| The opportunity was too important to miss; our French colleagues had
arranged for a week of programs with private access to 33 organs and recitals.
The incentive attracted nearly 200 from 85 firms and 18 countries; a memorable
and exciting congress. The early cafeteria food, skillful Paris pickpockets,
and hot August weather created some difficulties, but these were soon forgotten
as we entered the mystical grandeur of the churches to Paris has been home to more organ composers than any other city: Franck,
Vierne, Widor, Clérambault, Couperin, Duruflé, Dupré, Messiaen, Boëly,
Tournemire, Mulet, Marchand, Dandrieu, and others. These were heard on
instruments built by Cliquot, Cavailid-Coll, Mutin, Gonzales, etc. Not heard,
and possibly out-of-favor, were Langlais, Bonnet, Lefdbure-Wely and Though no untouched ancient organ exists near Paris, the important
instruments at Saint-Nicolas-des-Champs and Houdan gave us a valid impression of
the sounds and style of the 18th century. Michel Chapuis played an opening day recital at Versailles on the 1995 IV/38
Boisseau-Cattiaux which had been built into the 1711 white & gold case. The
program of French Classic music was in the high academic/historic style. The
organ construction follows every detail of the current restoration decalogue. It
was worth the trip to see the opening and closing of the huge gold Both Gothic architecture and the symphonic organ began at Saint-Denis, and Pierre Pincemaille ably demonstrated why Aristide Cavaillé-Coll became so famous and important so fast. A still-vital revolutionary instrument. The effects of the hot weather and legendary French tuning were evident, but by mid-week the embarrassing, and sometimes comic problems were solved. At Sacré-Coeur, a relocated chateau organ, finished in 1919, was heard amidst a constant circulation of tourists/pilgrims. Gabriel Marghieri improvised a demonstration of the organ 5 IV/79 resources, recently restored by Renaud. Not all Cavailié-Coll organs are large, but the 11/26 at St.-Louis-d'Antin showed its strength in a program by David Noël-Hudson. Small does not mean weak in France. The V/102 Cavaillé-Coll at St-Sulpice was heard in a brilliant evening
recital by Daniel Roth broadcast by the French Radio. A curious and charming
sound was the "bean shaker" hail in There has been much discussion about the French neo-classic organ which began
in the 1930s. Dismissed by the 1970s organ revolutionaries, the concept was
wonderfully rescued for us There were eight-unbroken-generations of Couperins at St-Gervais, and we
heard three of them played by Olivier Trachier on this revised, and interesting
V/41 which spans 3 1/2 centuries. An electrician repaired the organ at Sainte-Clotilde just in time for Jacques
Taddéi to bring us a beautiful Franck 2nd, and the Tournemire "Victimae paschali".
Though Tournemire had somewhat revised the Franck Cavaillé-Coll organ, the stamp
of authority was deeply felt from this pilgrimage A private evening 1 1/4 hour improvised recital at Notre-Dame by Olivier
Latry provided a lesson on the history and stops of this complex instrument.
Rumored to be too loud for the Pope, the A reed-voicing demonstration by Jean-Loup Boisseau was very helpful, but
reinforced our belief that every voicer uses a different technique and style; no
two the same. After some false starts, the congress food moved to a grandeur and
excitement which we had looked forward to. At the Musee d'Orsay, the Louvre, and
finally at the closing banquet we were the beneficiaries of The thoughtful and very able Congress organizers provided a comprehensive study of French organ music and organs, all within the City of Paris! We could have seen even more, or concentrated more intensely on fewer instruments, but the plan was a success. For a discussion of French organ funding and politics see the article by Jean-Louis Coignet in the July 1998 ISO Journal No. 2. These were also presented to us by the Assistant Mayor of Paris at an elegant Champagne & Caviar reception in the glittering Hotel de Ville. What a week it was! |