Azzolino Bernardino Della Ciaja
1671 — 1755
Azzolino Bernardino della Ciaja was an Italian organist, harpsichordist, composer and organ builder.
Adapted from the Wikipedia article on Azzolino Bernardino della Ciaja.
From the period sources
Azzolino Bernardino Della Ciaja, a Knight of the Order of St. Stephen, was celebrated not only as a composer and organist but also as a “grand connaisseur dans la construction des orgues,” according to Biographie universelle des musiciens (1883). His published works include Salmi concertati (Bologna, 1700), Cantate da camera (Lucca, 1701, and Bologna, 1702), and Sonate per cembalo (Rome, 1727), with the Sonate also featuring “alcuni saggi ed altri contrapunti di largo et grave stile ecclesiastico per grandi organi” (1883). Beyond these, he left several masses, cantatas, motets, and organ sonatas in manuscript (Grove’s Dictionary, 1904; A Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 1879).
Della Ciaja’s passion for organ building culminated in his presentation of a magnificent organ to the church of the Knights of St. Stephen in Pisa in 1733. This instrument, which he not only superintended but also personally helped construct, was considered “un des plus beaux de l’Italie, et même de l’Europe,” boasting four manuals and over one hundred registers, many of his own invention (Biographie universelle des musiciens, 1837, 1883; Grove’s Dictionary, 1904). He had spent seventeen years in Rome specializing in organ construction, even building a twenty-register, two-manual organ there. Upon returning to Tuscany, he successfully petitioned to unite this instrument with the old organ of the Pisa church, offering to cover the expense. He ultimately installed four manuals instead of the proposed three, continuously adding registers until the instrument reached nearly one hundred. Della Ciaja employed several known organ builders from Naples, Rome, and Lucca, as well as younger talents like the Tronci brothers, who later gained renown (Biographie universelle des musiciens, 1883). He also provided the initial music lessons to Paul Salulini, who later became maestro of the Siena cathedral (Biographie universelle des musiciens, 1866).