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The British and French Organ Music Seminar: July 4–18, 2019

Masako Gaskin and David Erwin

Submitted by Masako Gaskin, BFOMS co-director, and David Erwin, director of music at Ladue Chapel Presbyterian Church, St. Louis, Missouri.

Seminar participants

The British and French Organ Music Seminar (FOMS) took place in London, Paris, and Alsace, July 4–18, 2019. Founded by Christina Harmon in 1986, FOMS has taken place biennially since.

London

Thirty-seven organists and friends began the seminar with a Fourth of July celebration at Saint Paul’s Cathedral, London. The group was treated to Evensong and a concert by Ken Cowan on the Henry Willis organ (1872), originally built by Bernard Smith (1697). Afterwards, our host Simon Johnson demonstrated the instrument and invited participants to play.

The following morning the group traveled to All Saints Church, Tooting, to visit the 1904 Harrison & Harrison organ, hosted by Mark Pybus. Then on to Notre Dame de France for a masterclass in improvisation with Duncan Middleton on the organ tonally reconstructed and enlarged by B. C. Shepherd & Son of Edgware (1986). The afternoon was spent at St. George’s Hanover Square, hosted by Simon Williams. The organ, built by Richards, Fowkes & Co. (2012) inside the old case used for the first organ of 1725 by Gerald Smith, nephew of the builder of Saint Paul’s Cathedral organ, is the first American-built organ in London. That evening some members of the group attended vespers at Westminster Cathedral before the demonstration of its Henry Willis III organ (1922) and free playing time hosted by Peter Stevens.

Saturday, July 5, started at Chelmsford Cathedral, with James Davy as host for the group as they visited the Mander organs (nave and chancel). The second stop was at Saint Edmundsbury Cathedral hosted by James Thomas, playing the Harrison & Harrison organ (2010). Next was Cambridge, with Evensong conducted by Stephen Cleobury, who performed his final organ recital.

The final day in England was Sunday, July 6, and group members went to worship at churches of their choice. In the afternoon, one could attend a recital at Westminster Abbey or Westminster Cathedral. The final playing session on a two-manual George Pike England organ took place at Saint Margaret Lothbury, a church designed by Christopher Wren, with host organist Richard Townend.

Paris

On Tuesday, July 8, forty-four organists and friends converged in Paris at St-Augustin. Titulaire Didier Matry demonstrated the organ and allowed participants to try it out. The first full day of the seminar began with an emphasis on French classical music with visits to St-Sevérin and St-Gervais. François Espinasse led a masterclass at St-Sevérin, and he talked about the importance of singing and dancing in one’s playing. At St-Gervais, the Couperin family church, Elise Friot demonstrated one of the ancient instruments in Paris, with reportedly the oldest keyboards still in use in the city. That evening featured a concert by the Duo Merlin at Notre-Dame-des-Champs, parish church of organbuilder Aristide Cavaillé-Coll. The Duo Merlin consists of Yannick Merlin and his wife Béatrice Piertot, who specialize in organ music for four hands. They did much of the work in organizing FOMS from the French side, securing venues and recruiting faculty.

On Wednesday, July 9, Susan Landale lectured and led a masterclass on the works of Louis Vierne at Église St-Louis des Invalides. Then, several in the group walked to Ste-Clotilde to hear and play the organ, hosted by Olivier Penin. The next day saw a return to Notre-Dame-des-Champs for playing time, followed by a masterclass on works of Jean Langlais by Béatrice Piertot. This was followed by a class led by Jean-Baptiste Robin. That evening we visited the auditorium at Radio France, with its 2016 Gerhard Grenzing organ (IV/87). We were welcomed by M. Grenzing, and then each person in the group was able to play from the main stage console.

A trip to Auvers-sur-Oise (the village where painter Vincent Van Gogh spent his final days) was scheduled for the next day. A short train ride from Paris, Auvers is home to Église Notre-Dame d’Auvers-sur-Oise, which Van Gogh immortalized in a painting. The church has a newer organ built in the neo-Baroque style by Bernard Hurvy, demonstrated by M. Hurvy and the titulaire Jean-Charles Gandrille. Playing time for the group followed, while some explored the village.  In the evening we visited St-Étienne-du-Mont, Duruflé’s church known for its elegant ornate rood screen. Titulaire Vincent Warnier welcomed us.

On Saturday, July 13, we had an early morning visit to Sacré-Coeur, where we had permission to play the organ. Titulaire Gabriel Marghieri explained to the group how plans for work on the organ have been drawn, funding has been secured, yet approval is tied up in the French bureaucracy. So in the meantime M. Marghieri must deal with severe winding issues, which does not permit him to use the Récit division at all. That afternoon featured a masterclass on works of César Franck led by Béatrice Piertot at the Church of St-Laurent where she is titulaire. Mme. Piertot shared some of her recent research into Franck’s organ works, including observations about tempi. That evening finished with a session at St-Eustache, with co-titulaire Baptiste-Florian Marle-Ouvrard playing the Van den Heuvel (V/101) organ.

On Sunday morning, July 14, participants had the choice of visiting several organ lofts in order to watch the work of the titulaires up close. The group then met up that afternoon at La Trinité where titulaire Loïc Mallie demonstrated the organ of Guilmant, Messiaen, and Hakim, and then gave very helpful comments as group members played for him. Many in the group rushed back to St-Eustache to hear Baptiste-Florian give a Bastille Day recital prior to evening Mass. This day concluded at St-Sulpice. Following a pontifical Mass (St-Sulpice is currently being used for large episcopal services that would have normally taken place at the cathedral) with a brilliant sortie improvised by Sophie Choplin, the church was ours for the next few hours as the building was locked and nighttime fell.

The final day in Paris, Fréderic Blanc hosted us at La Madeleine, talking about the history of this early Cavaillé-Coll instrument and then demonstrating it. Group members spent the remainder of the morning trying out this organ. The group moved to the chic Champs-Elysées neighborhood for a visit to St Pierre-de-Chaillot, where titulaire Samuel Liégeon presented an improvisation. On the way back to the métro we stopped at the American Cathedral to meet organist Andrew Dewar. The next event was a visit to the Duruflé apartment, where host Fréderic Blanc demonstrated the organ and spoke of Maurice and Marie-Madeleine Duruflé. The final event was a session with Blanc at his church, Notre-Dame-d’Auteuil, where the organ was recently renovated.

Alsace

Tuesday, July 16, began with an express train from the Gare de l’Est to Strasbourg. Daniel Roth joined us and shared insights of the heritage of his native Alsace. The afternoon was spent visiting two churches in the old part of this city. St-Pierre-le-Jeune Protestant (the church has been Lutheran since 1524) is home to an instrument built in 1780 by Johann Andreas Silbermann. This was followed by a visit to St-Pierre-le-Jeune Catholic Church, a massive nineteenth-century domed edifice built in the neo-Romanesque style. The present organ in this church is the work of Manufacture d’orgues Koenig from Sarre-Union, which incorporates some pipework of the earlier organ. After dinner, the group met at the church of St-Paul that was originally built for members of the military, but since 1919 has been part of the Protestant Reformed Church of Alsace and Lorraine. The church contains a notable Walcker organ (III/87) from 1897 in the gallery (the largest instrument in Alsace) and an eighteen-rank instrument (1976) built by Garnier Facteurs d’Orgues of Niiza in the chancel.

The next day we traveled to the village of Erstein, where we were welcomed by the mayor and tried out the 1914 instrument by Edmond-Alexandre Roethinger. This organ is a synthesis of French and German styles, which is typical for Alsatian organs. The city then hosted a reception for us and some members were interviewed for the local newspaper, which ran a story about FOMS the following day. The day continued with a visit to the abbey at Ebersmunster, a magnificent building in the high-Baroque style with an organ by André Silbermann (1730).

The final day for FOMS 2019 began at the Protestant Church of St-Martin in Barr. This Lutheran church boasts a Stiehr-Mockers organ from 1852. We then headed up in the mountains above Pfaffenheim for a luncheon of traditional Alsatian foods at the religious community of Schauenberg. The afternoon consisted of a visit to our final church, St-Martin, with its 1839 Callinet Brothers organ. After the demonstration of the organ, some members of the group remained to prepare for the evening’s recital, while others enjoyed a visit to a family-run chocolatier and a tasting of local Alsatian wines. FOMS concluded with a recital played by several members.

The following day, a smaller group that had originally registered for an extension to play at Notre-Dame de Paris, sadly devastated by the tragic fire of April 15, was hosted by Notre-Dame titulaire Johann Vexo in his charming hometown of Nancy. Eighteen organists and friends enjoyed the Dupont organ (modified later by Cavaillé-Coll) at Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Nancy and the Dalstein & Haepfer organ at Église St-Sébastien.

In addition to Yannick Merlin, Béatrice Piertot, and Daniel Roth, Christina Harmon was assisted by co-directors David Erwin, Masako Gaskin, and Cliff Varnon. Plans are already underway for the next FOMS, which will take place in July 2021. Look for announcements at www.bfoms.com for updates.

Photo: Jean-Baptiste Robin with seminar participants at Notre Dame-des-Champs, Paris, France (photo credit: Masako Gaskin)

Related Content

An interview with Pierre Labric

Jesse Eschbach

Jesse Eschbach is a graduate of Indiana University, Bloomington, and the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, where he was a student of Robert Glasgow. He completed his formal education during a five-year residency in Paris as a student of Marie-Claire Alain, specializing in early French music in her conservatory class at Rueil-Malmaison where he was awarded both a Prix d’Excellence and a Prix de Virtuosité. As one of the last students of Marie-Madeleine Duruflé-Chevalier, he studied the complete organ works of her husband, Maurice Duruflé, as well as much of the French symphonic repertoire.

Since 1986, Eschbach has served on the faculty at the University of North Texas, Denton, as professor of organ, instructing performance majors at all levels. Eschbach has several CDs to his credit, including a disc recorded at the Cathédrale de Perpignan entitled Music of the Second Empire and Beyond, released in 2003. Also released in 2003 was his 800+ page book, Stoplists of Aristide Cavaillé-Coll, detailing the original stoplists of the majority of organs constructed by this French organbuilder, based extensively on the Lapresté collection. This research is still in progress, and an expanded second edition will be released in the next few years.

Due to focal dystonia in the right hand, his career was sidetracked for more than ten years, but due to the efforts of Dorothy Taubman and Sheila Paige, he has begun resuming his performance career. He has been a juror for several competitions, including the American Guild of Organists national competition, the Canadian International Organ Competition, and the Fort Wayne national competition.

Jeanne Demessieux and friends

On July 27, 2018, my dear colleagues and friends, Yannick Merlin and Béatrice Piertot, introduced me to Pierre Labric at his residence southwest of Paris in Dreux. Labric is perhaps best remembered in this country for recording the complete organ symphonies of both Widor and Vierne on the legendary Cavaillé-Coll instruments of St-Ouen, Rouen (Widor), and St-Sernin, Toulouse (Vierne). These recordings were marketed in the United States by The Musical Heritage Society after 1971 and introduced my generation to not only the symphonic style of Widor and Vierne, but also the sound universe of Aristide Cavaillé-Coll.

After spending a delightful two and a half hours with Mr. Labric and speaking at great length about his mentor Jeanne Demessieux and his brilliant friend and colleague at the Paris Conservatory, Jean-Claude Touche, I asked Yannick and Béatrice on our return trip to Paris if Mr. Labric might consent to a written interview on the life and achievements of Jeanne Demessieux. Yannick Merlin received an enthusiastic response, and I drafted twenty questions, intending to explore Demessieux’s short but highly eventful life.

Mr. Labric, as the reader will soon observe, was most generous with his responses. He was never limited with any constraints suggested by a particular question, but “improvised” freely in his responses.

Only one question failed to elicit a direct response: I asked if Pierre Labric could confirm what Marie-Madeleine Duruflé-Chevalier recounted years earlier. An incisive attack and release was the core of her legendary virtuosity,1 and she attributed this to her study with Jeanne Demessieux, most especially what Mme Duruflé called the “deuxième mouvement,” or release of a note, which must have at least as much energy and clarity as the attack. This concept goes to the core of brilliant, virtuosic playing, sometimes forgotten today in France and the United States. Both Demessieux and Duruflé were capable of extremely brilliant tempos, yet every note was clearly heard and energetic, regardless of the acoustic. Regrettably, Mr. Labric seems not to have discussed this topic with Jeanne Demessieux, but confirmed, “M-M Duruflé was formed exclusively by Jeanne Demesssieux. In class, Dupré told us with the greatest admiration, ‘My children, see how Jeanne Demessieux is getting results from Marie-Madeleine.’ Yes, it was true.”2

The inevitable question did arise during our meeting in 2018 concerning the traumatic rupture between Dupré and Demessieux. I knew better than to launch “head-on” into this sad story with a French gentleman of Mr. Labric’s generation, always highly discreet. I did repeat what Marie-Madeleine Duruflé confided years earlier, and this elicited a broad smile and unmistakable twinkle of the eye. Given that direct descendants of the principal parties are still with us, and since the cause of the saga can never be proved, I can only repeat what others have said: Jeanne Demessieux was utterly blameless, and Dupré was foolishly victimized and manipulated by individuals in his entourage who intended to overthrow Demessieux to suit their own agenda. It was a veritable plot originating from near unparalleled, despicable jealousy that nauseated everyone in the French organ world and well beyond. Seventy-five years later, condemnation of the injustice perpetrated on the young Jeanne Demessieux continues to resonate. Marcel Dupré enjoyed almost complete authoritarian control of the French organ world and was more than capable of destroying, or otherwise compromising, a promising career.3

Mr. Labric, born in 1921, grew up in the Rouen area and received his early training from Marcel Lanquetuit before admission to Dupré’s class at the Paris Conservatory. His career was largely devoted to recording, resulting in releases of the complete organ symphonies of Widor and Vierne, the complete organ works of Jeanne Demessieux, sonatas of Mendelssohn, preludes and fugues of Saint-Saëns, the major organ works of Liszt, and the Promenades en Provence of Eugène Reuchsel. He was Demessieux’s suppléant at the Madeleine, and also assisted Pierre Cochereau at Notre-Dame Cathedral. As he approaches his centennial, it seemed especially appropriate to begin collecting some of his indelible memories of one of the most eventful epochs in the history of our profession.

Jesse Eschbach: If I remember correctly, Jeanne Demessieux was Marcel Dupré’s assistant in the organ class [at the Paris Conservatory] towards the end of the war. Was it at this time that you met Jeanne Demessieux for the first time? How did she prepare you for the organ class? Technique, repertory, interpretation, counterpoint, harmony, improvisation?

Pierre Labric: Yes, Jeanne Demessieux replaced Dupré in the organ class during the week of May 14–21, 1946. I’m transcribing the themes she had us work on [in improvisation]: What beautiful themes!

That day, she worked quite awhile with me. It was the year I was first runner-up. I believe I remember that she was happy with my improvisation. I attended her overwhelming competition for her unanimous first prize on June 6, 1941. The entire audience broke the law of silence: frenetic and long applause reflected the general enthusiasm. That day, our contact started.

How long did you work with Jeanne Demessieux?

I worked all my life, and I owe everything to Jeanne Demessieux.

At the end of your studies at the conservatory, did you remain in contact with Demessieux?

Yes, and after her appointment to the Madeleine, she asked me to play services in her place. I always remained in cordial contact with her and her dear mother after she became a widow. During a lesson, I asked her if, in the vast nave of a cathedral, one had to moderate tempo a little bit because of the reverberation. “No,” she replied, “It is necessary simply to articulate.”

What repertory did you undertake with Demessieux? Bach, Buxtehude, old French music, Liszt, Franck?

She had me work on her (Six) Études with great interest. They made me progress enormously. I started with the octave study, which I perfected during all of the school year 1948. I played it for her in May, and with her advice I worked on it during [summer] vacation. I played it for her again in September. She was happy with my work, and encouraged me to put it on my program on October 15 at St-Godard, Rouen. I was happy and . . . proud! I got her precious advice for the big Vierne works. I recorded all of them later, observing everything scrupulously. She had me work for part of the afternoon. Madame Demessieux prepared for us, delicately, a delicious snack that we savored with one of my friends who accompanied me to my lesson—she, too, has since passed! All of this downed with a cup of coffee for which I could never replicate the flavor.

“Mama has her little secrets,” Jeanne told us! My modest repertory was Liszt, Franck, Widor, Guilmant, Vierne, Duruflé, very little Litaize, very little Langlais, Jean-Claude Touch, Jean Guillou. A pirated version of my recording of his Toccata from one of my concerts at Saint-Ouen de Rouen is on the internet.

What preparatory studies did the teacher Demessieux want in place before taking a student?

She required a serious piano technique with etudes of Chopin or Liszt.

Did she ask for repertory studied at lessons be memorized?

No. I played all of my lessons with the text.

Could you describe the legendary memory of Demessieux?

For the magazine Étude (April 1950), the editors asked Jeanne Demessieux for an article on Dupré. She wrote fifteen sublime pages in which appeared not a shade of vengeance, not a trace of the least bitterness. The writing has the limpidity of the entire truth. What a marvelous lesson Jeanne Demessieux gave to Dupré.

The Rouen Philharmonic Society, directed by an excellent musician-pianist Pierre Duvauchel, was always running a deficit. Demessieux, who came for a sou, filled the coffers: a half hour before the concert, there wasn’t a chair left in the immense nave!

A poor priest had difficulties keeping his school afloat. He dared to ask Jeanne, then at the top of her international glory, if she would accept to give a concert for a rather low fee. Her secretary responded, “Miss Demessieux asks me to inform you she will offer a free recital for your school. A date has to be found according to her possibilities.” I have read the letter.

You recounted a beautiful anecdote concerning a trip Demessieux made to Normandy, around Deauville, I think. A priest from a little village asked her to visit his parish the day after the concert. What happened when she tried out the organ?

Jeanne Demessieux had given a concert in Deauville on August 27, 1956. You have the review written by Guy Bouchaux, which deserves to be read by everyone.

Verbal program notes were given by the Canon Leprieur, priest of Beuzeville about twenty kilometers away. Demessieux was to return to Paris by car with M. Haerpfer, the builder of the organs in Deauville and Beuzeville, which has a smaller organ.

Abbot Leprieur had invited Demessieux to visit the organ in Beuzeville the next day on her way back to Paris. The grapevine having done its work, about twenty from the audience of the day before greeted Demessieux when she got out of the car. Abbot Leprieur led her to the gallery, followed by the would-be listeners. She got to know in very little time the modest instrument of sixteen stops. She didn’t even need much more time for the giant consoles during her American tours. She went through each stop attentively and was getting ready to leave the keyboards. Abbot Leprieur then said suddenly, “Mademoiselle, would you play the Alain Litanies for us?” Without hesitating, Demessieux gave us a brilliant interpretation of the Litanies. After that, Galérant (in the photo) asked her for the Second Choral of Franck; another asked her for the “Toccata” from the Fifth Symphony of Widor; another suggested a Noël of D’Aquin. “Which one?” she asked simply. After, a gentleman I didn’t know asked for the “Carillon de Westminster.” Others requested several Bach pieces. All of these pieces were at random and not on the program from the day before. She played for two consecutive hours, responding with a perfect humility to the requests of each with the single aim of pleasing. There is the perfect example of a concert “requested by the audience.”

What happened when she tried the organ, you ask me? Nothing!

Jeanne was very reserved, always in perfect control, and also in control of her company. She never felt the need to ask questions. For her, all the problems were worked out ahead. If someone explained to her the reason for something because of this, because of that, she listened very politely, without feeling the need to open her mouth. She remained silent. She was like the diamond who never sought to shine, but was made to shine. She played the organ at Beuzeville most naturally, before several subjugated and privileged people, enthusiastic and astonished by such natural facility.

Jeanne was radiant taking leave of her improvised admirers. And we went to lunch at the rectory, as the photo attests, taken by the young curate of the parish when we arrived. Sixty-two years ago! Jeanne made a very quiet “impact,” yet strongly powerful, felt by everyone around her. Her rich personality radiated naturally without being conscious of it, so it seemed.

Monsieur Albert Dupré, father of the Dupré in question, was organist of the magnificent Cavaillé-Coll of Saint-Ouen de Rouen—“Orgue à la Michel-Ange” according to the famous estimation of Widor who came to inaugurate it. On the occasion of the first concert of Jeanne’s at Saint-Ouen, hearing about it, Dupré supposedly exclaimed, “Imagine, she dared play Papa’s organ!” The clumsy remark eventually got back to Jeanne Demessieux who spontaneously retorted, “Oh, Papa had nothing to complain about!”

She was very humorous.

I don’t think we have many recordings of Demessieux’s improvisations. Could you tell us about her style in improvisation? Did she often improvise in established forms such as sonata-allegro, fugue, double fugue, lied, variations, passacaglia, etc., or was she rather free?

During her concert tours in America, Miss Murtagh4 called Jeanne Demessieux, pointing out a day when Jeanne wasn’t on time. She scolded her on the telephone like a little girl. With her usual calm, her natural distinction, her nobility of a great lady, Jeanne Demessieux responded simply with, “Madam, I always5 do what I want,” cutting off any response. Many organists do what they can, starting with me! At the keyboard, Demessieux always did what she wanted. Her magnificent recordings are the proof!

As for her improvisations, if they were always inspired (again, she did what she wanted), they all were adapted to the character of the given theme. I heard her improvise many a time, the very first being her conservatory competition on June 6, 1941. The luminous cadenzas of the first two concertos of Handel were improvised before being written down and recorded on the Decca label. The first one astonished Guy Bouchaux at her concert in Deauville on August 27, 1956, as well as her improvisation on In Paradisum.

I recall yet today her extraordinary symphonic fresco on the Kyrie Orbis factor given to her by Fr. Boulzy at the end of her concert on November 7, 1953, at Saint-Eustache. She finished with a prodigious fugue. The large audience, which filled the nave, was cosmopolitan: French, Italians, Germans, English, Americans, Japanese applauded discretely when she came down from the gallery.

Examples are numerous and deliciously fascinating. I’ll limit myself to several: I heard Demessieux improvise at Saint-Ouen. For her, to improvise was to abandon herself to her rich and inspired imagination at the end of a concert. The mind free, on a magnificent instrument she loved, developing a very beautiful theme given to her by Maurice Duruflé, I remember elegant variations faithfully ornamenting the theme under the sumptuous sonorities of the “Cavaillé-Coll à la Michel-Ange,” which she knew how to transfigure like no one else.

To your question, I don’t know about recordings of her improvisations with the exception of the one on the Hamburg CD, The Legendary Jeanne Demessieux, done in several churches in Hamburg: St-Sophiekirche, St-Michaelskirche, St-Christianskirche on the label Festivo, 6961-862. Many years ago, I was fortunate to hear her splendid improvisations during her legendary concerts in the Netherlands.

M. Van der Oter, deceased, and his colleague Mr. Herman van Vliet, an excellent organist, played for me a magnificent improvisation in Masslouis, which I would ardently like to hear again, and another one, in the Netherlands, the given theme of which lended itself to rondo form, three refrains and three couplets. This quarter hour of true music was so perfect that it made me think of the truly vivid “Rondo Final” of the magnificent Fifth Symphony of Louis Vierne. Regrettably, I never heard either one again!

I found in the archives of Norbert Dufourcq a detailed study of the Madeleine organ written in 1965 by Jeanne Demessieux. This document attests to the fact that Demessieux had a great deal of expertise in organbuilding and especially on the style of Cavaillé-Coll. Dupré, as far as I know, didn’t teach these things to his students. How did Demessieux acquire this knowledge?

To your inquiry, I am going to offer the truest, most exact, most pertinent, the simplest response there is, that of Jeanne Demessieux herself:

I wrote to the periodical L’Orgue that I was waiting and hoping for the organ of the twentieth century:6 an intelligent synthesis, yet original in its audacity, of instruments from the past. In the absence of which, the promoters of neo-classicism will be burdened with the heavy responsibility of having implicitly condemned all7 organ repertory from Bach to the present. The works of Messiaen, Langlais, and others call for a complete radiance in sound where everything is possible.

These thoughts, harbingers of light and wisdom, are a veritable gospel of truth and for all time. And here is a striking aspect of Jeanne Demessieux.

Appointed titular organist of the beautiful Cavaillé-Coll of the Madeleine in 1962, where she succeeded Edouard Mignan, she was keenly interested in the preservation of her instrument. She watched jealously over its esthetic. Her keen awareness of eclecticism, fed by multiple experiences collected over all continents, gave her the ability to compare organs of different characters—following faithfully the evolution of building, with prudence and especially wisdom, while strongly opposing certain displeasing trends.

Her searching spirit always involved a curious look towards the future, without denying the lessons from the past. Her perfectionist and innovative spirit researched unceasingly balance and truth. Her art was enriched with a lofty spirituality. Her enthusiastic listeners perceived her marvelous message with a quieted serenity while others, more receptive, caught a glimpse of her in the light.

Did she have American students? I know that Frank Speller8 went to study with her, but did she have others?

I don’t know.

You mentioned her Te Deum. If I understood you correctly, this work was finished in Demessieux’s mind well before she wrote it down?

Your assertion is absolutely exact. The brutal and sudden rupture with Dupré, never understood by poor Jeanne Demessieux, necessarily accentuated her timidity and humility that were already the basis of her exceptional personality. “I never talk about my plans,” she responded to an overly gushing interlocutor.

At her concert in Deauville, I asked her discretely if she would soon give us the joy of a new work. “Yes,” she answered spontaneously. “I am thinking of writing a work in the spirit of the chorals of Franck on the Te Deum.” Overwhelmed, I didn’t push further, being content with this detail, so affectionately confided, I being one of the rare individuals—if not the only—to know the gestation of the most beautiful of the Te Deums. No reference concerning what I knew to be a serious confidence would be brought back to her, at least coming from me.

The streets of Rouen were all decked out with giant posters as if to announce the visit of the Queen of England: “Jeanne Demessieux on her return from America.” She returned from a big concert tour, during which she had played her Te Deum, not yet published, but for which I didn’t know the reason. It was on the program for April 30, 1958. That’s when I heard it for the first time, next to her, in the afternoon. I was astonished by the grandeur and the beauty of the work. It is impossible to find more moving accents to praise God. I asked her if she would consent to loaning me her manuscript. “But no, dear Pierre, I haven’t yet had time to write it down!” My eyes popped out of my head before such prowess that I never would have imagined. I remained speechless.

In matters of interpretation, did she use rubato or rather subtleties of touch, or a combination of both?

Jeanne Demessieux had an incredible phrasing. In the chorale preludes of Bach, she used two different cornets, which offered an agreeable echo effect. She played certain works with a surprising slowness, but never gave the impression of dragging.

She played quick tempos with an absolute mastery, a ravishing lightness. Listen to her in the delicious scherzo of the Grande Pièce Symphonique of César Franck where she excelled, in order to be convinced of the perfection found in her recording of the complete organ works of Franck, which came out in 1961.

Jeanne Demessieux never stopped being a pianist. She had her [first] prize when she was 17. She brought her extraordinary technique to the organ. At one of her concerts I attended with my friend Marie-Claire Alain, at the end Alain told me, “You know, it’s magnificent! One really feels she’s a first prize in piano!” I responded, “It’s obvious. I agree with you.” Such was my total approbation.

The complete works for organ of César Franck recorded at the Madeleine in 1959 reveal interpretations where virtuosity is often highlighted. I’m thinking, for instance, of the allegros in the Grande Pièce Symphonique. As far as I know, only her student Marie-Madeleine Duruflé-Chevalier played Franck like that. More than fifty years after these recordings first appeared, metronomic indications written by Franck himself were discovered in a letter addressed by Franck to an American organist,9 which tends to demonstrate that such virtuosity wasn’t at all scorned by César Franck. Jeanne Demessieux, it would seem, was right. Did she talk about these interpretations and her very personal ideas on the subject of Franck’s music?

Jeanne Demessieux revealed Franck like no one else, a recording of reference. What can I add?

Mr. Labric, you are perhaps the last to have often played the authentic Cavaillé-Coll of Notre-Dame, Paris,10 before the reconstruction and electrification in the 1960s. I would like very much if you would talk about this legendary instrument before the transformations occurred.

“My alter ego,” said Vierne speaking about his Cavaillé-Coll at Notre-Dame, Paris. Nothing better than these words could translate the nature of the emotional attachments that bound together one to the other. This was affirmed by Bernard Gavoty. Gavoty continued, “as the flower breaks loose from its sheath, the song swells and spreads forth. With his hands, the musician sculpts his work in a sonorous clay of which nothing can evoke the voluptuous richness. The entire organ seems to stir in contact with this soul that brings it to life.”

The organ of Notre-Dame de Paris was the absolute masterpiece of Cavaillé-Coll. In the fingers of Vierne, it offered a unique splendor. A musician from Rouen, André Haumesser went from time to time to the gallery of Notre-Dame to hear Vierne. He mixed in with the regulars, and at the instant Vierne was preparing to improvise, one of them said, “Let us listen to the word of Saint Thomas d’Aquin.”

I had the good fortune to often play the magnificent Cavaillé-Coll, admired throughout the world. I remember my first contact which left an indelible feeling. Léonce de Saint-Martin,11 a very distinguished and courteous man, welcomed me one evening after the cathedral closed, allowing me to play the second symphony of Vierne. From the first chord, I was veritably transported in the instant in an ethereal world by this river of sound that flowed under my fingers. The solo stops were ravishing in the following movements up to the sparkling “Final” in which the unique tutti of the instrument seemed indeed to want to explode the shell of the cathedral, as Gavoty wrote. But this prodigious power had nothing of any harshness. Rather, it was part of the incomparable splendor of the organ.

One Sunday of the Holy Trinity, Saint-Martin let me play Dogme, the fourth movement of Méditation sur le Saint-Esprit of Jeanne Demessieux, at the end of vespers. I was happy. This was still at the time of the old [mechanical] console.

Later, I gave Sunday concerts on the new electric console of Jean Herman, which worked very well. It was worthy of the consoles of Beuchet-Debierre. This console permitted me later to record very conveniently the Six Études of Demessieux, which require a perfectly regulated pedalboard.

I had the joy of playing six Sundays, the substitute for Pierre Moreau,12 a very courageous man, recovering from surgery. I arrived Saturday evening. I had almost three hours. For my pleasure alone, I played the six symphonies of Vierne on the instrument that had inspired them. What an unforgettable emotion. Léon Bloy called the royal Cavaillé-Coll, “The organ of eternity.”

I took advantage of these occasions that came my way, I can say by chance, to play at the closing voluntaries, a finale from the Vierne symphonies for the greatest joy of a group of young musicians gathered around the console.

§

As Pierre Labric approaches his centennial, I am certain my American colleagues join me in wishing Mr. Labric every joy and happiness. He is, after all, one of the last remaining figures to have witnessed the joys, triumphs, trials, and tribulations of the legendary organ class at the Paris Conservatory during the post-war period. His recollections help us approach those years with a far deeper understanding of the legendary names that shaped my generation and beyond. Thanks, Pierre Labric, for sharing your pristine memory and impressions of an era that now seems so very distant to most of us. Most of all, thanks for transmitting the legacy of the legendary Jeanne Demessieux to future generations.

Notes

1. Derived from the traditional French harpsichord and piano “schools” where the fingers do most of the work. Arm weight, and arm movements in general, were not introduced at the conservatory until after World War II, although some French pianists were very aware of (and advocated) arm weight and arm movements before 1946.

2. Visit www.organ.music.unt.edu for a video of Mme Duruflé at the University of North Texas auditorium console filmed in February 1992, playing a segment of the Vierne Naïades and a Handel concerto. Although she never knew or consulted Dorothy Taubman, the core of Mme Duruflé’s virtuosity is derived in large part from the same precepts learned by and passed on through the great technician who was Dorothy Taubman: long fingers moved from the short extensor muscles, and very subtle forearm rotations, up-down movement, in-out movements, and lateral shifting of the arm when required by the music.

3. Lest the reader assume that I have migrated to the almost rabid, anti-Dupré groups prominent in France today, such is not the case. My students perform probably more Dupré works than any other studio in North America. My admiration for Dupré as a virtuoso and composer is unbounded, but from what I have learned from his students and others, he was a bit of a dictator and often poorly advised by members of his entourage. Jeanne Demessieux was not the only artist whose career was almost sabotaged by Marcel Dupré.

4. Lilian Murtagh (1907–1976) originally managed concert organists and others for the LaBerge and Colbert agencies before purchasing the organ division from Henry Colbert and forming her own management for organists in 1962. In 1976, her organization merged with Karen McFarlane to create Murtagh-McFarlane Artists Management. Jeanne Demessieux’s three North American tours (1953, 1955, 1958) were organized by Lilian Murtagh.

5. Underscored by Labric.

6. Underscored by Demessieux.

7. Underscored by Demessieux.

8. Frank Speller (1938–2017), former professor of organ at University of Texas for more than forty years, studied with Jeanne Demessieux in Paris sometime during the 1960s. He was one of the few American organists to study with her.

9. Rollin Smith, “César Franck’s Metronome Marks: From Paris to Brooklyn.” The American Organist, September 2003, 58–60.

10. Aristide Cavaillé-Coll finished his 86-stop masterpiece in 1868, inaugurated March 6 of that year by Franck, Chauvet, Guilmant, Widor, Saint-Saëns, Durand, and Loret. The organ was rebuilt and electrified in the 1960s.

11. Léonce de Saint-Martin (1886–1954) succeeded Louis Vierne as titular organist of Notre-Dame de Paris in 1937.

12. Pierre Moreau (1907–1991) served at Notre-Dame de la Gare, Paris, before his appointment to Saint-Marcel, Paris, 1935–1985, and was Saint-Martin’s suppléant at Notre-Dame. Under Pierre Cochereau, Moreau was promoted organiste adjoint, retiring in 1986. He studied with Charles Tournemire for five years and was awarded a first prize in organ in 1938 at the Conservatoire Royal de Bruxelles.

The History, Evolution, and Legacy of Les Facteurs d’Orgues Théodore Puget, Père et Fils, Part 2

John Joseph Mitchell

John Joseph “JJ” Mitchell is a musician and scholar from Arlington, Virginia. He is director of music at Saint John Neumann Catholic Church in Reston, Virginia, where he oversees several musical groups and accompanies liturgies. JJ graduated summa cum laude from Westminster Choir College with a bachelor’s degree in sacred music. He then earned his Master of Sacred Music degree in organ performance from the University of Notre Dame, where he attended on a full-tuition scholarship. He also studied at the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional de Toulouse, France, where he practiced and studied on the organs of the Puget family. JJ then earned his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in organ performance from the University of Houston (UH). During this time, he worked as a teaching assistant in the UH Music History Department and served as musician in multiple churches. The article published in this magazine is a cut of his dissertation on the Puget family, which was finished in May 2023.

JJ has served as organist on the music staff of churches such as Christ Church Cathedral, Houston, Texas; the Cathedral of Saint Thomas More, Arlington, Virginia; and the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, South Bend, Indiana. He has performed in these churches and various other churches and concert halls in the United States, Canada, France, and England. In July 2024, JJ will give a lecture recital on the Puget family at the location of one of their instruments in Sydney, Australia. He is the winner of the Nanovic Grant for European Study for Professional Development and was a finalist for the Frank Huntington Beebe Grant. He also won second prize in the graduate division of the Hall Pipe Organ Competition in 2022. JJ’s research on César Franck and his musical influences was published in the Vox Humana organ journal. In September 2020 he was a guest on Jennifer Pascual’s Sounds from the Spires SiriusXM Radio program in which his organ recordings were broadcast. He has played liturgies and concerts for international television audiences on the Salt + Life and EWTN networks. JJ is a member of the American Guild of Organists (AGO) as well as the National Association of Pastoral Musicians (NPM), from which he has received several scholarships. A leader in the field, he has served on NPM’s national publications committee and will serve on the board of the Northern Virginia AGO chapter beginning later this year. He is a member of The Diapason’s 20 Under 30 Class of 2021. JJ’s career goal is to teach sacred music to the next generation. For more information: 
jjmitchellorganist.com.

Puget gallery organ, Notre-Dame de la Dalbade, Toulouse
Puget gallery organ, Notre-Dame de la Dalbade, Toulouse

Editor’s note: Part 1 of this series appeared in the May 2024 issue, pages 12–18.

The progressive era, 1892–1922: Jean-Baptiste Puget

Unlike his older brother Eugène, Jean-Baptiste, the youngest of Théodore’s children, was more interested in science and technology than musical aesthetics. He was a gifted visual artist who designed organ façades such as that of Notre-Dame de la Dalbade and the choir organ of Notre-Dame du Taur, both in Toulouse. He was also different from Théodore and Eugène because he did not study music and had not been tasked with voicing pipes.103 Though Jean-Baptiste’s skills were a major asset to the family, he did not have much authority until he assumed leadership of the business following Eugène’s sudden passing in 1892.104 He married Zélie-Augustine Raynaud, and together they had three children: Maurice, Louis, and Germaine.105

Enamored with innovation, Jean-Baptiste introduced progressive changes to the company’s organ building style. For example, he favored zinc bass pipes instead of tin due to practicality and low cost.106 This choice in materials, which was controversial at the time, resulted in a robust sound without having to use as much metal.107 The use of zinc reflects Jean-Baptiste’s knowledge of English organs, particularly the work of Henry Willis. Eugène’s metal pipes were mostly constructed with tin.108

Another significant change under Jean-Baptiste’s tenure was the shift from mechanical action to tubular-pneumatic action.110 Organbuilders of the Romantic era through the early twentieth century wanted to modify actions to make their instruments easier to play, employing wind-based solutions to do so.111 The Barker lever, which was common on French symphonic organs, was a wind-activated mechanism to lighten mechanical action. Eugène and Jean-Baptiste used Barker levers when building their instruments. The two brothers traveled together to London to study tubular-pneumatic action, in which a pneumatic tube connection takes the place of a tracker in conveying the key action from console to windchest, thereby lightening the key action.112 Eugène typically maintained the status quo of mechanical action with Barker levers, but Jean-Baptiste embraced the new tubular-pneumatic technology.113

Jean-Baptiste’s professional connections attracted new attention from the scientific community. One prominent ally of the company during Jean-Baptiste’s reign was Dr. Gabriel Bédart, a medical doctor who had an advisory role at the Puget company.114 Penning an opinion in a Toulousian newspaper in 1895, Bédart discussed the benefits of turn-of-the-century advances in organ technology and advocated for the implementation of tubular-pneumatic systems. He praised the work of Jean-Baptiste by citing recently constructed Puget organs.115 Much of what is known about Jean-Baptiste’s organbuilding philosophy comes from Bédart’s writings.

Jean-Baptiste connected with other professionals differently than Eugène, whose relationships with masterful Parisian organists had elevated the family’s status. Jean-Baptiste maintained these connections while devoting much attention to fostering friendships with other organbuilders around the world. At a conference of organbuilders held in 1895 in Paris, Jean-Baptiste established professional relationships with other prominent constructors of the time, including Henry Willis, Samuel Casavant, and Charles Mutin. In 1899 Jean-Baptiste became a member of the jury of the Exposition Internationale Paris-Neuilly.116 Through his professional correspondences and promotion from colleagues, Jean-Baptiste elevated the reputation of the Puget family both nationally and internationally.117 This fame was expanded further when the Pugets constructed an organ at la Cathédrale de Sainte-Cécile d’Albi, hereafter referred to as Albi Cathedral.118

La Cathédrale de Sainte-Cécile d’Albi

Albi is located about fifty miles northeast of Toulouse on the Tarn River. This picturesque city, the home of painter Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, has a distinguished artistic history.120 The cathedral, considered to be the largest brick building in the world, is easily identifiable in Albi’s cityscape. The fortress-like structure was constructed in the thirteenth century to suppress the Albigensian heresy and assert the Catholic Church’s dominance. Albi Cathedral’s thick walls, buttresses, and tall windows tower over the surrounding streets.121

The 1736 Moucherel instrument that preceded the Puget organ at Albi Cathedral had been in disrepair for decades.122 In 1841 the Claude brothers, two organbuilders from Mirecourt, tried to romanticize this French Classical organ cheaply. The result was described as a “mutilation” upon its reception, according to one listener.123 Jean-Baptiste was familiar with this instrument since the Puget family had repaired it and made slight adjustments to its specifications in 1875.124 In 1902 Jean-Baptiste wrote to the rector of the cathedral and described a proposal for a new instrument. Jean-Baptiste was both persuasive and persistent, arguing for his project to clergy members in Albi four times within one year.125 The clergy signed a contract for a new Puget organ in March 1903 and amended it in October of the same year, paying the Pugets 31,650 francs.126

Jean-Baptiste designed a gargantuan organ with four manuals and seventy-eight ranks for Albi Cathedral.127 He preserved some of the existing pipework while adding much of his own.128 Forty-two of the stops were placed behind shades, making it the only organ in France to have so many pipes under expression.129 The tonal scheme was diverse, featuring orchestral stops such as a Euphone.130 There was also a Clarabella, an English stop that was unusual for a French symphonic organ.131 The Great division boasted seven stops speaking at 8′ pitch, which provided a plethora of foundational tone for the upperwork. Upon completion, Albi Cathedral contained the largest French symphonic organ outside of Paris. Only two organs exceeded its size in France at the time: the Cavaillé-Coll instruments of Notre-Dame de Paris and l’Église Saint-Sulpice.132

Jean-Baptiste and his team of technicians devised solutions for the challenges of making an instrument of such magnitude to function. Three enormous bellows and four pairs of blowers installed in the cathedral tower powered the Albi organ.133 The entire organ was on tubular-pneumatic action.134 This manner of construction allowed the resistance in the keyboards and pedalboard to remain consistent regardless of how many manuals were coupled.135 This instrument also featured a crescendo pedal with a dial that indicated which stops were added based on the position of the shoe.136 Though the Pugets did not invent tubular-pneumatic action or the crescendo pedal, the builders demonstrated originality in applying these innovations to such a large organ. There was no existing prototype or precedent for constructing a French symphonic organ of this size with these technological innovations.

Adolphe Marty, who was the organ instructor at Institut National des Jeunes Aveugles in Paris at the time, dedicated the instrument on the feast of Saint Cecilia, November 22, 1904. The performance date was significant as Saint Cecilia, the namesake of the cathedral, is also the patron saint of music.139 This premiere program by Marty, a former student of César Franck, included works by Bach, Buxtehude, and a new composition of his own specifically for the inauguration of the organ. It was called Sonate héroïque Sainte Cécile and had four movements: “Extase,” “Chant d’Hyménée,” “Entretien et Conversion,” and “Triomphe et Apothéose.”140 This piece is significant as it represents a contribution to the French symphonic organ repertoire inspired by a Puget organ.

The organ in Albi Cathedral was judged to be the Puget family’s masterpiece. In a review of this concert, the cathedral rector wrote the following week in a local publication that only two organs exceeded the greatness of that in Albi: Notre-Dame de Paris and l’Église Saint-Sulpice.141 A prominent Parisian organist of this era, Albert Perilhou, echoed the sentiment of this review with even more praise. He declared in a message to Puget that the Albi organ was a “deserving rival” of the two massive Paris organs.142 These testimonies demonstrate awe and respect for Jean-Baptiste’s work ranging from local members of the Albi religious community to two of the most distinguished French musicians at the turn of the century.

In addition to pleasing mid-career professionals at the turn of the century, the Albi instrument also inspired young organists. Léonce de Saint-Martin was born in Albi in 1886 and was the deputy organist at the church by age fourteen in 1900. Four years later, while he still served in this position, the cathedral organ was inaugurated by his teacher, Marty.143 In the years after Saint-Martin had moved to Paris, Jean-Baptiste received a letter from him. He described that he spent his holiday vacations playing the Albi organ and told the builder: “I bless the Lord one hundred times to have been so well privileged.”144 Saint-Martin went on to succeed Louis Vierne as the organist of Notre-Dame de Paris in 1937.145

For fifty years, the Puget organ filled the expansive nave of Albi Cathedral with music and rarely required maintenance. However, the instrument did not survive into the modern age. Following a recital given by André Marchal in May 1954, musicologist and organist Norbert Dufourcq, who was in the audience, declared that the organ was in disrepair. Speaking metaphorically, he described the organ as having a “vocal illness” and in dire need of a “remedy.”146 He was describing problems in the instrument’s winding system and the failing tubular-pneumatic action. Dufourcq also bemoaned the organ’s tonal palette, crying for more mixtures and upperwork rather than reeds and 8′ tone.147 He was a major proponent of Victor Gonzalez’s neo-Classical organs and tended to besmirch the Pugets.148

A restoration of this instrument would have involved hundreds of hours of meticulous work on the organ’s tubular-pneumatic systems. This type of organ technology had fallen out of style by the 1930s because the thin leather membranes had aged and needed to be replaced.149 Air leaks that had developed over time impaired the pneumatic system. In 1971 the Puget organ was dismantled and would ultimately be replaced by 1981 with an organ in the neo-Baroque style.150

The Puget instrument of Albi Cathedral represents both desirable and unpreferable aspects of organbuilding at the turn of the century. One could perceive Jean-Baptiste poorly for choosing low quality materials that risked unsustainability over time. Others may be tempted to pass judgment on Dufourcq’s criticism and Albi Cathedral’s governance for choosing not to restore the Puget organ in the latter part of the twentieth century. Regardless of opinions, the organ of Albi Cathedral was ultimately a product of its time.152 Jean-Baptiste could not have known the long-term sustainability problems of tubular-pneumatic systems because his decisions were cutting-edge at the time of the organ’s construction. The French Culture Ministry and its commission of Albi Cathedral acted practically when electing to replace the Puget organ.153

The neo-Classical era, 1922–1960: Maurice Puget

During the tenures of Théodore, Eugène, and Jean-Baptiste, the family business operated under a rapidly changing French political landscape. The company endured the separation of church and state (1789–1905); the Franco-Prussian War (1870–1871); the Expulsion of the Congregations (1880); the civil unrest following the assassination of the charismatic socialist orator Jean Jaurès, a native Occitanian (1914); and the numerous inefficacious post-Napoleonic governing systems that rose and fell in nineteenth-century France.155 The Pugets also survived competition against Cavaillé-Coll and managed to establish themselves in the south of France. Though technology had evolved during these years, the family’s instruments up to the 1920s were French symphonic organs indicative of the Romantic era. The external factors of political turmoil, new competition, and changing artistic aesthetics all were challenging factors in Maurice’s career.

Life and works

In his youth, Maurice attended the Toulouse Conservatory and took organ lessons with Georges Debat-Ponsan. During these years, he was awarded medals for his proficiency in solfège, piano, and organ while learning from his father in the family workshop. Young Maurice was the chief voicer of his father’s Albi Cathedral organ, ensuring all seventy-four stops sounded harmoniously.157 To continue his study in organ performance, he left Toulouse and joined the studio of Adolphe Marty in Paris. After two years he came back to Toulouse to work again with his father and married Elia-Jane Desmons in 1912. His organbuilding career was interrupted when he was conscripted in World War I.158

During the war, Maurice put his training as an organ technician to use. To trace enemy planes flying in the night sky, a French military captain, René Baillaud, designed a primitive sonar that he named the “Parabaloïde Baillaud.”159 In order to operate this echolocation device, the user needed to have a keen ear, which Maurice had developed from his years of musical training and labor in the family workshop. He was directed by the French military’s general headquarters to help Baillaud develop the tool further.160 For his successful work, which helped keep French soldiers and civilians safe during the war, Maurice was awarded the Croix de Guerre.161

Maurice officially took over the family business from his father in 1922, though Jean-Baptiste likely transferred responsibilities to his son gradually in the years prior.162 The same year Maurice and his wife had a son, Jean, whose descendants are alive today.163 Maurice had several apprentices, the most famous of whom was Robert Boisseau.164 However, neither his son nor any other apprentice succeeded Maurice after his sudden stroke in 1960.165 By 1965 a central heating company had taken the place of the Puget workshop on Rue de Négreneys.

As Maurice assumed his role as head of the Puget workshop, organbuilding aesthetics in France were shifting. In the early twentieth century, Norbert Dufourcq and André Marchal spearheaded a movement to create eclectic organs. These instruments would have the foundation tone of a French symphonic organ but would also have sounds common to French Classical and German Baroque organs, such as brilliant mixtures, lustrous mutation stops, and soft reeds. Spanish organbuilder Victor Gonzalez, a former employee of both Cavaillé-Coll and Merklin based in Paris, constructed instruments in this style. This type of organbuilding became known as the neo-Classical movement. Shortly after his business was established in 1929, Gonzalez dominated the market with the help of his powerful allies, who included Dufourcq, Marchal, and German organbuilder Rudolf von Beckerath.166 The Puget family faced more difficulty competing against the Gonzalez firm in post-war France than they did against Cavaillé-Coll at the height of his business’s power.167

Maurice was aware of the rapid changes occurring in the organ industry and started constructing instruments in the neo-Classical style at least seven years before Gonzalez’s firm was founded. He was a gracious man who made concessions to his clients, though some scholars argue that his acceptance of customers’ neo-Classical demands damaged the reputation of the family. For example, Maurice made modifications to the organ in the Salle Franklin, the opera house in Bordeaux, by adding an 8′ Bourdon made of zinc; a three-rank Mixture, two ranks of which were made with spotted metal and the third plain metal; and a Voix humaine, also made of zinc.168 After World War I, tin, oak, and other durable materials became even more expensive and scarce than they had been previously. Many critics decried Maurice’s work and reminisced about the organs of Eugène’s tenure.169

Three notable reconstructions from Maurice’s first decade as head of the workshop include the organs of la Cathédrale Saint-Just et Saint-Pasteur in Narbonne in 1927, la Cathédrale de Perpignan in 1930, and la Collégiale Saint-Salvy d’Albi in 1931. These projects are defined by their Stentor stops and plethora of mutations.170 Maurice also installed electro-pneumatic systems in his instruments throughout his career, and he altered mechanical blowers by adapting them to electricity. By using the electro-pneumatic system, Maurice was able to create extended and borrowed stops that shared the same rank of pipes. For example, on the organ at Saint-Salvy, there are sixty stops for forty ranks of pipes.171 Maurice constructed his instruments with strong foundation stops, similar to the robust 8′ tone his father designed at Albi Cathedral as well as other French symphonic organs by the family. By voicing his instruments to produce a vigorous sound, Maurice differed from Gonzalez, whose foundation stops were quieter.172

World War II wreaked havoc on the Puget dynasty.174 Materials that were already rare and expensive in France after World War I became even more scarce during the 1940s, which affected organbuilding as well as numerous other industries. The country’s economy was in shambles due to soaring inflation. The Puget family’s net worth was depleted, and clients for new organs were few and far between. French clergy were also lacking money after the separation of church and state, and Gonzalez snatched up whatever major organ projects were available at the time.175 Cavaillé-Coll’s workshop, which had been succeeded by Charles Mutin and Auguste Convers after Aristide’s passing, closed its doors during this war. The once formidable giant of French symphonic organbuilding throughout the nineteenth century fell victim during these difficult years.

Despite dire circumstances, Maurice had some advantages to keep the family business afloat. First, he had a thorough understanding of organs throughout Occitania. He was a desirable restorer because he had an encyclopedic knowledge of many organs in the south of France. He always approached restoration projects respectfully, voicing organs from different eras in an appropriate, tasteful manner. Maurice also had influential Parisian contacts, continuing in Eugène and Jean-Baptiste’s tradition of professional correspondences.176 Thanks to his friendships with prestigious organists such as Marcel Dupré, Alexandre Cellier, and Xavier Darasse, he was able to win contracts despite Gonzalez’s grip on the French organ scene. Three of Maurice’s most notable restorations were in the cathedrals of Toulouse in 1947, Monaco in 1953, and Nice in 1958.177

In both Maurice’s time and the present day, one finds critics of France’s neo-Classical movement. Oftentimes, when builders tried to create eclectic organs with the versatility to perform multiple kinds of repertoire authentically, they produced instruments that could not interpret any single style well. Maurice’s organs were controversial because of their electrification, specification, and materials.178 However, Maurice’s proficiency in technology, music, and history was never questioned. He brought artistry to neoclassicism with the resources that were available to him.

Maurice was adaptable, enduring several challenges in his environment. Before he succeeded his father, he was forced to sacrifice years of his early career to serve his country in World War I. He built with cheaper materials because those were what was available to him at a price the business could afford. Maurice prioritized his customers’ preferences in his work, which some critics perceived as a detriment. He treated each organ that he restored with a sensitivity to its history and its original construction.179 Ultimately, by navigating through uncertain, turbulent cultural shifts with minimal resources, Maurice brought honor and prestige to the Puget family. After Maurice passed away, Marcel Dupré wrote a letter of condolence to the family: “I had not only the highest esteem for his value and talent as an organbuilder, and the deepest admiration for his courage and dedication to his art, but a deep friendship for him.”180

Conclusion

Of the twenty-five largest Puget organs, fifteen were destroyed, typically replaced by neo-Classical instruments of other builders.182 Of the remaining ten large instruments, three are not functioning but are well preserved; another three are playable but are in need of restoration; and four have been restored.183 Over the course of roughly 120 years, the Puget family constructed 350 organs and worked on 742 in total.184 These instruments were found in churches, salons, theaters, conservatories, and concert halls not only in France but also in other European nations as well as in Asia, Africa, and Australia.185 The Pugets built thirteen organs in Paris, a city defined by the work of Cavaillé-Coll.

The international demand for Puget organs was a result of the instruments’ caliber. For example, the Taur organ was durable and designed for the comfort of the performer. The Albi Cathedral instrument astonished onlookers with its five tubular-pneumatic systems. With seventy-four stops, there were limitless possibilities of combinations. The organs of the Taur and Albi Cathedral encapsulate the Pugets’ work as masterful technicians and artists.

Puget organs represent the best of Toulousain culture. A historic city, Toulouse has a rich musical heritage that can be traced as far back as the troubadours in the Medieval era. Toulouse also displays a distinct architectural style that, like many European metropolises, contains a variety of buildings both ancient and modern. By choosing local materials and constructing in the symphonic style, the Pugets created a distinct Toulousain organ sound that balanced normative French trends at the national scale with unique developments, such as voicing in a darker tone and consistently placing multiple divisions under expression. Puget façades tastefully reflect the architectural styles of the rooms in which they reside, maintaining aesthetic consistency. In perfecting aural and visual aspects of their instruments, the Pugets created a distinct Toulousain organ identity.186

The Pugets were unique because of the culture of their workshop in which each of the four heads of family constructed organs differently from one another. They did not feel pressure to always build instruments in a prescribed manner and were quick to make changes. For example, Eugène made radical innovations at the Taur just after assuming control from his father, and Jean-Baptiste stopped building with mechanical actions immediately after he succeeded Eugène in 1892. Though Théodore likely apprenticed with Moitessier and abided by Bédos’s treatise, he was largely self-taught and instructed his sons in the craft of organbuilding. When asked why he preferred Puget organs to those of Cavaillé-Coll, Jean Daldosso said that every Puget organ is a new revelation since the family did not fear unorthodox experimentation.188

By studying organs of the Puget family, performers can create better informed interpretations. For example, organists may be surprised to learn that on Puget organs, the Hautbois-Bassoon and Voix humaine were both activated by the reed ventil, unlike a Cavaillé-Coll instrument. Though Widor’s Symphonie V was written for his instrument at l’Église Saint-Sulpice, which had a single expressive division, one could deliver a historically informed performance of his work by manipulating the shades of an expressive Positif division like the Puget organ of Notre-Dame de la Dalbade. Jean-Claude Guidarini argued that timbres of mystic organ composers such as Louis Vierne, Charles Tournemire, and Olivier Messiaen are easy to produce on Puget instruments because the composers’ registrations feature somber 8′ foundations with tastefully balanced upperwork.189 If Cavaillé-Coll’s and Gonzalez’s organs are the sole instruments upon which performers conceive their interpretations, the possibilities for artistry and creativity are constrained. The many testimonials in which generations of formidable French organ composers expressed respect and honor towards the Pugets indicate the validity of the family’s works, which allowed for tasteful interpretations of symphonic organ repertoire. Some compositions inspired by Puget organs include Georges Debat-Ponsan’s Elévation and the aforementioned sonata by Adolphe Marty, written for Albi Cathedral.190

Organ builders also can benefit from learning about the Puget family. Each head of the family was attuned to the history of instruments, the desires of their clients, current trends in organ building, and how to voice organs in a tasteful manner. As a result, their numerous technical innovations, voicing styles, and materials were always calculated risks. The engineering details of their instruments, such as scalings, pneumatic system components, and façade blueprints are a worthy area of study that can inform organbuilders on different types of approaches to French symphonic organbuilding. Théodore, Eugène, and Maurice were especially considerate of the needs of performers since they were organists themselves.

Musicians and scholars are still seeking further information on the Puget family. For example, little is known about Jean-Baptiste’s organ in the prestigious Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris. It was constructed in May 1913, and the façade is still visible today above the proscenium.191 Léonce de Saint-Martin was appointed as the theater’s organist.192 At the inauguration of this fifty-two-rank instrument, which had an array of percussive stops, an orchestra was conducted in turn by Claude Debussy, Vincent d’Indy, Paul Dukas, Gabriel Fauré, and Camille Saint-Saëns.193 Though some details of the organ’s history are known, the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées did not keep many records on the instrument, and in 2020 the theater petitioned the general public to provide information about the organ so that they could begin a restoration.194

Many questions about the dynasty puzzle Puget experts today. For example, one wonders if the organ of the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées provided prelude music to audience goers at the premiere of Igor Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring, an infamous disaster in which the performance by the Ballet Russes resulted in a riotous uproar from the audience.195 There are many questions surrounding Théodore’s life, especially concerning the exact year of his company’s founding. In addition, one wonders when did Eugène discover the possibility of having two expressive divisions, and what organ, if any, inspired him to implement this organbuilding technique at the Taur. For many of the Puget instruments, both surviving and lost, there is a need for further research. I hope that this essay will serve as a springboard that inspires future study of the Pugets and their instruments.

The organs of the Puget family remain relevant in the modern age. Annually, thousands of organists flock to southern France for the festival of “Toulouse Les Orgues” to hear instruments such as the Puget organs of Notre-Dame du Taur and Notre-Dame de la Dalbade in concert. Students at the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régionale de Toulouse come from around the world to study and perform repertoire on these organs. Many people can describe a Puget instrument they have experienced, but few are able to share information they have learned about the builder.196 If the Pugets’ legacy is to be celebrated and their organs are to survive, further scholarship is needed. The priceless, masterful works of the Puget family deserve more recognition from the international organ community.

Notes

103. Guidarini, “La Dalbade France 1888, Beethoven, Berlioz, Chopin, Saint-Saëns. . .,” page 74.

104. Bachet, page 17.

105. Guidarini, page 74.

106. Rohan, pages 19, 76.

107. Delmas; Rohan, page 19. Delmas read a letter by Jean-Baptiste saying that zinc pipes were more expensive than tin, but that the organbuilder sought after the material for the sound it produced. Other evidence from Rohan suggests otherwise.

108. Bachet, page 10; Delmas.

109. Archives of the Musée de Lavaur, shared by l’Association Jean-Claude Guidarini.

110. De Lasala, “The Eugène Puget Organ Is Reborn,” page 10.

111. Shannon, page 8.

112. Comments made by Katelyn Emerson, April 26, 2023; Shannon, page 177.

113. Hamilton, page 56. One instance in which Eugène did use the pneumatic system was in the pedalboard of the Dalbade, as previously mentioned.

114. Rohan, page 19. It is unclear just how involved Bédart was with the Puget company. Rohan describes his role as “éminence grise,” which means “gray eminence.” He was influential in the philosophy of the company and its direction without having an official title.

115. Gabriel Bédart, “Les Orgues Tubulaire à Membranes de M. Puget,” L’Art Méridional, July 1, 1895.

116. Rohan, page 19.

117. Guidarini, Les Puget, Une Dynastie de Facteurs d’Orgues à Toulouse, page 4.

118. Albi is a town located northeast of Toulouse in Occitania.

119. Archives of the Musée de Lavaur, shared by l’Association Jean-Claude Guidarini. White-bearded Jean-Baptiste is standing in the center of the image with his arms folded.

120. Justin Postlethwaite, “Albi: The Birthplace of Toulouse-Lautrec,” France Today, August 3, 2022, https://francetoday.com/travel/travel-features/city-focus-albi/.

121. “Albi Cathedral,” World Monuments Fund, December 2020, https://www.wmf.org/project/albi-cathedral.

122. Gérard Terrissol, Les orgues de la Cathédrale Sainte-Cecile d’Albi (Albi: Éditions Grand Sud, 1992), pages 8–16. Several other builders had made minor adjustments to Moucherel’s organ, which was built in 1736.

123. Terrissol, pages 20–22; Chris Van Doodewaard, “Pipe Organs: Albi Cathedral France 1736 Christophe Moucherel,” Pipe Organs (blog), October 20, 2010, http://mypipeorganhobby.blogspot.com/2009/01/albi-cathedral-france.html.

124. Terrissol, pages 20–22; “Composite of Sainte-Cécile,” Organa Reginae Caeli, November 18, 2019, https://organareginaecaeli.wordpress.com/composite-of-sainte-cecile/.

125. Jean-Claude Guidarini, “Le Grand Orgue Jean-Baptiste Puget de La Métropole d’Albi,” Le Dermogloste, March 17, 2009. Accessed January 25, 2022, http://dermogloste.viabloga.com/news/le-grand-orgue-jean-baptiste-puget-de-la-metropole-d-albi.

126. Terrissol, pages 20–22.

127. Guidarini. See Figure 8 for an image of the console.

128. Terrissol, pages 20–22.

129. Guidarini.

130. Guidarini.

131. Brown.

132. Guidarini. In 1932 the organ of Saint Eustache in Paris was expanded significantly, making the Puget organ the fourth largest in all of France.

133. Delmas; Guidarini. The wind pressure on the Albi organ was much higher than a typical French symphonic organ of this time.

134. Guidarini.

135. Shannon, page 72.

136. Guidarini; Terrissol, pages 20–22.

137. Reprinted from Guidarini.

138. Reprinted from Guidarini.

139. J. Lapeyre, “Variétés: Un Orgue et Une Sonate d’Orgue,” La Semaine Religieuse Du Diocèse d’Alby, November 26, 1904, https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k6390560d. November 22 was also the anniversary of the Dalbade organ dedication.

140. Lapeyre; Adolphe Marty, Sonate Héroïque de Sainte-Cécile (Paris: A. Nöel, 1905); Poliquin.

141. Lapeyre.

142. Guidarini.

143. Jean Guérard, “Leonce of Saint-Martin,” Musica et Memoria, 2016, http://www.musimem.com/st-martin.htm.

144. Ibid.

145. Philip Andrew Smith, “Léonce de Saint-Martin: Organist and Composer” (Doctor of Musical Arts dissertation, Hamilton, New Zealand, The University of Waikato, 2018), https://hdl.handle.net/10289/12116, 82.

146. Delmas; Guidarini; Terrissol, page 22. Dufourcq was a staunch political opponent of the Puget family. He championed organs built by Gonzalez.

147. Guidarini.

148. Delmas.

149. Delmas; Shannon, pages 66–67. Delmas says that pneumatic membrane decay, lead tube corrosion, and lack of maintenance were likely the sources of the problems.

150. Guidarini; Terrissol, pages 20–22; Timothy Tikker, “Albi Cathedral–Moucherel Organ,” Mander Organ Builders Forum, September 3, 2005, https://mander-organs-forum.invisionzone.com/topic/182-albi-cathedral-moucherel-organ/.

151. Neither the Pugets’ organ nor the 1981 instrument altered the existing casework, so Jean-Baptiste’s organ would have looked identical to this one.

152. Guidarini.

153. Delmas; Guidarini. Dufourq’s critiques were not the only red flags concerning this instrument’s condition. Delmas describes a report in the French Ministry of Culture in Paris from 1958, which states what organists Alexandre Cellier and Pierre Cochereau found when they were sent to evaluate the instrument. They claimed that a lack of maintenance and drastic temperature fluxes made the organ unplayable, especially in warm weather. The two recommended electrifying the action, moving the Echo into the Positif case, and swapping one or two stops. Regrettably, no action was taken following this report. At French cathedrals, decisions such as organ projects are made by the French Ministry of Culture and the commissions they assemble for their restoration projects.

154. Mitchell, reprinted from Guidarini, “Compositions Du Quelques Instruments Construits Ou Reconstruits Par La Manufacture Puget de Toulouse.”

155. B. S. Bennet, “19th Century French Politics,” University of Botswana History Department, September 11, 2000. http://www.thuto.org/ubh/ub/h202/fr19p1.htm; Musée protestant. “The Law of 1905.” Accessed April 12, 2023. https://museeprotestant.org/en/notice/the-law-of-1905/.

156. Reprinted from “Histoire et Anecdotes,” Toulouse Les Orgues, accessed April 12, 2022, https://toulouse-les-orgues.org/orgues-2/histoire-et-anecdote/.

157. Guidarini, “La Dalbade France 1888, Beethoven, Berlioz, Chopin, Saint-Saëns. . .,” pages 74–75.

158. Rohan, page 37.

159. Guidarini, Les Puget, Une Dynastie de Facteurs d’Orgues à Toulouse, page 6. Paraboloïde Baillaud was a precursor to flight radar.

160. “L’Inauguration du Grand Orgue,” Le Cri de Toulouse, December 1921, 11ème Année, No. 47 edition.

161. Guidarini, “La Dalbade France 1888, Beethoven, Berlioz, Chopin, Saint-Saëns. . .,” page 75. “Croix de Guerre,” which is a military medal, best translates to “War Cross.”

162. Évrard, page 8.

163. Delmas; Guidarini, Les Puget, Une Dynastie Toulousaine de Facteurs d’Orgues, page 37. Jean, who passed away in 2018, was a career pharmacist. His daughter, Françoise, was born in 1953. She and her son, Nicolas, are living descendants.

164. Vincent Hildebrandt, “Boisseau–Cattiaux–Chevron,” Organs of Paris, accessed April 9, 2022, https://www.organsparisn.vhhil.nl/boiscat.htm. Boisseau and his apprentices built several organs. His son, Jean-Loup Boisseau, restored the organs of la Basilique Saint-Denis, Notre-Dame de Paris, la Cathédrale de Poitiers, and la Basilique Saint-Sernin in Toulouse.

165. Rohan, page 37.

166. Vincent Hildebrandt, “Gonzalez-Danion-Dargassies,” Organs of Paris, accessed March 19, 2023, https://www.organsparisn.vhhil.nl/gonzalez1.htm.

167. Guidarini, Les Puget, Une Dynastie Toulousaine de Facteurs d’Orgues, page 36; Rohan, page 28. One reason Dufourcq wrote scathing critiques about the Albi Cathedral organ when its tubular-pneumatic systems failed was he saw the Pugets as competitors of Gonzalez, with whom he was aligned. Dufourcq did complement the Pugets on their restorations, citing their remarkable knowledge of instruments throughout the south of France.

168. Bachet, page 18.

169. Delmas; Guidarini, “La Dalbade France 1888, Beethoven, Berlioz, Chopin, Saint-Saëns. . .,” page 75. Another struggle Maurice faced came in 1936 when the French government instituted paid holidays. This law did not help organbuilders generate profit.

170. Bachet, page 18; Edward J. Stauff, “Stentor Bombarde,” Encyclopedia of Organ Stops, 1999, accessed March 20, 2023, http://www.organstops.org/s/StentorBombarde.html. Stentor stops were loud stops common on organs in the early twentieth century. A Stentor stop may refer to a Stentorphone, Stentor Octave (sounding at 4′ pitch), or a Stentor Bombarde, which is a penetrating reed.

171. Bachet, pages 18–19.

172. Hamilton, page 62.

173. Joseph Rivel, “Bénédiction & Inauguration Solennelle du Grand Orgue,” Le Bourdon de la Basilique Saint-Just & Saint-Pasteur Narbonne, October 23, 1927, 6ème Année, No. 11 edition, in Organ Historical Society Library and Archives, Villanova, Pennsylvania.

174. World War II was a particularly dark period for pipe organs and organbuilders. Across Europe, thousands of organs were dismantled so that metal pipes could be melted down to make ammunition. Many historic organs were bombed and lost forever. The Pugets were fortunate since their most famous instruments were not destroyed as a consequence of the war.

175. Delmas.

176. Guidarini, Les Puget, Une Dynastie Toulousaine de Facteurs d’Orgues, page 40.

177. Bachet, page 19.

178. Bachet, page 19.

179. Bachet, page 18.

180. Rohan, page 26. Translation by Mitchell.

181. Rohan, page 26. Translation by Mitchell.

182. Guidarini, Les Puget, Une Dynastie Toulousaine de Facteurs d’Orgues, page 40. The dismantling of large organs was common in the neo-Classical era of organbuilding. The instruments of Merklin and other notable builders were also destroyed in similar fashion in the latter part of the twentieth century.

183. Guidarini, “Les Puget, Une Dynastie Toulousaine de Facteurs d’Orgues,” page 40.

184. “Histoire de l’orgue et Concert Lyrique: le Public Conquis,” La Dépêche, March 4, 2015, https://www.ladepeche.fr/article/2015/03/04/2059782-histoire-de-l-orgue-et-concert-lyrique-le-public-conquis.html; Guidarini, Les Puget, Une Dynastie Toulousaine de Facteurs d’Orgues, page 40. It is unclear exactly how many organs were built for their homes outside of France and how many were moved there later. One of the Pugets’ instruments in Sainte-Marie College in Toulouse, built in 1875, was supposed to be transferred to Madagascar. Since Théodore could not oversee its completion in Africa, the organ remained in France and was later moved to Saint Barthélémy Church in Montastruc-la-Conseillère.

185. Delmas; Le Cri de Toulouse; Pastór de Lasala, “A Puget Organ in Sydney: A Fortunate Historical Accident,” OHTA News 44, no. 1 (October 4, 2018): pages 14–21. There was a single cinema organ constructed by the Puget family at Le Royal Cinéma in Toulouse.

186. Rohan, page 17. Because of their unique elements regarding aesthetics, some scholars such as Rohan argue that Puget organs are not comparable to Cavaillé-Coll’s instruments.

187. Reprinted from Guidarini. Addressed to the Pugets, the perimeter of the image lists all the family’s organs that Marty had dedicated up to 1901.

188. Hamilton, page 62.

189. Hamilton, page 62.

190. Rohan, page 30.

191. Delmas.

192. Smith, page 80.

193. Guidarini, Les Pugets, Une Dynastie de Facteurs d’orgues à Toulouse, page 6.

194. Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, “Le Saviez-Vous? L’Histoire de l’Orgue du Théâtre N’Est Pas Évidente à Retracer,” December 2020, YouTube video, 2:41, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxvUGQV3NC8.

195. Delmas. The Puget organ was examined and accepted exactly one week before the Rite of Spring premiere.

196. Simon Thomas Jacobs, “In the Organ Lofts of Bordeaux, Toulouse, and Paris,” The Diapason, volume 105, number 8, whole number 1257 (August 2014), pages 20–24.

 

References

Key:

BNF=Bibliothèque National du France, Paris

OHS=Organ Historical Society Library and Archives, Villanova, Pennsylvania

 

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Jacquin, Gala. “Toulouse: L’église Notre-Dame Du Taur va Faire Peau Neuve.” L’Opinion Indépendante, January 30, 2023. https://lopinion.com/articles/actualite/15240_toulouse-eglise-notre-dame-taur-peau-neuve.

Le Journal de Toulouse: Politique et Littéraire, “La Séance d’orgue.” June 1880, Année 76, No. 167 édition. BNF. https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k5377532h/f1.item.r=puget.zoom.

Julien, Abbé R. C. Toulouse Chrétienne: Histoire de La Paroisse de Notre Dame La Dalbade. Toulouse: Chez Edouard-Privat, 1891. https://archive.org/stream/histoiredelapar00juligoog/histoiredelapar00juligoog_djvu.txt.

Kincoppal-Rose Bay School. “Kincoppal-Rose Bay History.” Accessed February 23, 2023. https://www.krb.nsw.edu.au/about-us/our-history/.

Kralingen, Arjen van. “Recensie Clair-Obscur: Henri Ormières Bespeelt Het Puget-Orgel in de St. Vincent Te Carcassonne.” Orgel Nieuws (blog), March 20, 2021. https://www.orgelnieuws.nl/recensie-clair-obscur-henri-Ormières-bespeelt-het-puget-orgel-in-de-st-vincent-te-carcassonne/.

L., S. [sic] “On Nous Ecrit de Pibrac.” Journal de Toulouse: Politique et Littéraire, February 1864, 60ème année, no. 45 édition. BNF. https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k53716127/f1.item.r=puget.zoom.

Lapeyre, J. “Inauguration du Grand Orgue de Saint-Benoît de Castres.” La Semaine Religieuse Du Diocèse d’Alby, November 2, 1922. BNF. https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k6279905k.

———. “Variétés: Un Orgue et Une Sonate d’Orgue.” La Semaine Religieuse Du Diocèse d’Alby, November 26, 1904. BNF. https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k6390560d.

Lea-Scarlett, E. J. “Delany, John Albert (1852–1907).” In Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Accessed March 15, 2023. https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/delany-john-albert-3389/text5133.

Marion, Colette. “La Maison Puget: L’Orgue de Saint-Antonin.” Bulletin des Amis du Vieux Saint-Antonin, 2004. http://orguesaintantonin.fr/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Pages-de-2004.pdf.

Marty, Adolphe. Sonate Héroïque de Sainte-Cécile. Paris: A. Nöel, 1905.

Masson, Yves. “Orgues.” Les Orgues, 2022. http://orgue.free.fr/.

McAfee, Kay. “French Organ Music Seminar.” The Diapason 91, no. 1 (January 2000): pages 15–17.

Meyer, Peter. “Organist Had Love for French Culture.” The Sydney Morning Herald. May 24, 2012, sec. National. https://www.smh.com.au/national/organist-had-love-for-french-culture-20120523-1z5af.html.

Micot, Jean-Baptiste. “Rapport Sur Les Orgues de Toulouse,” 1796. Archives of the Musée de Lavaur, shared by l’Association Jean-Claude Guidarini.

Ministère de la Culture. “Église Saint-Vincent.” Accessed March 13, 2023. https://www.pop.culture.gouv.fr/notice/merimee/PA00102594.

———. “Gallery Organ: Instrumental Part of the Organ.” Accessed March 13, 2023. https://www.pop.culture.gouv.fr/notice/palissy/PM11000760auteur=%5B%22Puget%20Th%C3%A9odore%20%28facteur%20d%27orgues%29%22%5D&last_view=%22list%22&idQuery=%225e8e000-f2fa-c55-c8c-60a5a6b060%22.

Mitchell, John J. “German Influences on Franck’s Chorale in E Major.” Vox Humana, March 31, 2019. https://www.voxhumanajournal.com/mitchell2019.html.

Musée protestant. “The Law of 1905.” Accessed April 12, 2023. https://museeprotestant.org/en/notice/the-law-of-1905/.

Nayrolles, Jean. “Un architecte toulousain du XIXe siècle: Henri Bach (1815–1899).” Histoire de l’art 1–2, no. 1 (1988): 41–50. https://doi.org/10.3406/hista.1988.1628.

Oldham, Guy, and Kurt Lueders. S.v. “Puget.” Grove Music Online, January 20, 2001.

Organa Reginae Caeli. “Composite of Sainte-Cécile.” November 18, 2019. Accessed February 10, 2022. https://organareginaecaeli.wordpress.com/composite-of-sainte-cecile/.

Orgue Aquitaine. “L’Association Pour Le Développement de l’Orgue En Aquitaine.” Accessed February 13, 2023. https://orgue-aquitaine.fr/.

Les Orgues de l’Abbé Clergeau. “L’abbé Dessenne, L’abbé Cabias et l’orgue simplifié, l’abbé Larroque et Le ‘Milacor.’” L’Orgue de Sète. February 2009. Updated April 2017. Accessed January 29, 2022. https://www.organsparisaz.orguesdeparis.fr/index_htm_files/les_orgues_de_l_abbe_Clergeau.pdf.

Les Orgues de Paris. “Théâtre Des Champs-Elysées.” Accessed January 19, 2023. https://www.organsparisaz4.orguesdeparis.fr/Theatre%20Champs-%20elysees.htm.

Orgues en France et dans Le Monde. “L’orgue Puget (1885) de l’église St Exupère de Toulouse (Haute-Garonne).” Accessed April 26, 2022. http://orguesfrance.com/ToulouseStExupere.html.

Ormières, Henri. “Le Grand Orgue Theodore Puget de Saint-Vincent.” Association les Amis de l’Orgue de Saint-Vincent. Accessed October 13, 2022. http://orgue.st.vincent.pagesperso-orange.fr/.

Paroisses Cathédrale Toulouse. “Notre-Dame de La Dalbade,” September 1, 2016. http://paroissescathedraletoulouse.fr/home-2/culture-et-tourisme/notre-dame-de-la-dalbade/.

Paul, Vivian. “The Beginnings of Gothic Architecture in Languedoc.” The Art Bulletin 70, no. 1 (1988): pages 104–22. https://doi.org/10.2307/3051156.

Philadelphia Chamber Music Society. “César Franck–Classical Music Composers.” Accessed March 18, 2023. https://www.pcmsconcerts.org/composer/cesar-franck/.

Poliquin, Robert. “Orgues En France.” Organs Around the World, 1997–2023. Accessed March 3, 2023. http://www.musiqueorguequebec.ca/orgues/orguef.html.

Postlethwaite, Justin. “Albi: The Birthplace of Toulouse-Lautrec.” France Today, August 3, 2022. https://francetoday.com/travel/travel-features/city-focus-albi/.

Puget, Théodore. “Copie In-Extenso Du Devis Inséré Au Registre Des Délibérations Du Conseil de Fabrique de l’église St-Vincent.” Edited by Conseil de Fabrique de l’église St-Vincent, January 22, 1870. Archives of the Musée de Lavaur, shared by l’Association Jean-Claude Guidarini.

Radio Présence. “Immersion à Notre-Dame Du Taur.” Recorded by Jean-Claude Guidarini and Radio Présence in 2012 in Toulouse. YouTube video, 26:12. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dy69JOvYnsE.

Ramackers, Robert. “Les Orgues de L’Abbé Clergeau,” February 2015. https://rmcks.pagesperso-orange.fr/orgue/orgues_clergeau/les_orgues_de_l_abbe_Clergeau.pdf.

Religiana. “Church of Notre-Dame de La Dalbade, Toulouse.” Accessed March 21, 2023. https://religiana.com/church-notre-dame-de-la-dalbade-toulouse.

Rivel, Joseph. “Bénédiction & Inaugration Solennelle du Grand Orgue.” Le Bourdon de la Basilique Saint-Just & Saint-Pasteur Narbonne, October 23, 1927, 6ème Année, No. 11 edition. OHS.

Rohan, Henri de. Th. Puget: Une Famille de Facteurs d’orgues à Toulouse, 1834–1960. Bibliothèque Municipale de Toulouse, 1987. Exhibition catalog, Bibliothèque Municipale de Toulouse, October 1–31, 1987. https://orguesaintantonin.fr/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Puget-Rohan-catalogue-expow.pdf.

Rumsey, David. “Norman Johnston, 1917–2012.” Organ Music Society of Sydney, April 28, 2012. Accessed March 1, 2023. https://sydneyorgan.com/Norman.html.

Rushworth, G. D. “Richardson, Charles (1847–1926).” In Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, 2006. https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/richardson-charles-8200.

Shannon, John R. Understanding the Pipe Organ. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., 2009.

Smith, Philip Andrew. “Léonce de Saint-Martin: Organist and Composer.” DMA diss., The University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand, 2018. https://hdl.handle.net/10289/12116.

Stauff, Edward J. “Stentor Bombarde.” Encyclopedia of Organ Stops, 1999. http://www.organstops.org/s/StentorBombarde.html.

Terrissol, Gérard. Les orgues de la Cathedrale Sainte-Cecile d’Albi. Albi: Éditions Grand Sud, 1992. OHS.

Théâtre des Champs-Elysées. “Le Saviez-Vous? L’Histoire de l’Orgue du Théâtre N’Est Pas Évidente à Retracer.” Filmed in December 2020 in Paris, France. YouTube video, 2:41. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxvUGQV3NC8.

Théodore Puget Pére et Fils 1834–1960, Une dynastie de facteurs d’orgues. Lavaur: Musée du Pays Vaurais, n.d. Exhibition catalog. https://orguesaintantonin.fr/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/plaquette-Lavaur.pdf.

Thomas, Louis. Rapport de la Commission de Réception du Grand-Orgue de la Cathédrale de Montauban. Montauban: Imprimerie Catholique Jules Prunet, 1917. OHS.

Tikker, Timothy. “Albi Cathedral–Moucherel Organ.” Mander Organ Builders Forum, September 3, 2005. Accessed February 6, 2022. https://mander-organs-forum.invisionzone.com/topic/182-albi-cathedral-moucherel-organ/.

Toulouse Les Orgues. “Grand Orgue de l’Église Saint-Barthélémy.” Accessed March 16, 2023. https://toulouse-les-orgues.org/instrument/grand-orgue-de-leglise-saint-barthelemy/.

———. “Histoire et Anecdotes.” Accessed April 12, 2022. https://toulouse-les-orgues.org/orgues-2/histoire-et-anecdote/

​Vallas, Léon. César Franck. Translated by Hubert J. Foss. New York: Oxford University Press, 1951.

Van Doodewaard, Chris. “Pipe Organs: Albi Cathedral France 1736 Christophe Moucherel.” Pipe Organs (blog), October 20, 2010. http://mypipeorganhobby.blogspot.com/2009/01/albi-cathedral-france.html.

Widor, Charles-Marie. The Symphonies for Organ: Symphonie V. Edited by John Near. Volume 15. Recent Researches in the Music of the Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries. Madison: A-R Editions, Inc., 1993.

Weigle, Carl G. “Nouvelle construction pneumatique pour les tuyaux d’orgues, d’églises, et de concerts. Paris, 1890.” Archives of the Musée de Lavaur, shared by l’Association Jean-Claude Guidarini.

World Monuments Fund. “Albi Cathedral,” December 2020. https://www.wmf.org/project/albi-cathedral.

Appendix A: Finding aid to selected topics

Organs

Albi Cathedral (la Cathedrale Sainte-Cecile d’Albi): Bachet; Deschamps; Guidarini; Lapeyre; Organa Reginae Caeli; Orgue Aquitaine; Poliquin; Postlethwaite; Rohan; Smith; Terrissol; Tikker; Van Doodewaard; World Monuments Fund.

The Taur (l’Église Notre-Dame du Taur): L’Association Orgues Meridionales; Amann; Bachet; Basilique Saint-Sernin de Toulouse (Site officiel); ECHO-Organs; Guidarini; Guilmant; Gullet; Hamilton; Jacquin; Le Journal de Toulouse: Politique et Littéraire; Poliquin; Masson; Micot; Nayrolles; Radio Présence; Rohan; Théodore Puget Pére et Fils 1834–1960, Une Dynasty de Facteurs d’Orgues; Toulouse Les Orgues.

Puget family

Eugène Puget: Bachet; Évrard; Guidarini; Hamilton; Rohan; Théodore Puget Pére et Fils 1834–1960, Une Dynasty de Facteurs d’Orgues; Toulouse Les Orgues.

Jean-Baptiste Puget: Bachet; Bédart; Évrard; Guidarini; Hamilton; “L’Inauguration du Grand Orgue;” Les Orgues de Paris; Rohan; Théâtre des Champs-Elysées; Théodore Puget Pére et Fils 1834–1960, Une Dynasty de Facteurs d’Orgues; Toulouse Les Orgues; Weigle.

Maurice Puget: Bachet; Évrard; Guidarini; Hamilton; “L’Inauguration du Grand Orgue;” Rohan; Rivel; Théodore Puget Pére et Fils 1834–1960, Une Dynasty de Facteurs d’Orgues; Thomas; Toulouse Les Orgues.

Théodore Puget: Les Amis de l’Orgue Puget Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val; Les Amis de l’Orgue de Seysses; Art Lyb; Bachet; Cicchero; Dufourcq; Évrard; Guidarini; Hamilton; Les Orgues de l’Abbé Clergeau; Orgues en France et dans Le Monde; Ramackers; Rohan; Théodore Puget Pére et Fils 1834–1960, Une Dynasty de Facteurs d’Orgues; Toulouse Les Orgues.

Appendix B: Discography

Albums

Avot, Lionel. Franck: Pièces pour orgue. Toulouse: Hortus, 2011. http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2011/Mar11/Franck_organ_Hortus083.htm.

De Miguel, Matthieu. Symphonic Acclamations and Gregorian Paraphrases. Toulouse: Priory, 2019. https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/8716922--symphonic-acclamations-and-gregorian-paraphrases.

Ensemble Vocal Les Élements, Frédéric Desenclos, and Joël Suhubiette. Alfred Desenclos: Requiem. Toulouse: Hortus, 1997. http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2005/oct05/Desenclos_hortus009.htm.

Ensemble Vocal Les Élements, Michel Bouvard, and Joël Suhubiette. Duruflé: Requiem. Toulouse: Hortus, 1999. http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2005/may05/Durufle_requiem_hortus018.htm.

Monin, Virgille. Mulet: L’œuvre pour orgue. Toulouse: FY & Solstice, 2015. https://www.resmusica.com/2015/11/08/lorganiste-henri-mulet-revele-par-virgile-monin/.

Ormières. Clair-Obscur. Toulouse: Priory, 2021. https://www.prioryrecords.co.uk/Ormieres-St-Vincent-Church-Carcassonne-Puget-Franck-Vierne.

Rechsteiner, Yves. Organ recital: Rechsteiner, Yves–Beethoven, L. van, Berlioz, H., Chopin, F., Saint-Saens, C. (L’univers de l’orgue–La Dalbade, France 1888). Toulouse: Alpha, 2011. https://uh-naxosmusiclibrary-com.ezproxy.lib.uh.edu/h5/catalogue/ALPHA652.

YouTube

Bach, Johann Sebastian. Erbarm’ dich mein, O Herre Gott, BWV 721, performed by Mary Prat-Molinier, Albi. 5:52. YouTube, 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoB0t59V6O0.

Bélier, Gaston. Toccata in D Minor, performed by Pastór de Lasala, Sydney. 4:21. YouTube, 2012. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27dtjo2asj4&ab_channel=tormus1.

Boëllmann, Léon. Élevation in E-flat Major, performed by Titus Greyner, Sydney. 3:08. YouTube, 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzHK6ES-saU&ab_channel=PepOrgan.

Franck, César. Chorale in E Major, performed by John J. Mitchell, Toulouse. 15:43. YouTube, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ae-EC8S2J3Y.

Lemaigre, Edmond. Prelude et Cappricio, performed by Pastór de Lasala, Sydney. 3:20. YouTube, 2012. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27dtjo2asj4&ab_channel=tormus1.

Vierne, Louis. “Final” from Premiere Symphonie, opus 14, performed by Mary Prat-Molinier, Albi. 6:34. YouTube, 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ri6wJB65d4w&ab_channel=EricCord%C3%A9.

The History, Evolution, and Legacy of Les Facteurs d’Orgues Théodore Puget, Père et Fils, Part 1

John Joseph Mitchell

John Joseph “JJ” Mitchell is a musician and scholar from Arlington, Virginia. He is the director of music at Saint John Neumann Church in Reston, Virginia, where he oversees several musical groups and accompanies liturgies on the organ. JJ graduated summa cum laude from Westminster Choir College with a bachelor’s degree in sacred music. He then earned his Master of Sacred Music degree in organ performance from the University of Notre Dame, where he attended on a full-tuition scholarship. He also studied at the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional de Toulouse, France, where he practiced and studied on the organs of the Puget family. JJ then earned his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in organ performance from the University of Houston (UH). During this time, he worked as a teaching assistant in the UH Music History Department and served as a musician in multiple churches around the city. The article published in this magazine is a cut of his complete dissertation on the Puget family, which was finished in May 2023.

JJ has served as organist on the music staff of churches such as Christ Church Cathedral, Houston, Texas; the Cathedral of Saint Thomas More, Arlington, Virginia; and the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, South Bend, Indiana. He has performed in these churches as well as at Boston Symphony Hall, the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center, and various other churches in the United States, Canada, France, and England. He is the winner of the Nanovic Grant for European Study for Professional Development and was a finalist for the Frank Huntington Beebe Grant. He also won second prize in the graduate division of the Hall Pipe Organ Competition in 2022. At age 24, JJ’s research on César Franck and his musical influences was published in the Vox Humana organ journal. In September 2020 he was a guest on Jennifer Pascual’s Sounds from the Spires SiriusXM Radio program in which his organ recordings were broadcast. He has played liturgies and concerts for international television audiences on the Salt + Life and EWTN networks. JJ is a member of the American Guild of Organists as well as the National Association of Pastoral Musicians (NPM), from which he has received several scholarships. He has served on NPM’s national publications committee. He is a member of The Diapason’s 20 Under 30 Class of 2021. JJ’s career goal is to teach sacred music to the next generation.

Notre-Dame du Taur
Notre-Dame du Taur organ façade

Editor's Note: Part 2 of this article is found in the July 2024 issue.

 

Théodore Puget, his sons Eugène and Jean-Baptiste, and his grandson Maurice, cultivated a dynasty of organ manufacturing that is worthy of recognition, though their work is often overshadowed by other organ builders in France. This essay argues that the organs of Théodore Puget and his sons demonstrate innovation and artistry in French symphonic organ building.

The Cavaillé-Coll problem

Since the Romantic era, the history of French symphonic organbuilding has been dominated by Aristide Cavaillé-Coll.1 A prodigy of both acoustics and mechanics, Cavaillé-Coll constructed instruments to meet the artistic and cultural demands of cosmopolitan Paris. His organs, often designed to boom down cavernous naves of Gothic cathedrals, inspired compositions by renowned musicians including César Franck, Alexandre Guilmant, Louis Vierne, and Marcel Dupré. Cavaillé-Coll’s influence is so great that one may be tempted to believe that he alone was responsible for an entire era of organbuilding. His immense fame overshadows the reputations of other builders.2 The Puget dynasty also consisted of formidable organbuilders of note during this time and deserves recognition.3

Théodore Puget (1801–1883), his sons Eugène (1838–1892) and Jean-Baptiste (1849–1940), and his grandson Maurice (1884–1960), hereafter referred to by their first names, cultivated a family lineage of French symphonic organbuilding in a different style than that of Cavaillé-Coll.4 Set upon the backdrop of Toulouse in southern France, Théodore created instruments fit to serve local parishes throughout the Occitania region and beyond. These organs reflected local cultural aesthetics with technological materials of the region. Théodore’s sons expanded his vision and built lasting organs that won the respect of the aforementioned organists and have left musicians in the modern age asking themselves whose instruments they prefer: those of Cavaillé-Coll or the Puget family.5

The organs of Théodore Puget and his sons demonstrate innovation and artistry in French symphonic organbuilding. This research begins with a study of Théodore Puget’s early life and career and includes a description of cultural trends concerning the pipe organ in nineteenth-century France. Two of Théodore’s sons’ most notable instruments are examined: Notre-Dame du Taur, constructed by Eugène, and the Cathedral of Sainte-Cécile in Albi, built by Jean-Baptiste. Of the hundreds of organs the Puget family produced between 1838 and 1960, these two contrasting instruments are excellent representations of different periods in the Puget history.6 Though Théodore and his grandson Maurice are deserving of praise for their work as organbuilders, the instruments of Eugène and Jean-Baptiste demonstrate the pinnacle of the family’s production and influence.

The formative era, 1838–1877: Théodore Puget

The birth of a dynasty

The lineage of the Puget family can be traced back to the seventeenth century, and many of Théodore Puget’s ancestors were woodworkers.7 Most sources claim that Théodore was born in 1799, but genealogical research conducted by Jean-Marc Cicchero in 2016 proves that he was born on November 15, 1801, in the village of Montréal d’Aude. His parents, François Puget and Catherine Boyer, were carpenters.8 Growing up around the family’s workshop, Théodore learned the art of woodworking. His family also made sure that he studied organ, though they were not musicians themselves.9 Théodore lived in the village of Fanjeaux between the years 1822 and 1837, where he married Louise-Anne Mossel in 1824.10 During his early career, Théodore was both an organist and a clockmaker.11

Théodore’s training in organbuilding is a mystery. Many scholars argue that he was self-taught, combining his skills of woodworking and musicianship. Cicchero suggests that while Théodore could have determined some aspects of organbuilding on his own, he likely apprenticed with a builder. He could have studied with Prosper Moitessier in Carcassonne between the years 1826 and 1830. He also may have apprenticed with Sieur Benoit Cabias, a local builder of musical instruments in Carcassonne at that time. There is no evidence concerning Théodore’s work with either of these builders, though it is probable that he met both of them while living in Fanjeaux.13

The greatest influence on Théodore’s organbuilding was Dom Bédos de Celles. Bédos was a monk and organbuilder in the eighteenth century whose most famous instrument is the gallery organ of l’Église Saint-Croix in Bordeaux.14 His treatise, L’Art Du Facteur d’Orgues, is one of the most important documents on organbuilding ever written. This collection of detailed descriptions and precise illustrations is a guide on how to construct a pipe organ, including information about layout, voicing, winding, and many other pertinent elements. Bédos’s writing concerns organs of the French Classical era, though many of his methods were continued or expanded upon in the building of French symphonic organs.15

To Théodore, the contents of Bédos’s treatise were sacred. He kept a copy of L’Art Du Facteur d’Orgues in the shop and referred to it frequently. Even Théodore’s sons and grandson Maurice, who were far more progressive in their organbuilding than the Puget patriarch, consulted the Bédos text when building their instruments.16 For example, when Maurice designed the organ for l’Église Saint-Michel in Villemur, he created a five-rank mixture according to Bédos’s instructions. This instrument, built in 1960, was the final organ of the Puget dynasty, and Maurice never witnessed its completion.17 Though the Pugets deviated from some of the instructions due to the advances of industrial age technology and trends of symphonic organbuilding, Bédos’s treatise was a grounding foundation through the complete duration of the dynasty.

Théodore and his wife settled in Toulouse between 1839 and 1840, during which time he assembled milacor organs.18 The milacor was a patented device to help amateur organists accompany Gregorian chant.19 This machine was connected to a simplified keyboard of a small pipe organ typically containing five or fewer stops that was built in a factory setting, shipped out in a kit, and assembled by a local distributor.20 Théodore was a Toulousain subcontractor for the organbuilder Abbé François Larroque, whose organs were commonly paired with milacor systems.21 During these years, Théodore’s older children assisted in these projects and took music lessons.22

The first Puget organ, installed in the gallery of l’Église Saint-Exupère de Toulouse, was too tall for the milacor workshop. Larroque and Théodore asked the parish to keep this organ, which was over twenty feet in height, in the loft at the church’s expense as a model for clergy and other potential customers.23 The church council agreed to purchase the instrument on the condition that Théodore would play every Mass and feast day for free for six years or have one of his sons substitute on his behalf.24 Completed in 1842, the new instrument was double the size of a standard milacor. Théodore served as an organist at this church, fulfilling the council’s demands.25 This landmark project demonstrated Théodore’s ability to produce gallery organs of a larger size than milacors.26

There are multiple documented claims to the year Les Facteurs d’Orgue Théodore Puget, Père et Fils was founded. Some scholars assert that the firm was established in 1834, the earliest date put forth by some Puget sons.27 According to one source, the company began as late as 1843.28 The first documentation about the age of the Pugets’ business comes from a newspaper article written in 1864, which indicates that the organbuilding firm was founded in 1838.29 The year 1838 was also when Théodore entered into cooperation with Larroque to build milacor organs. During this year Théodore prepared to relocate his family to Toulouse and sent his wife to Lagrasse to be with relatives as she gave birth to Eugène.30 Théodore parted ways with Larroque at some point between 1843 and 1845.31

The Pugets’ workshop was always in Toulouse, though the address changed several times. In some instances, the factory remained in one place while the street name or block number was altered; other times, the Pugets had moved. Directories indicate that by 1855 the Pugets were located three blocks north of Saint-Sernin Basilica on Rue de Trois Piliers. During many of the family’s most prosperous years, 1863–1895, the Puget shop was headquartered in the Jeanne d’Arc neighborhood of Toulouse at various addresses.32 In 1899 the factory was moved south to what is now Boulevard Michelet. The shop relocated again in 1925 to Rue de Négreneys where it remained until Maurice’s death in 1960. None of these sites retains any remnants from the Puget workshops.33

Théodore had nine children, some of whom worked in the family business.34 His firstborn child, François, was Théodore’s logical successor since he demonstrated much promise as an organbuilder.35 Tragically, François passed away from cholera in 1854.36 Some of Théodore’s other children founded their own organ factories, which, in the case of the second-eldest son, Baptiste, resulted in bitter estrangement from the family.37 The latter is not to be confused with Théodore’s youngest son, Jean-Baptiste. It should be noted that there are two Pugets with the first name “Maurice:” one was Théodore’s third-eldest son born in 1835, and the other, born in 1884, was the son of Jean-Baptiste who took over the company in 1922.38 Théodore’s daughters, Marie and Josephine, were unsung workers in the Puget family who traveled to the worksites, overseeing projects’ expenses.39

Confusingly, Théodore and his sons signed correspondence as “Théodore Puget.” Authors sometimes refer to Eugène, Jean-Baptiste, and Maurice all as “Théodore.” Jean-Baptiste went by several names throughout his life because, when François passed away, Théodore began addressing his youngest son as François. Later, when Baptiste set up his rival company in 1863, Jean-Baptiste was called Théodore by his family. In the times when Jean-Baptiste did not sign his name as “Théodore,” he wrote the middle initials of his name: “F. E. Puget.”41 In my writing, I distinguish the sons by their first names where they might otherwise be referred to as “Théodore.”42

The formative era, 1838–1877: Théodore Puget

Organ construction trends of the mid-nineteenth century redefined what soundscapes were possible, converting organs constructed to mirror stile-antico vocal polyphony and Baroque dances into instruments that could more closely resemble that of a symphony orchestra. Church organs were designed to enhance liturgy, but now they were also featured in concerts of secular Romantic works. During France’s industrial revolution, builders like Cavaillé-Coll and the Puget family converted organs of the French Classical style, such as the instruments of Robert Clicquot, into symphonic organs by transforming existing pipework and adding modern innovations, including expression shoes, pneumatic systems, and several new stops.43 According to Vincent d’Indy, when César Franck played the newly constructed Cavaillé-Coll organ at l’Église Sainte-Clotilde in 1846, he was thrilled and compared his new organ to an orchestra.44 These culturally turbulent years in France created a new kind of market for organbuilding on which the Puget family capitalized.

Compared to his descendants, Théodore’s organbuilding is difficult to define because of how drastically his artistry evolved over time. During his first several decades of building, he constructed anachronistic instruments. For example, in 1842 he built a twenty-rank organ for l’Église Saint-Cere, the specification of which was particularly French Classical.45 This instrument was a prime representation of Théodore following the instructions in Bedos’s treatise. By contrast, one year prior, Cavaillé-Coll had revolutionized the Parisian music scene by constructing a French Romantic organ at l’Église Saint-Denis.46

Some clients favored Théodore’s anachronistic organs built in the French Classical style. His reputation in southern France was well established over the course of the nineteenth century. Many clients chose Puget because they did not want to pay Cavaillé-Coll’s steep fees for a new organ. Customers also recognized Théodore’s use of local, quality materials, such as oak and tin, which were durable. Following Bédos’s method, he pursued consistency and reliability rather than artistic innovation.47

By 1865 Théodore’s sons persuaded their father to build organs in a Romantic style.48 Eugène became the chief voicer for his father, beginning with the organ at l’Église Saint-Mathieu in Perpignan. Théodore constructed fewer mixtures and mutations, choosing instead reed choruses and ranks such as the Kéraulophone, Unda Maris, and Salicional. The 1875 organ of Saint-Vincent de Carcassonne, hereafter referred to as Saint Vincent, represents a transitional period in the Puget family’s history: the departure from organs built in the French Classical style to the creation of symphonic instruments. This organ is also one of Théodore’s last major projects before his retirement in 1877, so it is indicative of change in the family business leading to Eugène’s takeover. Théodore’s new style of organbuilding made him appealing to new clientele in the turbulent nineteenth-century market, which was rife with competition from Cavaillé-Coll and other organbuilders.

The same year the Saint Vincent organ was inaugurated, the Pugets began drawing up a proposal for a new organ in l’Église Notre-Dame du Taur in central Toulouse. Théodore did not oversee this project as he had transitioned the company into the hands of his ambitious son, Eugène. The organ of Notre-Dame du Taur would become a unique, defining opus for the Puget family that gave them an edge against their tenacious competition. Though credit for the Notre-Dame du Taur organ belongs to Eugène, Théodore’s organ at Saint Vincent set the precedent.50 Eugène’s groundbreaking innovations at Notre-Dame du Taur were rooted in the organbuilding techniques he had learned while working for his father. The organ at Notre-Dame du Taur would catapult the Pugets’ prestige beyond the regional level.

The golden era, 1877–1892: Eugène Puget

Eugène, the sixth-eldest of his siblings, demonstrated keen intelligence at a young age.51 He studied at the Conservatoire de Toulouse and excelled in his study of music.52 Following the unexpected passing of his eldest brother François, Eugène took up a position in the family business.53 His approach to organbuilding was influenced by his fascination with Romantic ideals of the nineteenth century, which is evidenced in his nicked pipework, Bertounèchian reeds, and symphonic foundations.54 Though he did incorporate some new technology into his organs, Eugène was a traditionalist when designing instruments.55

Under Eugène’s leadership, which officially began in 1877 following Théodore’s retirement, the Puget company expanded professional relations beyond Occitania. Eugène established relationships with famous Parisian organists of the time such as Charles-Marie Widor, Alexandre Guilmant, and Eugène Gigout, all of whom dedicated at least one Puget instrument each.57 In letters to Eugène Puget, Widor addressed him as mon cher ami (my dear friend).58 Camille Saint-Saëns sent a message to Eugène in 1891 that read: “I don’t think I will have time to visit your organ, but I know what you are worth and I will give you with great pleasure all the attestations you desire.”59 When Eugène passed away unexpectedly, Guilmant wrote a letter of condolence to the family workshop, describing him as an “artiste.”60 These professional connections with Parisian organists indicate the increased status of the Puget family. The organ most emblematic of Eugène’s craft is the gallery organ of l’Église Notre-Dame du Taur, hereafter referred to as the Taur.

Notre-Dame du Taur

The Taur is a historic church, the origin of which can be traced back to the martyrdom of Saint Sernin, the first bishop of Toulouse.61 The Romans had settled in Toulouse by the third century as part of their occupation of Gaul. The local authorities seized Saint Sernin, tied him to the back of a bull in the capitol plaza, and sent the animal running through the city streets, dragging the bishop. An oratory was built on the site where Saint Sernin was detached from the bull and pronounced dead. The church was called “l’Église Saint-Sernin du Taur” until the nineteenth century when a local statue of a black Madonna was moved there. L’Église Notre-Dame du Taur (Church of Our Lady of the Bull), became an official historic monument in 1840.62

The first record of an organ in the Taur comes from the time of the French Revolution. The instrument at the time, a twenty-three-stop organ in the French Classical style, was described in a review of Toulousain organs by Jean-Baptiste Micot as useless in both its sonority and appearance.63 There were restorations of the instrument carried out between 1840 and 1860, all of which failed.64 When the church underwent renovations during the years 1870 to 1876, the clergy made plans to rebuild the organ and declared that this instrument needed to endure for at least longer than forty years. On November 24, 1875, the priests approved the Pugets’ proposal, which cost 32,000 francs.65

One evident aspect of the organ was its unique tripartite façade. The Taur borders buildings on either side of the nave, so little natural light comes into the sanctuary save for the rose windows on the gallery wall and some smaller windows over and behind the altar. During the restoration, Henri Bach, the city architect of Toulouse, requested the Pugets to design an organ that would not obstruct these windows.66 Bach approved these drawings after he made some corrections to them.67 When the preeminent architect of France at the time, Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc, visited the Taur during the renovation and learned of the plans for the organ’s layout, he skeptically commented that the Pugets would be great artists if they yielded a successful result.68

To frame the windows, three cases were built in the gallery. The two outer cases display pipes on two of their sides, and the middle case’s pipes are exposed on three sides. The tripartite façade contains 159 pipes in total, only two of which do not speak. If the whole façade were lined up horizontally, it would be sixty-nine feet wide.70 In order to make the instrument playable, Eugène constructed five Barker machines to lighten the weight of the long trackers, the most extensive of which is forty-five feet.71 These trackers activate over 800 pallets.72

Eugène chose local materials for the construction of his instruments. The cases and console at the Taur were made of oak, which was desirable for its durability.73 Puget scholar Henri de Rohan states that burnished oak was the dominant wood used in the Puget’s workshop.74 The bellows were made of sheepskin leather. Eugène prioritized these refined local materials in his instruments, which are integral to the organ’s authentic southern French character. All of the Taur organ’s original oak and sheepskin have endured.75

The organ’s specification is impressive. With forty stops spanning over three manuals, each containing fifty-six notes, and a thirty-note pedalboard, this organ was the largest in Toulouse at the time of its construction.76 The specification for the instrument boasted ten foundation stops speaking at 8′ pitch in the manuals. As a result, the foundations supported the upperwork easily. When drawn together, their combined sound was potent but not oppressive. Jean-Claude Guidarini, who was titular organist at the Taur from 1990 until 2020, described the jeux de fonds as “somber” and “calm.”77

The voicing of the foundations at the Taur was mellow with a dark, rounded tone. This color was a contrast to foundations of other builders of the time, who constructed foundation stops that sounded brighter. Why the Pugets desired this kind of sound for their foundations is unclear, but the resulting unique sonority is an example of artistry from the organbuilder. In a demonstration of this organ I attended by Guidarini, he indicated that the Flûte harmonique was voiced to be a solo stop. He dissuaded visiting organists from registering this rank with the other 8′ stops, the rest of which were powerful enough on their own.

Though the foundations were mild, the reeds were vigorously round and powerful. Toward the end of Théodore’s life and the start of Eugène’s tenure, the company used brass shallots.78 These reeds were voiced brighter than typical French symphonic organs by other builders. When paired with mixtures, mutations, and the foundations, the brashness of the reeds balances out and results in a broad sonority.79 One crucial distinction concerning the reeds is the role of the Hautbois in the ensemble. On Puget instruments, this stop is labeled “Hautbois-Basson” rather than “Basson-Hautbois” and is activated on the reed ventil.80

In addition to the foundations and reeds, there are other color stops on this instrument. The Voix humaine on the Récit is soft, especially compared to the stronger stops on the organ. Guidarini described all of the flutes, open and stopped, as “lovely and clear.”81 On the Positif, there is a Clarinette and a Cornet, which was originally on one stopknob. In 1939 Maurice Puget separated out the Cornet; removed the 8′ Kéraulophone, 4′ Dulciana, 2′ Doublette, and Unda Maris; and added a 1′ Piccolo.82

Another major element of Eugène’s instrument was its two enclosed divisions operated by two expression shoes. In nineteenth-century France, the vast majority of symphonic organs had only a single enclosed division, which was almost always the Récit. By having both an enclosed Récit and Positif, half of the Taur organ was under expression. With the boxes shut, the pipes were barely audible. The organist could achieve a smooth crescendo from a mystic pianissimo to a robust fortissimo by manipulating the boxes as well as the seventeen combination pedals. One division could accompany the other with ease, and the Grand Orgue could serve as a tutti contrast.83

Because he was an organist, Eugène understood how to construct a console to suit performers’ accessibility needs. Stops were arranged in the French tiered-console style and were comfortably within an arm’s length from the bench. The music rack was placed above the Récit so the view of the upper manual was unobstructed. The expression shoes were easy to manipulate and did not require much leg strength. The natural ergonomic design of the Taur organ console was more comfortable than the consoles of Cavaillé-Coll, who designed with the perspective of a technician rather than an organist.84 Though the plaque on the console reads 1878, which is the date of the completion, the organ was not inaugurated until two years later.85

Théodore promoted the instrument’s dedication ceremony with flyers that were sent almost exclusively to local parish priests and affluent southern French residents who were likely to be future customers of the Pugets.86 Eugène found his father’s grassroots, old-school method of advertising to be unacceptable for the family’s ambitious new organ. To garner attention at the national level, Eugène invited lionized organist Alexandre Guilmant to dedicate the Taur organ. Guilmant’s performance fee of 1,000 francs for the inaugural concert was considered astronomically expensive at the time.87 His performance spanned two evening sessions on the nights of June 17 and 18, 1880.88 The program included works by Handel and Mendelssohn, along with transcriptions of selections by Beethoven and several compositions by Guilmant himself, concluding with an improvisation on a popular theme.89

The reception committee included almost all the organists of Toulouse, the director of the local conservatory, and Théodore Sauer of the Daublaine et Callinet organ company.90 The committee’s report lauded the new instrument’s voicing, round and powerful foundation stops, and orchestral qualities.91 The organ’s expressive Positif division impressed several listeners who were accustomed to instruments with only one enclosed division. The vast dynamic range of the Taur organ astounded musicians, audiences, and congregations alike. The Reverend Eugène Massip, who was the rector of the Taur at the time, described how the two expressive divisions would yield magnificent results for worship. Jacques Lacaze, the Taur’s titular organist at the time, wrote glowing reviews about the new Puget instrument.92

The Taur church as a whole is a prime representation of Toulousain art and culture. Its domineering, fortress-like façade overlooking the Rue du Taur is constructed of red brick, a common local material.94 The dark interior of the church is lined with paintings of Saint Sernin’s martyrdom by Toulousain artist Bernard Bénézet.95 The black Madonna and the sculpture of the bull in the sanctuary are staple fixtures with local significance. The whole church is a quintessential example of southern French neo-Gothic ideals. The Puget organ tastefully complements the church’s aesthetic.

Of all the instruments the Pugets built, the Taur organ is the most influential opus of the dynasty. This instrument inspired several organs of Eugène’s tenure, including l’Église Saint-Fulcran in Lodève, l’Église Saint-Amans in Rodez, l’Église Notre-Dame des Tables in Montpellier, l’Église Saint-Aphrodise in Béziers, and l’Église Notre-Dame de la Dalbade in Toulouse.96 The Taur organ was an archetype but not a reproduced, copied project. For example, the Pugets did not have standardized models for organs in the manner that other companies did with factory catalogs published in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. However, the artistic and technical decisions Eugène made for his other projects were based on the success of the Taur organ. Eugène’s traditionalist tendencies are evident in his consistent organbuilding choices, such as the use of tin rather than zinc, mechanical action with Barker levers, and tiered three-manual consoles. He voiced all of his instruments in a similar manner to that of the Taur organ.97

Eugène elevated the perception of the Puget family during the Taur project. After Guilmant’s inaugural performance in 1880, the Pugets cultivated a national reputation. In the eighty years that followed, highly respected Parisian organists of multiple generations—from Guilmant to Xavier Darasse—dedicated Puget organs.98 The Taur organ was widely considered the finest, most innovative organ in southern France at the time of its inauguration, surpassing Cavaillé-Coll’s reputation there.99 As a result, organists traveled across France to play and listen to Puget instruments.

Today many organists and scholars consider the Taur organ to be the greatest instrument the Puget dynasty ever built. Save for its electric blower and Maurice’s minor changes to the specification, the organ remains entirely in its original state from 1880. The 143-year-old sheepskin has always been treated naturally without chemicals.100 On September 25, 1987, the organ was classified by the French government as a historic monument. In July 2022 the first ever restoration of the organ was announced as part of a renovation of the whole church. The project is scheduled to finish in autumn of 2025.101

The Taur has maintained a prominent role in both the artistic and liturgical life of Toulouse. To showcase the organ and celebrate the seasons of the liturgical year, Guidarini initiated a concert series called “Moments Musicaux au Taur.”102 He would invite local organists as well as students at the Toulouse Conservatory to give recitals on the Puget instrument for the general public, with programs centered on works for appropriate liturgical seasons. I performed at the Taur in December 2019, the final year Guidarini organized the concert series before his passing. My experience playing the Taur organ has, in major part, inspired 
this research.

To be continued in the July 2024 issue.

Notes

1. Jesse Eschbach, Aristide Cavaillé-Coll: A Compendium of Known Stoplists, second edition, volume 1 (Kraichtal: Verlag Peter Ewers, 2013); John R. Shannon, Understanding the Pipe Organ (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., 2009); Philippe Cicchero, Les Orgues Des Cathédrales de France (Gentilly: EMA, 1999). Cavaillé-Coll built over 500 instruments across Europe and beyond. He is considered a master of both technical prowess and artistry. Some innovations for which he was known include the implementation of the Barker lever, the development of the harmonic flute stop, and the construction of ventil systems. These engineering feats gave his organs qualities more similar to a symphony orchestra than a choir and, as a result, influenced the composition of new organ repertoire.

2. Arjen van Kralingen, “Recensie Clair-Obscur: Henri Ormières Bespeelt Het Puget-Orgel in de St. Vincent Te Carcassonne,” Orgel Nieuws (blog), March 20, 2021, https://www.orgelnieuws.nl/recensie-clair-obscur-henri-Ormières-bespeelt-het-puget-orgel-in-de-st-vincent-te-carcassonne/. Puget scholars Jean-Claude Guidarini and Henri de Rohan make similar remarks in their writings when discussing Cavaillé-Coll from the perspective of the Puget family.

3. Henri de Rohan, Th. Puget: Une Famille de Facteurs d’orgues à Toulouse, 1834–1960 (Toulouse: Bibliothèque Municipale de Toulouse, 1987), pages 11, 17, 19, https://orguesaintantonin.fr/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Puget-Rohan-catalogue-expow.pdf.

4. Jean-Marc Cicchero, “Montreal d’Aude, Une Autre Colline Inspirée?,” July 13, 2016, accessed January 28, 2022, https://orguesaintantonin.fr/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/ob_760b48_theodore-puget.pdf; Maggie Hamilton, “Poetic License,” Choir & Organ (June 2009), page 62. Eugène’s full name was Eugène Germain Lagrasse Puget. Jean-Baptiste’s full name was François-Ernest Jean Baptiste Puget.

5. Jean-Claude Guidarini, “Cavaillé, Puget . . . un Débat Cool,” Orgues Nouvelles, 6ème année, no. 23 (December 2013), https://orguesaintantonin.fr/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/puget-cavaille-coll.odt.

6. Jean-Claude Guidarini, “Compositions Du Quelques Instruments Construits Ou Reconstruits Par La Manufacture Puget de Toulouse,” n.d., http://www.orgues-nouvelles.fr/ON23/textes/CompoOrgPuget.pdf?fbclid=IwAR11p00_bj-jvug9IbbgxWZyuVSrCQnsne0fup0Nmv15E8pneGhXEuUc3ec.

7. Jean-Marc Cicchero.

8. Philippe Bachet, ed., Orgues En Midi-Pyrénées (Toulouse et Région): 15ème Congrès de La FFAO, July 13–18, 1998 (Lyon: Fédération Francophone des Amis de l’Orgue, 1998), page 28; Jean-Marc Cicchero, Rohan, page 35. François Puget, a dressmaker, was born in 1771 and died in 1831. The dates of Catherine Boyer are unknown. Together, they had six children, of which Théodore was the only surviving male; one of his siblings died in infancy. Only one of Théodore’s four sisters, Hélène Geneviève, married.

9. Jean-Marc Cicchero.

10. Bachet, page 28; Jean-Marc Cicchero; Rohan, page 35. Louise Anne Mossel was born in 1802, but her death date is unknown.

11. Jean-Marc Cicchero.

12. Reprinted from Jean-Claude Guidarini, “Les Puget, Une Dynastie de Facteurs d’orgues,” May 13, 2019, accessed April 12, 2022, http://www.orgue-puget-lavelanet.com/2019/05/les-puget-une-dynastie-de-facteurs-d-orgues.html.

13. Jean-Marc Cicchero. Cicchero argues that one cannot learn organbuilding from books alone because there are several nuances and details as to how complex mechanisms in the instruments work. Also, there is no evident relation between Benoit Cabias and Abbé Cabias, who was another organbuilder of the time.

14. I use the words “gallery” and “tribune” interchangeably in the research. These terms are synonymous.

15. Dom François Bédos de Celles, L’Art Du Facteur d’Orgues, Facsimile edition (New York: Bärenreiter, 1963).

16. Rohan, page 17. Eugène’s and Jean-Baptiste’s instruments contained stops that were scaled, voiced, and labeled according to the directions in L’Art Du Facteur d’Orgues. This is especially true of the pipes speaking at 8′ and 4′ pitches, such as the Montre.

17. Mathieu Delmas, Zoom call. Interview by John J. Mitchell, July 1, 2022; L’Association Orgues Meridionales, “Villemur,” Orgues Meridionales, http://orgues.meridionales.free.fr/Villemur.pdf. During the 1920s and 1930s, there was a newfound appreciation for organs of the seventeenth century.

18. Mathieu Delmas; “Quand Théodore Puget Etait Representant Du ‘Milacor’ . . .,” May 28, 2021, accessed January 29, 2022, https://orguesaintantonin.fr/quand-theodore-puget-etait-representant-du-milacor.

19. Kurt Lueders, emailed comments made to the author, April 24, 2023. In French, the word “milacor” is a play on words, combining “mille,” which means “one thousand,” and “accord,” meaning chords. According to Kurt Lueders: “This brand name has the same pronunciation as ‘a thousand chords,’ cleverly evoking the use to which the device is put. An overtone of the French word ‘cor’ [which means ‘horn’] may also be present, but the allusion would be much less obvious to a French speaker.”

20. “L’abbé Dessenne, L’abbé Cabias et l’orgue simplifié, l’abbé Larroque et Le ‘Milacor,’” Les Orgues de l’Abbé Clergeau, accessed January 29, 2022, https://rmcks.pagesperso-orange.fr/orgue/orgues_clergeau/index_abbe_Larroque.htm; “Quand Théodore Puget Etait Représentant Du ‘Milacor’ . . . .”

21. “L’abbé Dessenne, L’abbé Cabias et l’orgue Simplifié, l’abbé Larroque et Le ‘Milacor.’”

22. Jean-Marc Cicchero.

23. Michel Évrard, “Toulouse Bonnefoy Un Orgue Puget aux Prénoms Trompeurs dans Deux Églises Successives,” Les Amis des Archives de la Haute-Garonne, Petite Bibliothèque, no. 162 (October 31, 2008): page 4, https://orguesaintantonin.fr/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/pb_162_txt.pdf.

24. Delmas; Évrard, page 4.

25. Évrard, page 4.

26. Jean-Claude Guidarini, “Grand Orgue de l’Église Saint-Exupère,” Toulouse Les Orgues, accessed April 26, 2022, https://toulouse-les-orgues.org/instrument/grand-orgue-de-leglise-saint-exupere/; “St Exupère Church–Toulouse (Haute-Garonne),” Orgues en France et dans Le Monde, accessed April 26, 2022, http://orguesfrance.com/ToulouseStExupere.html. Théodore’s organ at Saint-Exupère was fourteen stops with two manuals, one under expression, including stops found in Romantic-era symphonic organbuilding such as Clarinette and Hautbois-Basson. Eugène expanded this organ’s pipework and installed a new console in 1885. Jean-Baptiste and his son Maurice made further modifications to the instrument.

27. Évrard, page 9; Rohan, page 35.

28. Maison Théodore Puget, Père et Fils, “Orgues Construites Ou Restaurées Par La Maison,” October 1911, reprinted from Pastór de Lasala, “A Puget Organ in Sydney: A Fortunate Historical Accident,” OHTA News 44, number 1 (October 4, 2018), page 18.

29. Évrard, page 4; S. L. [sic], “On Nous Ecrit de Pibrac,” Journal de Toulouse: Politique et Littéraire, février 1864, 60ème année, no. 45 édition, BNF, https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k53716127/f1.item.r=puget.zoom. An advertisement for the Puget family written in 1869 also lists 1838 as the year of founding.

30. Jean-Marc Cicchero.

31. Delmas; Hamilton, page 55.

32. Évrard, pages 6, 9. On September 10, 1869, a fire broke out at the Puget factory. The structure survived, but most of what was inside the shop was lost to the flames.

33. Bachet, page 15. Bachet’s and Évrard’s writings describe the precise addresses of the Puget factory in more detail.

34. Bachet, page 28. Théodore’s sons Olivier and Jean Ernest Gustave died in infancy.

35. Rohan, page 36.

36. Bachet, page 16.

37. Delmas; Rohan, page 36; “Orgue Puget de l’Église de Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val,” Fondation du Patrimoine, January 19, 2022, https://orguesaintantonin.fr/lorgue-puget. The organ in Saint Antonin-Noble-Val, north of Toulouse, is an example of Baptiste’s work. His son emigrated to Buenos Aires, Argentina, in the twentieth century, and two of his descendants, Elsa and Alberto Puget, are alive today.

38. Bachet, pages 16–18.

39. Évrard, page 4.

40. John J. Mitchell, compiled from Bachet, pages 15–19; Delmas; Évrard, pages 3–4; Jean-Marc Cicchero; Rohan pages 35–37; Jean-Gabriel Pélaprat, “Les Orgues de la Famille PUGET” Facebook group, May 20, 2023.

41. Évrard, page 3.

42. Successors of instrument builders commonly continue signing work using their father’s or mother’s name after the head of the family has died.

43. Douglas Earl Bush and Richard Kassel, “Clicquot,” in The Organ, an Encyclopedia (Oxfordshire: Routledge, 2006).

44. “César Franck–Classical Music Composers,” Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, accessed March 18, 2023, https://www.pcmsconcerts.org/composer/cesar-franck/; Léon Vallas, César Franck, trans. Hubert J. Foss (New York: Oxford University Press, 1951), page 102; John J. Mitchell, “German Influences on Franck’s Chorale in E Major,” March 31, 2019, accessed March 18, 2023, https://www.voxhumanajournal.com/mitchell2019.html.

45. Bachet, pages 15–16.

46. Rohan, page 18.

47. Rohan, pages 17–18.

48. Delmas; Rohan, page 18.

49. Photo credit: Tylwyth Eldar (cropped). Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en.

50. Toulouse Les Orgues, “Grand Orgue de l’Église Saint-Barthélémy,” accessed March 16, 2023. https://toulouse-les-orgues.org/instrument/grand-orgue-de-leglise-saint-barthelemy/.

51. Jean-Claude Guidarini, Les Puget, Une Dynastie de Facteurs d’orgues à Toulouse (Toulouse: Médiathèque José Cabanis, 2008), https://orguesaintantonin.fr/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/ob_79c1c0_les-puget-catalogue-expo-2008.pdf.

52. Rohan, page 37.

53. Guidarini, Les Puget, Une Dynastie de Facteurs d’orgues à Toulouse, page 3. When François died, Eugène joined the factory to make up for the new lack of manpower. Eugène was titular organist at la Basilique Notre-Dame de la Daubade in Toulouse for most of his career until his passing.

54. Rohan, page 38. Abel Bertounèche was a reed voicer for Cavaillé-Coll who influenced the Pugets and other organbuilders of the time.

55. Rohan, page 36.

56. Reprinted from Rohan, page 39.

57. Guidarini, Les Puget, Une Dynastie de Facteurs d’Orgues à Toulouse, page 3; “Orgue de Rodez, Église Saint-Amans,” Orgue Aquitaine, accessed February 13, 2023, https://orgue-aquitaine.fr/; The Puget family members were almost all organists, which may explain why their instruments were so ergonomically suited to musicians.

58. Bachet, page 16.

59. Rohan, page 25.

60. Rohan, page 25.

61. Saint Sernin is also referred to as Saint Saturnin in certain sources.

62. “Notre-Dame Du Taur,” Basilique Saint-Sernin de Toulouse (Site officiel), accessed March 7, 2023, https://www.basilique-saint-sernin.fr/note-dame-du-taur/; Robert Poliquin, “Orgues En France,” Organs Around the World, 1997–2023, http://www.musiqueorguequebec.ca/orgues/france/toulousendt.html.

63. Guidarini, “Le Grande Orgue;” Jean-Baptiste Micot, “Rapport Sur Les Orgues de Toulouse,” 1796, Archives of the Musée de Lavaur, shared by l’Association Jean-Claude Guidarini.

64. Dominique Amann, Le Facteur d’Orgues Frédéric Jungk (France: La Maurinière éditions, 2013), www.la-mauriniere.com, pages 53–54; Guidarini, “Le Grande Orgue.” One restoration was carried out by organbuilder Frédéric Jungk between the years 1850 and 1857. This organ was expanded to thirty-seven stops over three manuals. There were nine couplers and tirasses with a swell box (boîte expressive), pneumatic machine, Barker lever, and a state-of-the-art winding mechanism. The organ was inaugurated in 1860 and after only fifteen years was damaged during the church’s restoration in 1875.

65. Guidarini, Les Puget, Une Dynastie de Facteurs d’Orgues à Toulouse, page 6. A complete specification of this Puget organ is found on page 17, Mitchell, reprinted from Guidarini, “Compositions Du Quelques Instruments Construits Ou Reconstruits Par La Manufacture Puget de Toulouse.”

66. L’Association Orgues Meridionales, “Notre-Dame-du-Taur,” Orgues Meridionales, http://orgues.meridionales.free.fr/SaintExupere.pdf. The church’s reception committee claims that it was the wish of the clergy to leave the gallery windows unobstructed. Henri Bach designed the windows and was delegated the responsibility of overseeing the organ façade’s layout.

67. Jean Nayrolles, “Un architecte toulousain du XIXme siècle: Henri Bach (1815–1899),” Histoire de l’art 1, no. 1 (1988): page 45, https://doi.org/10.3406/hista.1988.1628; Radio Présence, “Jean-Claude Guidarini: ‘Immersion à Notre-Dame Du Taur’” (Toulouse, 2012), 18:27, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dy69JOvYnsE.

68. Rohan, page 54.

69. Archives of the Musée de Lavaur, shared by l’Association Jean-Claude Guidarini.

70. Sixty-nine feet is about twenty-one meters.

71. Forty-five feet is about fourteen meters.

72. Guidarini, “Le Grande Orgue.”

73. Delmas.

74. Rohan, page 54.

75. Hamilton, page 58.

76. Rohan, page 56.

77. Hamilton, page 58. It is unclear if Guidarini made these comments in English or if they were translated from French to English by Hamilton.

78. Bachet, page 24; Delmas; Hamilton, page 59.

79. Guidarini “Le Grande Orgue.”

80. This detail regarding the oboe is critical for performers bringing French symphonic repertoire to Puget instruments. On a Cavaillé-Coll organ, for example, not only is the label different, but also, the Hautbois-Basson is not on the reed ventil. When taking repertoire to a Puget written for a Cavaillé-Coll, the performer and their console assistant(s) must strategize in advance how to bring on this stop.

81. Guidarini, “Le Grande Orgue;” Hamilton, page 58.

82. Guidarini, “Le Grande Orgue.”

83. Guidarini, “Le Grande Orgue.”

84. Radio Présence, “Jean-Claude Guidarini: ‘Immersion à Notre-Dame Du Taur’” (Toulouse, 2012), 15:38, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dy69JOvYnsE.

85. Guidarini, “Grand Orgue de l’Église Notre-Dame du Taur,” Toulouse Les Orgues, accessed March 9, 2023, https://toulouse-les-orgues.org/instrument/grand-orgue-de-leglise-notre-dame-du-taur/; Rohan, page 23.

86. Rohan, page 15.

87. Guidarini, Les Puget, Une Dynastie de Facteurs d’Orgues à Toulouse, page 6. The fee for the performance was over three percent of the cost of the whole organ. For perspective, if a new organ in 2023 costs $1,000,000, Guilmant’s fee for a performance would be about $32,000.

88. “La Séance d’orgue,” Le Journal de Toulouse: Politique et Littéraire, June 1880, Année 76, No. 16 édition, Gallica.

89. Alexandre Guilmant, “Deuxième Séance d’Inauguration Solennelle du Grand Orgue de Notre-Dame du Taur” (Typo.-Lith C. Berdoulat, June 1880), in “Le Grande Orgue,” Guidarini, https://image.jimcdn.com/app/cms/image/transf/dimension=1024x10000:format=jpg/path/s5bdc24606d23f03d/image/i8c3c33134c11eaa2/version/1411689846/image.jpg.

90. “Les Callinet de Rouffach,” accessed April 12, 2022, http://decouverte.orgue.free.fr/facteurs/callinet.htm; Rohan, page 48. The Callinets, another organbuilding dynasty, predate both the Pugets and Cavaillé-Coll. They were one of the first symphonic organbuilding companies in France. Their instruments demonstrate the drastic changes in French organ building from the early eighteenth century to the late nineteenth century.

91. Bachet, page 17.

92. Delmas; Rohan, page 56.

93. Archives of the Musée de Lavaur, shared by l’Association Jean-Claude Guidarini.

94. Toulouse is colloquially referred to as “La Ville Rose,” meaning “The Pink City,” since many of its historic buildings are constructed with red brick.

95. Poliquin.

96. Guidarini “Le Grande Orgue.”

97. Rohan, page 38.

98. Guidarini, Les Puget, Une Dynastie de Facteurs d’Orgues à Toulouse, page 6.

99. Guidarini, “Le Grande Orgue”

100. Hamilton, page 58.

101. Gala Jacquin, “Toulouse: l’église Notre-Dame du Taur va faire peau neuve,” L’Opinion Indépendante, January 30, 2023, https://lopinion.com/articles/actualite/15240_toulouse-eglise-notre-dame-taur-peau-neuve.

102. “Association Jean-Claude Guidarini– AssoJCG.Org,” accessed January 25, 2022, https://assojcg.org/.

Pierre Firmin-Didot (1921–2021): A tribute marking the one hundredth anniversary of his birth

Following her graduation from the University of Michigan in 1971, Franco-American organist Lynne Davis moved to France to study with Marie-Claire Alain, and then Jean Langlais and Maurice and Marie-Madeleine Duruflé. While there, she met her future husband, Pierre Firmin-Didot, and ended up staying thirty-five years. After receiving the Certificat d’Aptitude de Professeur d’Orgue from the French Republic, she served as organ professor at the Conservatory of Music in Clamart and at the National Regional Conservatory in Caen.

In 2006, she was appointed the Robert L. Town Distinguished Professor of Organ at Wichita State University, where she produces and performs in the Rie Bloomfield Organ Series: Distinguished Guest Artists and Wednesdays in Wiedemann. In 2012, she was awarded as a French citizen the distinction of Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres from the French Ministry of Culture and Communication. After receiving the Excellence in Creativity Award from Wichita State University in 2011, she was honored with the medal of the city of Wichita from Mayor Carl Brewer in 2013. In 2016, she received the Burton Pell award from the Wichita Arts Council and in April 2021 was promoted to full professor at the university. Her unique living and vast working experience and her lineage of study in France makes her an authority in all French organ repertoire, culture, and aesthetics to which she has added work as a translator from French to English. She is represented in North America by Phillip Truckenbrod Concert Artists, LLC.

Lynne Davis Firmin-Didot
Pierre Firmin-Didot and Lynne Davis Firmin-Didot
Pierre Firmin-Didot and Lynne Davis Firmin-Didot

This past summer 2022, we witnessed the last musical moments of the great organ at Chartres Cathedral. At the end of August, scaffolding was built to take down the entire instrument—the pipes, the console, all the mechanical elements, and the Renaissance organ case—to leave space for a new instrument that will be built in three to four years. It will be an exceptional time for the organ case, which has never been taken down or restored in its long life. This is all great and wonderful news that will certainly enchant the organ world, both nationally and internationally. This new instrument, to be built by Bertrand Cattiaux and Olivier Chevron of Atelier Cattiaux as well as Manufacture d’orgues Mulheisen, will naturally prolong the life and great renown of the Chartres International Organ Competition, Grand Prix de Chartres, and its International Summer Organ Festival.

Centenary of his birth

We celebrated last year the centenary of the birth of Pierre Firmin-Didot. This tribute we address to his memory is doubly moving since the organ concerts of the summer of 2022 that make up the summer festival, founded by him in 1975, were the last to be heard on this instrument.

Pierre Firmin-Didot was born August 23, 1921, in Mesnil-sur-l’Estrée, Eure, France. On August 24, 1981, he married American organist Lynne Davis. Caroline Firmin-Didot was born April 25, 1983, to Pierre and Lynne. Pierre died January 5, 2001, and is buried in Escorpain, Eure, France.

Didot family dynasty

Pierre Firmin-Didot was a descendant of the famed Didot dynasty of printers and publishers founded by François Didot (1689–1757). The firm gained renown for illustrated editions of the classics as well as inexpensive editions of scholarly texts.

One of the family’s lasting legacies is the Didot family of fonts, designed by Firmin Didot (1764–1836), grandson of the printing house founder. He was the inventor of stereotypography, which refers to the metal printing plate created for the printing of pages, an invention that influences typography to this day. He was appointed by Napoleon as the director of the Imprimerie Impériale type foundry. The family were printers to the kings of France, printers of the Institut de France, and engraved the assignats, paper money used during the French Revolution. Firmin’s statue is found on the upper frieze of the Hôtel de Ville in Paris.

The most famous Didot typefaces were developed between 1784 and 1811. Firmin Didot cut the letters and cast them as type in Paris. His brother Pierre Didot (1760–1853) used the types in printing. The Didot types are characterized by extreme contrast in thick strokes and thin strokes, using hairline serifs, and by the vertical stress of the letters. Firmin was inspired by Baskerville’s typeface, and thirty years later Giambattista Bodoni started creating his own modern typeface. Viewing Baskerville, Didot, and then Bodoni alongside each other shows an important transition into modern typography.

Didot is described as neoclassical and evocative of the Age of Enlightenment. The Didot family was among the first to set up a printing press in newly independent Greece, and typefaces in the style of Didot have remained popular there ever since.

Visit of General de Gaulle

The present organ in Chartres Cathedral was built fifty years ago by Danion-Gonzalez, thanks to the initiative of Pierre Firmin-Didot. The ambition took root in his heart, his spirit, and through his determination. Affected at a very young age by the beauty of the cathedral and the harmony of the liturgy, he told the story of General Charles de Gaulle, then President of the Republic, who was to attend a big ceremony at the cathedral. But the organ was not playable, and an orchestra had to be called upon. The famous minister of culture at the time, André Malraux, told Pierre, “Dear friend, do something! It is a shame that the great organ is silent when there is the President of France who is visiting the cathedral.”

Initial effort to save the organ

For Pierre Firmin-Didot, something indeed had to be done; so in 1964 he started a campaign to save the great organ, raising a bit more than half of the funds necessary for its reconstruction, the other half being provided by the State. This was accomplished through the organization founded by Firmin-Didot, Association pour la Rénovation des Grandes Orgues de Chartres. June 5 and 6, 1971, witnessed the inauguration of the reconstructed great organ of the cathedral, in the presence of and presided over by the President of the Republic, Georges Pompidou, and Mrs. Pompidou. The same year saw the creation of the international organ competition, Grand Prix de Chartres. The association for the rebuilding of the organ was eventually renamed Association des Grandes Orgues de Chartres (AGOC).

Pierre Firmin-Didot surrounded himself always with the great masters of the organ world at that time including Pierre Cochereau, Gaston Litaize, and Norbert Dufourcq. Thus, with the encouragement of these luminaries, the Grand Prix de Chartres would lead to founding the summer festival with organ recitals every Sunday afternoon in 1975.

Chartres—symbol of excellence

Since then, throughout the world, Chartres has become a symbol of excellence in the organ profession. Having regained its voice, it was important for Pierre Firmin-Didot that outside of the liturgy, the great organ of the cathedral should be heard during cultural events destined to promote the international outreach of the cathedral. Chartres from then onwards attracted worldwide attention, alluring the greatest international talents and performers.

Endeavors and dedication

These projects entailed an enormous amount of work, and Pierre Firmin-Didot dedicated all his time to this cause. All this precise organization was aimed at making those unique moments of the competition or a concert in the cathedral truly memorable and of the highest quality. Every Sunday during each summer between 1975 and 2000, Pierre Firmin-Didot welcomed the public to the concerts and presented the artists. One can still see his tall silhouette at the crossing of the transepts or in the central aisle where he sold programs and took the collection, as the admission was always free.

One remembers the Sundays of the final rounds of the competitions: the excitement of the audience when the finalists played, the distinguished international jury members busily taking notes, the presence of a great part of the diplomatic corps in function in France (often the embassies of the countries from which the candidates came, sometimes even sponsoring them), the long rug running the whole length of the central aisle, the tingling excitement of the listeners when the Grand Prix was announced, the place reserved in the choir stalls for the press as they transmitted the fresh news of the competition results directly from the cathedral. The scheduling of this day was always done with the utmost precision, so that everything took place like clockwork.

Dedication and devotion

Pierre Firmin-Didot afforded us many precious moments of shared listening. There were countless times where beauty touched us profoundly, because it was present on all levels: the purity of the architectural lines in the cathedral that uplift and soothe us, the very stones resounding and reflecting the harmonics of the sounds of the pipes, and then the combination of the alliance of light and music in this monument that generates such a holy atmosphere.

Thus during his whole life, he never stopped devoting himself to the distinguished cathedral basilica of Chartres. Driven by this global vision of the universe of Chartres, he also created the Centre International du Vitrail (International Center for Stained Glass) in 1980. This center was inaugurated during a concert in the cathedral of Hector Berlioz’s Requiem, with Colin Davis, director, the orchestra and choir of Radio France, the choir of the Paris Opera, and the brass of the Garde Républicaine, in the presence of and presided over by the President of the Republic, Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, and his wife. Firmin-Didot also created the association Chartres, Sanctuaire du Monde in 1992. Both associations are large-scale and ongoing, in complete service to Chartres and its cathedral.

Pierre Firmin-Didot and Lynne Davis’s charitable work was not limited to Chartres. In 1990, the two worked to form an exhibition administered by the Ville de Paris at the Mairie du 6e, in addition to recordings produced by the Erato label of twenty of Paris’s organs (Prix du Président de la République). Erato would release Les Orgues de Paris de Couperin à Messiaen, a three-CD set, in 1992. Performers included Lynne Davis Firmin-Didot, Marie-Claire Alain, Pierre Cochereau, Olivier Messiaen, Daniel Roth, André Isoir, Marie-Madeleine Duruflé, and others.

A pioneer

Pierre Firmin-Didot was a pioneer; he brought a modern focus and a new vision to cultural patrimony. Whereas in his day the word patrimony was still considered to be a term reserved for use by notary publics and lawyers regarding one’s estate, he knew that it would become the crusade of our time, that it would embody the question of cultural identity and be transformed into a national cause today, which would embrace the safeguarding and conservation of historical buildings and works of art.

Trust in those around him

Pierre Firmin-Didot always put his trust in the persons engaged in working on and serving this cause. He had a particular talent and pleasure in bringing together such loyal volunteers and esteemed experts in a manifestation of the great French tradition of distinction and friendly spirit. He was constantly striving to promote this cause, touching many lives along the way, so that the universe of Chartres would illuminate those of goodwill on the road to a true and pure light.

Final tribute

Pierre Firmin-Didot died in 2001, the twentieth year of our marriage, and all along the road traveled together, he gave me the opportunity—for an American arriving in France from Michigan just over fifty years ago in September 1971—to see so closely into the marvelous world of the French organ and society and to perceive that special and glorious light that comes so particularly from Chartres.

It is thus that I have wanted to pay tribute to my husband, Pierre Firmin-Didot, a man of duty and honor, with a great heart, to whom the organ world owes a special debt of gratitude for the prestige and perseverance he showed and for the legacy he left to future generations. Noblesse et générosité.

One can still hear him saying, “Chartres, c’est vous!”

The Great Organ at Chartres Cathedral

As early as 1353, the Cathedral of Our Lady in Chartres housed an organ, and Jehan de Châteaudun served as one of the cathedral’s organists. The instrument was installed on a wooden balcony in the second bay along the south wall that is still there today. In 1475, Gombault Rogerie, a novice in the order of Dominicans, was engaged to build an instrument that played up to fifty pipes per note in the treble register in an enlarged case that featured two tall flat side towers separate from the central façade.

Robert Le Filleul rebuilt the organ on its existing chassis in 1542. He caused the case to be richly decorated with numerous scrolls, masks, foliage, and corbels on the large towers, and crowned this filigree with lamps, the work of local craftspeople.

Though the pipework experienced significant reworking over centuries, the size of the organ case remained the same, with the exception of the addition of the Positif division, which was moved further forward in the mid-nineteenth century. In the early part of that century, there was discussion about moving the organ to the rear of the nave. A fire in the cathedral in 1836 rendered the instrument unplayable. In 1846 it was rebuilt and modified from a four-manual to a three-manual organ, and the casework was repainted a dark color. Further projects occurred in 1846, 1850, 1868, and 1881.

The organ was yet again altered in 1911, and by the 1960s it was in very poor condition. In 1964, Pierre Firmin-Didot commenced his work that culminated with the inauguration of a new instrument in 1971, built in the neoclassical style by the firm Danion-Gonzalez. The instrument was modified from three manuals, thirty-six stops to four manuals, sixty-seven stops, and an electro-pneumatic action was fitted.

GRAND-ORGUE (Manual I)

16′ Montre

16′ Bourdon

8′ Montre

8′ Flûte

8′ Bourdon

4′ Prestant

4′ Flûte

2′ Doublette

Grosse Fourniture II

Fourniture III

Cymbale IV

Cornet V (fr tenor G)

16′ Bombarde

8′ Trompette

4′ Clairon

POSITIF (Manual II)

8′ Montre

8′ Flûte

8′ Bourdon

4′ Prestant

4′ Flûte

2-2⁄3′ Nasard

2′ Doublette

1-3⁄5′ Tierce

1-1⁄3′ Larigot

Plein-jeu IV

Cymbale III

Cornet V (fr middle C)

8′ Trompette

8′ Cromorne

4′ Clairon

RÉCIT (Manual III)

8′ Principal

8′ Cor de nuit

8′ Gambe

8′ Voix céleste

4′ Flûte

4′ Viole

2′ Doublette

Sesquialtera II

Plein-jeu IV

Cymbale III

16′ Bombarde

8′ Trompette

8′ Basson-Hautbois

8′ Voix humaine

4′ Clairon

Tremblant

ECHO (Manual IV)

8′ Principal

8′ Bourdon

4′ Flûte

2-2⁄3′ Nasard

2′ Doublette

1-3⁄5′ Tierce

1′ Piccolo

Cymbal III

8′ Trompette

4′ Clairon

PÉDALE

32′ Principal

16′ Montre (Grand-Orgue)

16′ Soubasse

8′ Montre

8′ Bourdon

4′ Principal

4′ Flûte

2′ Flûte

Plein-jeu V

16′ Bombarde

8′ Trompette

8′ Basson

4′ Clairon

Personal remembrances of Pierre Firmin-Didot by Lynne Davis Firmin-Didot

I arrived in France in September 1971 to study with famed organist Marie-Claire Alain. As she had fallen ill, I took lessons with Jean Langlais at the Schola Cantorum in Paris. He was a master visionary and suggested three things that changed the course of my life, one of which was to encourage me during the spring of 1972 to make inquiries about the new international organ competition Grand Prix de Chartres, which had just been founded by Pierre Firmin-Didot. When I called, Pierre himself answered, and I met him before I competed. I didn’t get the prize, but I won the heart of the president!

He was passionate about the pomp and grandeur of the ceremonies at the cathedral and above all by the profound sounds of the organ. He had served as an altar boy under the archbishop, Monseigneur
Harscouët, and always felt a very special connection to the cathedral.

He played the organ in a rather natural kind of improvisatory style. One day, Pierre Cochereau, organist at Notre-Dame, told him, “You even know how to modulate!” Then having met me and throughout my own concerts, he familiarized himself with the subtleties of the organ repertoire. He only liked to listen to the organ, no other instrument.

Although he was very proud of the three centuries of his family’s printing and publishing dynasty, the printing business was not that of his soul; he needed a vision that was between heaven and earth. That is precisely where the organist is placed in the cathedral, and that is what certainly reinforced our own relationship. The cathedral was his great passion, which transcended everything his ancestors did. He became the light of Chartres.

His principal qualities embraced a profound courtesy and a welcoming attitude to all, regardless of their origins. He was kind and the epitome of a gentleman. He had a great sense of organization and managed all events from A to Z. It was he and our daughter Caroline who created the prototype of the great book of donors for the association Chartres, Sanctuaire du Monde, which is kept in the treasury of the cathedral.

Noblesse et générosité (noblesse and generosity) is how his nephew, Charles Firmin-Didot, described him during the ceremony where he was decorated with the Officer of Merit award in June 2000. It was a fitting epitaph.

Remembrances of Pierre Firmin-Didot by friends

Daniel Roth

April 8, 2021

Dear Lynne,

We owe a great debt of gratitude to Pierre Firmin-Didot for all he did for the magnificent Chartres Cathedral and for the creation of the international organ competition at Chartres. All his great work will be passed on to future generations.

He was a man of great kindness with a natural kind of authority, which always greatly impressed me. I preserve a great memory of him.

—Daniel Roth

Grand Prix de Chartres, 1971

Organist at l’Église Saint-Sulpice, Paris, France

George Baker

December 2, 2021

In this centennial year of the birth of Pierre Firmin-Didot, I have the pleasure and honor of writing a few recollections and words of gratitude.

Our first encounter occurred a few weeks after I arrived in Paris in August 1973, at Saint-Severin Church in Paris at an all-Messiaen concert played by organist Charles Benbow, 1972 Grand Prix de Chartres winner. Messiaen and Yvonne Loriod were there, and I was invited to the reception where I met Pierre Firmin-Didot, introduced by my friend, Lynne Davis. He was elegant, kind, charming, and very encouraging when I told him I intended to compete in the competition in 1974.

I’ll always be grateful to Pierre Firmin-Didot. For me, the Grand Prix de Chartres was a defining moment in my life and career. I made my first recording on the Chartres Cathedral organ for which we were awarded not one but two Grand Prix du Disque in 1975. A young, skinny, long-haired dude from Texas sure got lucky in France! All the endless hard work had finally paid off!

At the 2000 post-competition dinner, we were sad to learn of Pierre’s illness. He was not able to attend the competitions, and we were all very sad. I recall that many people at the dinner shared their souvenirs and love of Pierre.

Many years have passed since 1973 and my first meeting with Pierre Firmin-Didot, and twenty years have already passed since he left us in 2001. The time has not diminished my gratitude to and admiration for this unique and great man. Mon cher ami Pierre, we miss you and love you.

—George Baker, DMA, MD, MBA

Grand Prix de Chartres, 1974

Organist and composer

Adjunct associate professor of organ Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas

Retired dermatologist

James Kibbie

April 29, 2021

When I won the Grand Prix d’Interprétation at the 1980 Chartres competition, a member of the jury told me, “This will open doors for you; it’s up to you to walk through them.” It was great advice, and I now regard the Chartres competition as the single most important event in my professional development. I had the pleasure of visiting with M. Pierre Firmin-Didot in his magnificent home several times, including when I later served on the competition jury. I also had the honor of playing the sortie for his wedding to my fellow University of Michigan alumna Lynne Davis. Together they extended the Chartres competition with further initiatives to advance French organ music. M. Firmin-Didot’s legacy still shapes the future of the organ in France and beyond. I’m enormously grateful to him for the doors he opened for me and so many others.

—James Kibbie

Grand Prix de Chartres, 1980

Professor and chair, organ department University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Christophe Mantoux

April 26, 2021

Twenty years ago, already, the premature death of Pierre Firmin-Didot was of great sadness in the organ world. There are many of us all over the world who owe much to him, even though he never promoted himself as such. Simplicity, modesty, selflessness, but also generosity, dynamism, imagination, perseverance: so many qualities brought together in one man to carry out a magnificent enterprise in service to art, the organ, and organists!

Presiding over the competition, Pierre Firmin-Didot was affable, courteous, caring, having conserved his capacity of wonderment, showing a tender and dreamer nature.

Dear Pierre, in this year of the centenary of your birth, we express to you our most profound recognition. You had the rare joy of seeing come to fruition the worldwide reputation of the competition (Grand Prix de Chartres) you created; your work, alive and well today, continues its magnificent vocation of emulation, in the service to excellence in art!

—Christophe Mantoux

Grand prix de Chartres, interprétation, 1984

Professeur d’orgue au Conservatoire régional et au Pôle supérieur de Paris

Organiste titulaire de l’Église Saint-Séverin à Paris

Membre de la Commission nationale des monuments historiques (section des orgues)

Martin Jean

September 1, 2021

Few of us can probably say we met someone who truly changed the world. I feel privileged to claim that I did so by making the acquaintance of Monsieur Pierre Firmin-Didot.

M. Firmin-Didot was a visionary, a leader, and a pioneer. He saw possibilities where others saw defeat, and he built bridges where once there were walls. Firmin-Didot in France is a name of renown that is known today such that a statue of the family patriarch stands in the façade of the Hôtel de Ville in Paris. Only a person of such a reputation and legacy could lead a campaign to build a magnificent organ in one of the great cathedrals of the world, to set out an annual festival around it, and to launch one of the most prestigious organ competitions we have.

In a few days, when it came time for us to meet him, we expected formality, distance, reserve. While we were clearly in the presence of someone truly special, dressed in a gorgeous suit of clothes, with perfect manners and comportment, we were all disarmed by how personable he was. Shaking each of us by the hand, sharing a personal greeting, looking us in the eye with warmth and welcome, I was immediately put at ease. I am convinced this helped me play better.

I stayed in touch casually with M. Firmin-Didot over the years and shared meals with Lynne Davis, his wife, and him on return visits. I can still hear his lyric tenor voice shout, “Cher Martin!,” when he saw me coming up the path. There was no reason that I could think of for him to be so kind and welcoming to me. No reason, except that this was his nature.

Leaders, true visionaries, give to the world, and they give equally to individuals. They set out a view of something really glorious—in the case of Chartres and Pierre, music in a setting of utter holiness. But the ones who really “get it,” whose legacy long outlasts their lives, ensure that their grand picture of the world impacts the individual, the human being. This was certainly true for me.

This is my memory of the great Pierre Firmin-Didot. A man of honor, of courage, and of dreams who did what he did not to set up a legacy for himself, but to ensure that all our lives are changed forever.

Merci pour tout, Pierre Firmin-Didot!

—Martin Jean

Grand Prix de Chartres, 1986

Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut

Eric Lebrun

April 7, 2021

Dear Lynne,

As a young organist, still studying at the Conservatory, I crossed his path during the Grand Prix de Chartres in 1990. I was touched immediately by the very grand elegance, the profound kindness of this sensitive and generous man. It is to him we owe the setting in motion of all the work of restoration, of the enhancement of this magnificent patrimony, which explodes today in front of our eyes.

Men who initiate, who are bold, who book a “ticket with no return” for a beautiful adventure, permit our world to breathe and to hope. With enormous gratitude . . . .

—Eric Lebrun

Organiste de l’Église Saint-Antoine-des-Quinze-Vingts, Paris

Professeur d’orgue au Conservatoire de Saint-Maur-des-Fossés

Professeur honoraire au Conservatoire Royal de Aarhus, Denmark

Susan Landale

April 2021

Pierre was a very special person. I remember his kindness, his sense of humor, and his devotion to Chartres. I also remember the beautiful dresses you wore, Lynne, for your recitals! We still miss him as the captain of the ship!

—Susan Landale

Organist of Cathédrale Saint-Louis-des-Invalides, Paris

E. Power Biggs Professor of Organ, Royal Academy of Music, London

Colette Morillon

April 2021

Pierre Firmin-Didot, an exceptional president!

Thanks to Pierre Firmin-Didot, the grand-orgue of the cathedral regained its voice in 1970, and it was important subsequently for him that it be honored by creating an organ competition of international magnitude to reflect the stature of the cathedral itself. It was important also that outside of the liturgy, the grand-orgue should be heard during cultural manifestations destined to further the universal outreach of the cathedral.

His goals were achieved:

—Reveal and promote young organ talents in France and elsewhere in the world. We always promoted the artist’s career, and to win the Grand Prix de Chartres became a dream of every organist. Past winners acknowledge that it helped them to begin an international career. Likewise, most of the recitalists of the summer festival attest to the privilege of being able to “make the stones of the cathedral sing.”

—Organize events of prestige in Chartres Cathedral, contributing thus to its universal cultural outreach. What was thrilling was the organization of quality events, the global dimension of the activities, the contacts with all the greatest organists, the discovery of young talents, and the partnerships with associations and festivals worldwide.

With Pierre Firmin-Didot, thanks to his numerous connections, which he mobilized for the benefit of Chartres, everything was always at the highest level. The Association des Grandes Orgues de Chartres also was present in Paris through other prestigious events they held to raise funds: two Soirées de bienfaisance (charity balls) at the residence of the U.S. ambassadeur to France in the presence of important personalities and with the support of the president of the United States, Ronald Reagan, who had also made a personal gift.

Pierre Firmin-Didot was really a president of exception!

—Colette Morillon

General secretary of the Association des Grandes Orgues de Chartres

Jean-François Lagier

April 2021

Firmin-Didot is the name of a French family who lived during three centuries in service to books and publishing. Pierre Firmin-Didot (1921–2001) belongs to the ninth generation of “Didot, printer and publisher.” Altar boy at Chartres Cathedral, he was impressed by the pomp of the great Roman liturgy. Through his faith and his fondness for splendid religious ceremonies was born his veneration for the universe of Chartres.

From a very young age, I experienced a sort of rapture when, as a young altar boy, guided by the luminous figure of Monseigneur Harscouët (archbishop), I served the Grand-Messe at Notre Dame of Chartres. The love of God certainly carried me, but it was magnified for the little one I was. Everything around me radiated beauty: the harmony of the liturgy, the chants, the ornaments, the perfume of the flowers and the incense, the magic light from the stained glass windows, which brought forth so many apparitions of familiar personages from Biblical history, and finally as if embracing and inflaming all of this, the powerful majesty of the organ, capable of bringing us the trembling of a Dies Irae summoning the blessed vision of the Lamb of God.

Pierre Firmin-Didot was a pioneer: he wore the modern “vision” of cultural heritage. When during his time “patrimony” was only a notary public term, he knew that it would become the crusade of our times, that it would incarnate the question of cultural identity, and that it would be transformed into a national cause, today, which embraces the preservation and conservation of art and historical structures, like the safeguarding of the natural environment and buildings.

He anticipated this movement in Chartres through all his actions, born of a mindset that wasn’t simply nostalgic of things past, a “folklorization” of cultural heritage, with a content that one would have stripped of all meaning: it is the living cathedral, which he saw as a beacon of Western Christianity, that which incarnates a worth of continuous value, the cathedral that Proust upheld, which affirmed that the religious vocation of the monument was the guarantee of its artistic beauty.

—Jean-François Lagier

President de Chartres, Sanctuaire du Monde

Directeur du Centre international du Vitrail

Trésorier de l’Association des Grandes Orgues de Chartres

Chartres cathedral website: chartrescathedral.net

Chartres competition website: orgues-chartres.org

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