English: Milan Cathedral.
Italiano: Milano - Duomo.
This File: 30 January 2014.
Source: Own work.
This file is licensed under the
Share Alike 3.0 Unported Licence.
User: Чаховіч Уладзіслаў
(Wikimedia Commons)
Duomo of Milan.
The Church That Took 600 Years To Finish.
Available on YouTube
The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless stated otherwise.
Stained-Glass Window,
Milan Cathedral.
Photo: 18 September 2013.
Source: Own work.
Author: Max_Ryazanov.
(Wikimedia Commons)
In 1386, Archbishop Antonio da Saluzzo began construction of the Cathedral.[7] The start of the construction coincided with the ascension to power in Milan of the Archbishop’s cousin, Gian Galeazzo Visconti, and was meant as a reward to the noble and working classes, who had suffered under his tyrannical Visconti predecessor, Barnabò.
The construction of the Cathedral was also dictated by specific political choices: With the new construction site, the population of Milan intended to emphasise the centrality of Milan in the eyes of Gian Galeazzo, a prominence questioned by the choice of the new lord to reside and maintain his Court, like his father Galeazzo II, in Pavia, and not in Milan.[8]
Before work began, three main buildings were demolished: The Palace of the Archbishop; the Ordinari Palace; and the Baptistry of Saint Stephen at the Spring, while the old Church of Santa Maria Maggiore was exploited as a stone quarry.
Luigi Benedetti plays the Organ in the Duomo, Milan.
Available on YouTube
The Duomo di Milano Organ.
Built by Mascioni of Cuvio (Varese) and Tamburini of Crema in 1938, restored and relocated entirely in the Presbytery by Tamburini in 1986, the Grand Organ of the Duomo is the largest in Italy and firmly maintains its second place in Europe as regards the number of Pipes and Stops (surpassed only by the Organ of Passau Cathedral, in Germany) and is among the fifteen largest Organs in the World.
The current numbers of this giant are truly impressive:
15,800 Pipes, the highest over nine meters high, while the smallest measures just a few centimetres.
Five Organ Cases (Grand Organ North and South Side – Positive and Recitative North Side – Solo and Eco South Side – Choral at the Altar level).
Five Consoles (main Console with five manuals, Altar-side Console with three manuals, Choral Console with two manuals, two Apse Consoles with one manual).
Read about Milan Cathedral’s magnificent Organ
Design for the Crowning of Ferdinand I of Austria
at the Duomo in 1838, by Alessandro Sanquirico.
Date: 22 September 2014.
Source: http://www.gramilano.com/2013/11/sanquirico-designer-norma-anna-bolena-finally-rests-among-greats/
Author: Alessandro Sanquirico, before 1833
(Wikimedia Commons)
PART FOUR FOLLOWS.
Thank you for Part III, Zephyrinus, of this journey to the elegant and soaring Cathedral of Milan.
ReplyDeleteThus reader was struck by your photos of the stained glass windows. It seems the interior, particularly with its 3 magnificent apse stained glass windows, the oldest part of the cathedral, stun the visitor. They rise over 22 meters high (72’) above the cathedral floor and can imaginethey flood the interior with glorious multi-colored reflected light throughout the day with the transit of the sun. (Part I, comment by Dante P)
(Part II) And the pipe organ (with a wonderful Zephyrinus example from a Good Friday performance)! This reader, who is often mistaken, had no idea it is the 2nd largest in Europe in terms of total stops (ranks), with 5 divisions on either side of the presbytery, as mentioned by Zephyrinus (to where it has been moved sometime in the 1980’s), an Echo Division in the back of the cathedral, and four (16’-8’-8’-4’) commanding “enchamade” (horizontal) trumpets in a “floating “ division (meaning it can be played from any keyboard)which can be soloed against full organ . In fact its Solo division, usually in a typical large cathedral organ numbering about 8 or so stops, is nearly 20 {likely} large-scaled voices
ReplyDeleteItaly’s two top pipe organ manufacturing firms, both of which also have installed and continue to maintain the pipe organs of the major Vatican basilicas, Tamburini (in nearby Crema, Lombardy, Italy) and Mascioni (Azzio, also in Lombardy, but in the foothills of the Alps) maintain the organ, which because of its enormous size and many changes and additions, is a challenge. It is said that in moving the instrument from the original loft position, some of its grandest original sonorities had been altered and the two firms are presently making additional alterations, “trying to recover the 1930’s-era sound” (a common problem when an instrument voiced and scaled for a certain high loft positioning, is moved to the lower front chancel area “for the New Liturgy,” one suspects).
Thank you, Zephyrinus for another first-class trip to Milano (without the first-class price). -Comment by Dante P
How wonderful that this particular Post evoked such delight, admiration, and instruction for all Readers, from our Mediæval Liturgical and Organ Correspondent, Dante P.
DeleteDante P's contribution certainly delighted Zephyrinus, and no doubt many Readers, with this in-depth addition to our knowledge of Milano's most wondrous Cathedral Organ and its history.
Thank you, Dante P.
Mille Grazie !!!