If you are an organist in Venice, you can’t be afraid of climbing ladders or have a fear of heights. Otherwise you’d never be able get to the organ console.

We walked to the first church we visited today, within a block of our hotel—the Chiesa di San Trovaso where the Gaetano Callisto organ dates from 1765, and at one time was considered the most famous organ in Venice. Nicola Sari, a student of our tour leader, Roberto Antonella, gave us a short demonstration of this instrument and what I was struck by was the wide range of its tonal colors and the crystal clear voicing.

The next hour at the church was open console time which means that anyone in the group who wished to play could do so. In our group of 40, there are 23 who pre-signed up to play, and we followed a strictly alphabetical  order. First “at bat” in our group is Minnesota Public Radio host Michael Barone; I am number six.

Everyone who played the organ had to confront the almost vertical “ladder” to get to the console. I was used to climbing many spiral staircases to get to organs, but climbing this ladder was a first. Some of our group depend on canes for walking, but even they were brave enough to climb up here.

When I got to the top what I was really surprised to see was all the graffiti on the organ case! To say that I was shocked was putting it mildly, although it can’t be seen by the average churchgoer.

When it was my turn to play, I found that middle C was not in the middle of the keyboard but was off to the right because of extra notes beginning with F-1. I was also fascinated by the lever at the top of the stop knobs, which was a mechanical way to pull the stops for full organ. Sorry for the poor quality of the video below, but this was really fascinating to me.

We next visited the 1743 Pierre Nacchini organ at the Chiesa San Rocco in a building which is remarkable for the elaborate choir loft. Apparently this was only a temporary structure in 1789 to accommodate 30-35 singers for a festive occasion—designed to give “impressive solemnity and glamour to a grand ceremony and then taken down, much like the great Baroque stage machines.” A historic reconstruction of this choir loft was made permanent in 2013.

Getting to the San Rocco organ required navigating a spiral staircase but was easy to do in comparison to the ladder at San Trovaso. But if you’re claustrophobic….

Here’s a little video excerpt of the San Rocco instrument.

After lunch, we walked back to the church next door: the Basilica di Santa Barbara del Frari, where several people took advantage of the two organs placed across from each other above the elaborately carved and gilded choir stalls. The organ on the left side was a 1732 Giovani Battista Piaggi while the organ on the right was newer and larger, a 1795 Gaetano Callido organ. We heard several selections for two organs featuring antiphonal sections with the instruments playing separately as well as together. Again we had to climb steep steps like a ladder to access the organ.

Michael Barone remained in the organ loft after his turn to help me with the registration of my selection of Quattro Corrente by Frescobaldi then graciously took my picture at the console!

In case you are wondering why I’m not wearing my organ shoes, it’s because the piece I chose was for manuals only. You can see also the very limited and short pedalboard.

Of note was the marker in the third chapel to the left of the altar, denoting where composer Claudio Monteverdi is buried.