What is this organ?

[Albert]

I happened upon this video and a couple of others on the same instrument. Does anyone recognize the organ?
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbSVI2rQ2a0

 

[acc]

I'm afraid I don't recognize the organ, but I cannot resist replying anyway: the talent of this young (and apparently unknown) fellow racmajunior is fantastic! So thanks for sharing that link, Albert. :cheers:

 

[dll927]

Is it the "choir" organ at St. Sulpice? I've seen another tape of Roth playing that organ, and it looks similar. (Does Roth miss those other three manuals?)

 

[acc]

Well, it seems that this video has been filmed at the same console, and there, you can clearly see a wall on the left hand side of the console. That wall is definitely too close to be St-Sulpice.

 

[Bombard]

hey, could tell me the name of that video? because the linke won't work for me.

 

[Corno Dolce]

Aloha dll927,

Its definitely not the Orgue de Choeur in St. Sulpice:

http://www.stsulpice.com/Docs/choir.jpg

The console in the vid is turned the wrong way.

Cheerio,

CD

 

[dll927]

It seems that C-C provided a number of those choir organs, and they may be just about cookie-cutter productions.

Some comments about that shot of the one at St. Sulpice - 1) that is one ritzy console, testimony to the craftsmanship of those days 2) the pipes in the corners look like an awful temptation for little boys of whatever age!! 3) that shot must have been taken back in Widor's time - somehow it looks rather ancient.

There seem to have been a few instances (St. Clotilde?) where he built the consoles the "wrong" way -- that is facing toward the altar instead of into the organ case. That must have made the connections somewhat complicated. That Aristide must have been a genius.

 

[acc]

hey, could tell me the name of that video? because the linke won't work for me.

It's called

Prelude (extract) and Fugue in Eb Maj (live)

(also by Racmajunior).

 

[Corno Dolce]

Cavaille-Coll was an, for lack of a better term, *Artisan-Engineer*. His instruments, even the small ones, are a testament to skill, ingenuity, forethought and consummate mastery.

Btw, here's a YouTube of the choir organ at St. Sulpice:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_WUiD65knM&fmt=18

 

[dll927]

That's the one I was referring to. And yes, I agree that C-C had to have been one out of many. There's a story that when the organ at St. Ouen was built, he nearly bankrupted his company making sure that the organ was what he wanted it to be.

 

[Corno Dolce]

Aloha dll927,

Maybe our colleague acc can fill in the details about CC which escapes most of us. I have heard that CC went to great lengths to make superior instruments, to the extent that he would *overextend* the bottom line, thus putting into jeopardy the very firm he created.

Cheerio,

CD

 

[Albert]

I'm afraid I don't recognize the organ, but I cannot resist replying anyway: the talent of this young (and apparently unknown) fellow racmajunior is fantastic! So thanks for sharing that link, Albert. :cheers:

I enjoyed his playing, and I also enjoyed some of his compositions that are in YouTube. He has some piano works as well. Looking at the two consoles, it might by a Cavaille-coll, but whatever it is, I love the flues!

 

[Corno Dolce]

I sent an email to racmajunior and he mentioned that the organ in question is made by Louis Debierre.

 

[acc]

The known fact is that CC drove his company into (near) bankruptcy in his later years. It is also known that he routinely let the costs of an organ go beyond what was agreed in the initial proposal.

But although this bankruptcy is often linked specifically to St-Ouen, I do not know of any historically serious proof of this.

The only source I'm aware of is an interview given by an 80 year old Marcel Dupré, who tells that when he was 10 years old, he overheard CC telling his father about how much St-Ouen had cost him. I'd expect historical truth to be based on harder evidence than that!

Another important factor could be that competition became stiffer: for example, in 1891, two important building projects were not awarded to CC (Valenciennes, which went to Merklin, and Antwerp, which went to Schyven).

 

[greatcyber]

hey, could tell me the name of that video? because the linke won't work for me.

It's a shame the links don't work for you. Whenever this happens, simply hover over the link and right click and select properties. This will give you the location and you can then copy and paste it into your browser.

Hope this helps.

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As for everyone asking where this organ is located, I have sent an email to the musician who posted the link on youtube and requested the info. Will post it as soon as I get a response.

 

[greatcyber]

As requested, This organ is located in a French city called Vannes, in the region Bretagne.

 

[pcnd5584]

That's the one I was referring to. And yes, I agree that C-C had to have been one out of many. There's a story that when the organ at St. Ouen was built, he nearly bankrupted his company making sure that the organ was what he wanted it to be.

Not quite - it was largely a result of the Franco-Prussian hostilities (July 1870 - May 1871). English friends were influential in gaining him some contracts in the UK, although his instruments did not become as popular as might be hoped and his influence remained chiefly in the north of England, some isolated exceptions being the instruments at the abbeys of Paisley and Farnborough.

In any case, he did not exactly undercharge for his services. For his work at Nôtre-Dame de Paris (admittedly over the period 1862-8), he charged FF65,899.40. I estimate this to be approximately equal to a current value of £850,000, or $1,209,677 at today's exchange rate.