The Italian Organ
Housed at St Mark’s for the Royal Academy of Music, the Italian Organ was built by the Neopolitan organ builders Michelangelo and Carlo Sanarica in 1763, with some earlier pipework dating from the seventeenth century.
Inscribed “MICHAEL’ANGELUS SANARICS CRITALIENSIS” it was restored in 2004 by Riccardo Loerenzini.
With almost completely original parts and casework, there are ten stops and the tuning temperament is Quarter Comma Meantone and the pitch is A=410 cps (somewhat lower than standard modern pitch at A=440 cps.).
Specification:
Principale 8
Octave 4
Twelfth 2 2/3
Fifteenth 2
Nineteenth 1 1/3
Twenty Second 1
Tutti
Voce Humane 8
Musette
Birdsong