sanctuary.

 

THE DIFFERENT STAGES OF THE CONSTRUCTION *

The first Sanctuary had been visited in 1570 and 1582 by S. Carlo. He made the affresco of the Madonna transferred to the high altar. Towards 1662, first centenary of the Madonna's tears, was built on the area of the first Sanctuary the actual one after the plan of Carlo Buzzi, architect of the Cathedral and Hospital Maggiore in Milan. The stuccoes are very valuable works of art by Giovanni Prando from Porlezza, the wonderful frescoes of the side-chapels and the high arch by two citizen from Campione, uncle and nephew, Isidoro and Gerolamo Bianchi. They made their self-portrait in two groups- Franciscan and Carmelite. In 1737, a short time before the second centenary, the actual high altar was built and in the third centenary, i.e. in 1862, they joined to the facade of the Sanctuary the pronaos having four pillars, made by Carlo Vicini from Valsolda. The pilgrims are crowding numerously for imploring over their spiritual and physical necessities the Holy Mother's weeping which will purge and forgive. In 1960, fourth centenary of the miracle the Madonna of Caravina entrusted the keys of Her House through His Eminence Cardinal Montini, into the hands of the Fathers of the Holy Heart of Betharram.

*Courtesy of the Santuary

Recording technique
The organ was recorded an processed in September 2003 with 44 kHz, 16 bit, 4-channels for Hauptwerk 1