The 1551 Onofrio Zeffirini 6-foot Organ in Pieve Santo Stefano, Tuscany

The instrument preserved in the parish church of Pieve Santo Stefano, a lovely medieval church beautifully surrounded by hills covered with vineyards in the province of Lucca, is an excellent representation of Renaissance Tuscan organ building. Built in 1551 by Onofrio Zeffirini (1510-1580), a famous Tuscan organ builder from Cortona, this 6-foot organ has undergone changes over the centuries. The authorship of the organ remained unknown until the restoration work completed in 2003 by Glauco Ghilardi from Lucca: the organ builder's signature together with the date of construction were found inside one of the pipes of the facade, while the presence of the three sub-semitones was confirmed during the restoration phase by the organ expert Luigi Ferdinando Tagliavini (1929-2017). In the intervention of 2003, Ghilardi removed the material added over the centuries, including the 19th century Trumpets, restoring the organ to its original condition in 1551.

The organ has 6 stops, a keyboard with 42 keys (F-c3) without F# and G# and with 3 sub-semitones (a-flat, d#1 and a-flat1), pedal with 10 pedals (F-e) without F# and G# and constantly coupled to the keyboard. The pitch is 392 Hz, the pressure is 45 mm and it is tuned with a 1/4-comma Meantone temperament. The disposition is as follows:

Principale 6, Ottava 3, XV, XIX (repeating at f#2), XXII (repeating at c#2), Flauto in VIII 3.

This beautiful organ is the only surviving example of 6-foot Renaissance organ in Tuscany and, possibly, in Italy. I have had the pleasure of playing this instrument in several occasions, including two concerts on October 2, 2021 and October 16, 2022. Some recordings made in 2019 at Pieve Santo Stefano are available on my YouTube channel.