The Friary Church and Basilica of Our Lady of Porto Salvo and St. Dominic in Valletta, is
home to an organ with an interesting history. During the course of its lifetime, it was rebuilt
several times and gradually evolved into an instrument which could cater for the service
needs of the church, as necessitated by the different periods in history.

The organ started its life at this church in 1801, presumably a relocated adaptation from
an older instrument. When the new church was rebuilt, another organ was installed in 1822,
a work by a Benedictine monk fromMessina. The casework for this organ is the same one we still find today. From then on, various works were carried out on it in different periods where the organ was progressively repaired, restored and also enlarged.

Prior to this latest restoration and rebuilding work, the pipe organ had survived as a
mechanical action instrument with 12 stops playable from a keyboard of 54 notes and a
pedalboard of 25 notes. It was the installation of an electric organ in the 1970s that had sadly and slowly brought about its demise.

In 2019, it was finally decided that the organ should be restored, enlarged, and made playable once more from a detached console at ground level, for practical reasons. Organ builders Noel Gallo and Michael Farley were commissioned to take on the specialist task of restoring the historic casework, reversing alterations made during the 1930s, rebuilding, assessing, treating and restoring the pipework from the early organs as well as pipes from more recent jobs.

After a detailed analysis of the organ’s state of disrepair, it was recommended that the organ needed to be totally restored, partly rebuilt, upgraded, and even enlarged. It now incorporates a new tonal scheme, together with additional reconditioned pipework brought over from other sources, with tones that blend and contrast with the organ’s original pipework. The organ’s phonic structure has been reorganised and therefore the historical pipework can be played in its former glory, with additional sounds that broaden the scope for modern-day music. With this rebuild, the organ now boasts 45 stops, played from two consoles of three manuals of 61 notes each, and a pedalboard of 32 notes which also incorporates playing aids such as a registration pre-setting, a transposer and a playback system.

Now that Gallo and Farley’s expert intervention is complete, the organ has been given a new lease of life, not only for liturgical use, but also as a versatile instrument which can be used for contemporary performing art repertoires. The organ is available for every type of music, even for high standard concerts.

It has been restored in such a way so as to make it more practical and easily accessible. The historical portion of the instrument has been faithfully preserved and can now be enjoyed by the community for generations to come.