The History of French Organbuilding

[@pavaomrazek]

This video is pure gold!

[@matts.3761]

I am so glad I found this. While most kids play video games when they are sick, I watch two-hour documentaries on the French organ building style. Thanks so much for posting!

[@jankla4419]

And youre not alone😊

[@chrishoffman.organist]

Neither am I!

[@sophia6_8hemiola-circleof5]

I’m also a kid and I’m sick and watching this 😁

[@BurkhardTerhart]

Videos like this are really treasures for organ enthusiasts like me.

[@foveauxbear]

I know, me too, love them.

[@TheBellsandwhistles]

A wonderful presentation, thank you so much for such a fascinating lecture. Such a different design evolution from what I work with in the UK.

[@alancordwell9759]

What an amazing video! Thank you very much for posting. Bertrand, your English is excellent!

[@gondolacrescent5]

Excellent video. I especially appreciate being walked through the interior and multiple floors of the C.-Colle in Notre Dame. It was a thrill to see the facade pipe removed and passed through a void in the wall into the triforium. That void, no doubt, has been used by organ builders for hundreds of years When I look at the facade wood-work of Notre Dame from a distance I always get the impression that it's "dusty"--this video confirmed my eyes were not playing tricks. It must be challenging to keep the organ clean when everyday there are hundreds (thousands) entering the Cathedral and stirring-up dust. Please produce and post more videos like this!!! Thank-you/Merci.

[@peteacher52]

A most worthy aural supplement to W L Sumner's classic tome on organ building, use and history. Thanks to M Cattiaux for this presentation in a language that does not come easily to him.

[@richardlowe4751]

Wonderful. Many thanks for sharing!

[@JSC1401]

Bravo Bernard. Bravo l'AOI. .

[@johannessilver8653]

In 1:43:20 You say a dramatic detail....how is that still possible ?

[@volleswerkfullorganpower249]

More materials Like this..!

[@timothytikker1147]

About Notre Dame de Paris: I've seen Cavaillé-Coll's original 4-manual, 64-stop proposal, and have carefully compared it to his final 5-manual, 86-stop version. Having been in Notre-Dame a number of times, I've noticed that there is an arch at the front of the organ gallery, that acoustically must act much like a proscenium, holding back an appreciable amount of the sound of the organ in the main case. I sense that Cavaillé-Coll was counting on the Positif de Dos to provide sound forward of the proscenium-arch, thereby providing a key power element to fill such a large building with sound. When Viollet le Duc then denied C-C use of the Positif de Dos, C-C clealrly deemed it insufficient simply to relegate the Positif to the main case, but also had to add a fifth manual, the Grand-Chœur, to make up for the lost presence of the Positif de Dos.

[@amenophis_factorem]

The positive de dos doesn't produce much sound, because even though its sound is direct, there isn't much for the sound to reflect from. The addition of the harmonic pyramids does support your claim, as harmonic-corroborating stops do much in the way of adding power and sheer volume, but given the complete abandonment of classical cornets and mixtures...it's clear that Cavaille-coll was just fucking around and happened to have world class acoustics at his fingertips so whatever he did ended up working well

[@timothytikker3834]

I'm just now looking at Cavaillé-Coll's original 1863 proposal for a four-manual, 65-stop organ for Notre-Dame. He planned to keep the Grand Orgue Fourniture IV and Cymbale V, and the Bombarde had a Grand Cornet V, all retained from the former organ. The Positif de Dos was to retain its principals 8', 4', 2' as well as Trompette, Cromorne and Clairon, so would still have appreciable power. I would disagree about the Positif's projection. It would be able to project tone along the cathedral's center aisle in a way that divisions from the main case would not. The 1868 stoplist did in fact retain two Cornets from the old organ, placing these in the Bombarde and Récit divisions and completing them with mutation ranks in the basses. The chorus mixtures for the Grand Orgue and Positif were of course recomposed as progressions. My experience with Cavaillé-Coll's organs is, that while the mixtures and cornets do add some power and brilliance, even more is due to the chorus reeds. My perception is that Cavaillé-Coll here sought to introduce a new tonal ideal, in having the complete series of harmonics and non-breaking mixtures. This must be understood in context: by that time, many French organists were abandoning the use of mixtures altogether, or were only using them in their traditional liturgical role, i.e. to introduce sections of liturgy (it is known from Franck's notebooks that he did this). Cavaillé-Coll was clearly looking for a way to use mixtures and mutations to contribute to a more "modern" ensemble. However, this experiment didn't set any new trend, and in time organists were demanding a return to classical mixtures. In any case, I would never classify his experiment as "f*cking around." On the contrary, it was very carefully considered and thoroughly thought through, albeit on its own terms.

[@mixpayne8280]

I fell asleep and woke up to this, thought I was gonna die

[@volleswerkfullorganpower249]

thanks for this video !

[@glockengambe]

That's a nice and instructive lecture! Very interesting that in 16th-17th ct the Nord German and French organ type both influenced by Flemish/Brabant organbuilders (Jan v.Covelens and the Niehoff family) Btw: at 46:30 we don't hear the organ from Houdan, but from Le Mesnil-Amelot (late 17th), although restored by BCattiaux, too. It's the Montre _with_ Bourdon. And what is often ignored: ACC was _not_ the inventor of the overblowing flutes, these were already known by organbuilders in the German North/East Sea-area in the 16th century, f.e. the Scherer-family. Also the string stops had ACC imported from Germany.

[@praestant8]

Romanikant Quite true, and often known in Germany as the "Querflöte." Just as with the Flemish influencing French organ building it's not surprising that some things would come down from Germany, but adapted with a French twist... usually louder. If anything CC applied more unique voicing methodology, particularly with the frein harmonique on string stops, and more Spanish/Iberian ideals with the reeds.

[@HenrikBergpianorganist]

How sad to think about the fact that Notre-Dame is now partly destroyed...

[@minka866]

1:48:12 Why have these holes in the tube?

[@karlrovey6580]

They allow the pipe to fit into the facade even though the sounding length is much shorter.

[@thesceptic1018]

I think this is Bertrand Cattiaux

[@timothytikker1147]

Yes, it is.

[@daphneblake7889]

How much of this organ in Notre Dame survived the fire?

[@annerosejandrey3716]

The great organ is hardly affected, but the choir organ is destroyed

[@StoreeDenson]

Also, the Great Organ needs to be restored because of ash and soot inside the pipes because of the fire.

[@organbuilder272]

Interesting presentation. Perhaps a bit more description of the older organs - stops and such would have been interesting but certainly well done. How nice to hear that the Notre Dame organ was restored to something close to the original. Very nice camera tour of the organ.. It seems that this "Soft" alloy used in the case is all the rage today. Many modern organs have case pipe collapsing. This fascination with tin is the downfall of all new pipes. Regards your last works. They may be in the classic style and once can not fault you for that. But they seem "Thin". Screetchy, that is too much volume in the high pitched registers.. I can't express the exact feeling but somehow they sound almost N. German. The classic case is magnificent. That probably cost more than the rest of the organ. Your English is not perfect but you certainly did make your ideas clear and that is what counts. Very nice presentation. It would have been interesting to hear Franck, who brought about the Symphonic school played on at least one of the A. C-C organs. It is reassuring to know that there is at least some builders in France that respect the old and restore rather than rebuild. The organs in your care will be preserved for the future to hear the sounds of some of the greatest organ builders to visit the inside of magnificent buildings.

[@praestant8]

It's interesting that in the detailed discussion about Notre Dame that there was no mention of the application, and ultimate failure, of the Syncordia system on the electric action in the 1992 work.

[@eb.1]

Interesting, though I'm sure that is not something they particularly want to remember. I still have not heard any convincing reasons for why they removed the recit mixtures. They could be so effective at times. Also, I would like to know what was wrong with the Cochereau chamades that they had to alter those, instead of simply adding the 1992 bland ones.

[@praestant8]

vox1868 This is the problem I have with Notre Dame... It's been fiddled with and radically altered so many times I struggle to agree that the many times Cattiaux has been involved with it that it is a "better" instrument than the mostly untouched St. Sulpice. Clearly, in terms of Cavaille-Coll's intentions, Notre Dame now is not authentic to that aesthetic. But then it seems a lot of validity is placed upon what Cochereau did to it for his music and has been kept as a result.

[@timothytikker1147]

@@eb.1My understanding is the Récit mixtures -- Fourniture IV by Mutin, 1904, and Cymbale III by Debierre-Beuchet, 1933 -- were deemed to be poor quality pipework. I have read Vierne in his memoirs expressing disappointment with D-B's changes, and singling out the Cymbale as an example. However, the most recent renovation took the 1970s Boisseau Petite Pédale, increased its compass from 32 to 56 notes so as to allow it to become a manual division, made some additions including an 8' Principal, and put the whole under expression. So the organ now has a very complete expressive principal chorus, which of course could be coupled into the Récit as needed.

[@minka866]

Subtitules?

[@simonkawasaki4229]

How did I get from MLB videos to here

[@adriaanvanlunenburg]

“I cannot speak objective about the organ of Notre Dame” says Bertrand Cattiaux; no of course not, but how dare you to say, that the sound is better than that of Saint Sulpice? Than you don't have the right eares for an organbuilder. Saint-Sulpice has not undergone as many changes and additions as the organ of Notre Dame, which consists almost 100% of the work of Francois-Henri Cliquot and Aristide Cavaillé-Coll. If you want a organ in baroque-style than build it by yourselve. It is a disgrace, that you put the resonance, which in 1963 actually first were stops of 4 feet and higher, aliquots and mixtures for the pedal now can be used on all the manuals! All these alterations and addings are the faults of the ideas of only one person, Philippe Lefebvre, who wanted the organ much more baroque. You must listen to the many recordings of Notre Dame before the restoration of 1963, then you hear despite the bad statement of the organ how it really sounded as Cavaillé-Coll would have wanted.