St. James American Church Florence, Italy

The Henry Willis Organ at St. James Episcopal Church in Florence

I began looking after the old organ (badly built in 1978) in 1989 and soon realised that it was constructed of the cheapest materials possible and with a hotch-potch selection of pipes the tonal palette of which made little sense. Despite having 45 stops over three manuals, it was difficult to produce variations of tone, and with little power at 8 and 4 foot, the hymn leading relied on the many screaching mixtures. The building, however, had a fine acoustic and I knew that an organ built by the right builder would sound very well indeed.

Many years of planning and persuasion followed, but eventually in 2005 a contract was signed with the British company of Henry Willis & Sons. The manager was given carte blanche (within a budget!) of creating an organ to suit the building and Anglican stye of worship.

Here are a few shots of the construction.

The pipes of the Great

The pipes of the Swell, showing the flue pipes and Oboe on the left and the Waldhorn, Cornopean and Mixture on the right. The pedal division is shown below.