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Comm. I 6 o s Gianf ranco Miscia & Marco Tiella
Keyboard instruments building in Abruzzo (Central Italy)
Gianfranco Miscia
Keyboard instrument making of the 19th century in Lanciano (Abruzzo, Italy)
Lanciano is the main town of the Frentana area in southern Abruzzo, which
became a bishopric in 1515 and an archbishopric in 1562. The organ building
tradition in Lanciano may date back to the 16th century, as the musical
traditions of the town were already consolidated at that time. Among the most
important musicians of Lanciano we must mention Ippolito Sabino, composer
of madrigals in the 16th century, Fedele Fenaroli, teacher and composer in the
18th century, and Francesco Masciangelo in thel9th century. This is the general
context in which the keyboard instrument makers worked and about which we
have information from reliable sources.
Important data about organ builders born or working in Lanciano were
collected by Corrado Marciani. From his studies we know that Andrea and
Jacobo Vicentino came to Lanciano from Venice in 1542 and that they probably
built the organ of the Annunciata church, which was then the cathedral 1 . It also
appears from his work that Francesco Paolo Sabino, an organ builder born in
Lanciano, in 1551 signed a contract in Vasto (not far from Lanciano) for the
construction of an organ for the San Salvo church 2 . There is no doubt that the
most important organ builder was Camillo Sabino, who built the organs of
Santa Maria del Ponte and S. Francesco in Lanciano, of the cathedral of Ascoli
Piceno in 1561, of the churches of S. Maria Maggiore in Ripatransone (1564-
1565), of S. Pietro Martire in Ascoli (1569) 3 , of S. Agostino in Offida (1573) 4 , of
the cathedral of Termoli and of the Chiesa Maggiore of Guglionesi (1574) 5 . The
characteristics of these last two instruments are known from the contracts
written in Lanciano. The organs had 45 keys, 9 stops 6 with "lo tremolante, lo
tamburro, lo rosignolo seu l'uccellino" (tremulant, drums, nightingale or bird).
A sum of 360 ducats was paid for these organs.
We know that all through the 17th century the activity of the organ builders'
family Sabino flourished, but information deriving from the 18th century is
scarce, apart from the findings of Marciani. In Marciani's opinion the influence
of the Neapolitan school of Felice Cimmino reached Lanciano, in contrast with
the influence of the Venetian school to which all of the Sabino organ builders
belonged 7 . Owing to the lack of documents it is impossible better to describe
what happened in Lanciano during the 18th century. It is evident that
somebody took care of the instruments, as the activity of the Cappella Musicale
of the Santa Casa del Ponte church in this period was remarkably intense. In
the 18th century the Cappella was directed by Francesco Antonio Fenaroli,