In the early part of 2009 Henry Willis & Sons completed the installation of a new instrument for the Episcopal Church of St, James in Florence, Italy. The new instrument has 25 speaking stops spread over 2 manuals and pedals.
The key action
is mechanical while the stop action is electric. This new instrument has been installed with Willis' patented Floating Lever for use in the couplers providing both Octaves Graves and Octaves Aigues for the Great Organ.
The Specifiaction
of the completed organ is as follows;
Tuning: Willis Scale Pitch: C=523.3Hz @ 70°F
GREAT
Double Diapason 16
Open Diapason 8
Viola da Gamba
8
Flûte Harmonique 8
Principal
4
Twelfth
2.2/3
Fifteenth 2
Mixture
IV
Bombarde
8
Swell to Great
Octaves Aigues (Great)
Octaves Graves (Great)
Preparing & Machining timber for the Building Frame
Preparing & Machining timber for the Building Frame
The Swell Soundboards in situ together with Passageboards and Solenoid Trays
Bellows & Great Soundboards in situ and positioning of Swell Shutter Frames
The Side and Rear of the Swell Box
Manufacture of the Swell Shutters & fitting them to the Shutter Frame
Swell Box Chancel Front completed
and both Shutter Fronts in situ
Swell Soundboards
Soundboards nearing completion
Fitting Slider Seals to the underside of the upperboards
Great Slider Solenoids fitted & upperboards being positioned
The Rackboards are pricked
and bored to support the pipes
The first pipes are installed in the organ
Making Flying Rackboards for the Great Bombarde
The Great Pipework
The Cornopean in the Swell
Conveyances are made for carrying wind from the
Great Soundboards to the Front Pipes
Preparing Bellows Wells
& Floating Frames
Preparing Bellows Ribs
Positioning the Bellows
within the organ
Applying leather to the ribs
Approaching completion
Manufacture of letterbox wind trunking
Trunking ready for carrying wind around the organ
Trunking fitted and the wind is on!
Motor boards being made for the Floating Lever Machine
The partially assembled Floating Lever Machine
Levers assembled and regulated ready for fitting
The Pedal 16' Bourdon & 16' Contrebasse (both with inverted mouths) awaiting voicing
Great Harmonic Flute & Double Diapason
The Great Principal 4' on the Flue Voicing Machine
Pipework of the Great Organ
Fitting up the Great Bombarde
Bombarde on the voicing machine
Swell Cornopean and Gemshorn
Leathering membranes, making purses & valves and assembling Pedal off-note chests
Assembled Pedal off-note chest action
Pedal Contrebasse
Casework and Console Case in Solid Oak
The Casework being erected and attached to the organ
Key action squares, Jacks, and Rollerboard
Swell Keys and Console Chassis
Ceader for trackers being fed into the Tracker-making machine
Emerging round section ready to be fitted with wires and whipped
Some wire ends are threaded using a thread rolling machine
Completed trackers
Connecting up the console actions
Connecting the Rollerboards
Kneeboard with Toe Levers fittedmalso showing console actions running under the floor
Key Cheeks, Keyslips and drawstop jambs prior to polishing
The Organ arrives at the Church in Italy
Piece by piece the organ is carefully reassembled
The Floating Lever machine is connected
Case Pipes of Pure Tin being installed
