Pierre Queval

The Eighth Biennial French Organ Music Seminar attracted 60 registrants for a commemoration of the centennial of the death of Aristide Cavaillé-Coll. Hearing, playing, and studying the music written for the great instruments of Paris, Rouen, and Toulouse formed the focal point of the two-week schedule. French Classical and modern instruments at Versailles, Chartres, Bordeaux, Cintegabelle, and Albi rounded out the itinerary. Five recitals and three masterclasses by and for participants climaxed the events. The legacy of Cavaillé-Coll's work and influence was made vivid especially for those experiencing the instruments for the first time--from the first large-instrument contract for Saint-Denis (1841), the transitional La Madeleine organ (1845), to the late Saint-Ouen instrument (Rouen, 1890). His respect for the work of predecessors such as Thierry, Dom Bedos and Clicquot is reflected in the preservation of pipework for instruments restored after the damage left behind during the French Revolution. Cavaillé-Coll's close relationship with the premier organist/composers of his generation who were inspired by his instruments was made apparent many times over.

Even the finest recordings pale when compared to the experience of being present within the acoustical environments of these magnificent instruments.  The initial experience of hearing the Grande Orgues of Paris played by their artist-curators--the effect of the near-Positiv and distant Récit, the solid depth of bass voices, the reverberation through the vast naves--was moving beyond description.

Prior to and during the seminar, participants studied improvisation and repertoire both privately and in groups with master teachers including Marie-Louise Langlais, Daniel Roth, Susan Landale, Naji Hakim, and Marie-Bernadette Dufourcet. Lectures on the history of each church and its instrument were followed by a demonstration and improvisation by the titulaire organist. Participants also enjoyed hearing a wide variety of examples of French Romantic and Classical literature from one another. Generous playing time was allowed at each venue.

At the Paris Conservatory organ recital hall, Dallas flutist Debra Johnson played a virtuosic new work for flute and piano by Naji Hakim, accompanied by the composer. Marie-Louise Langlais introduced François Espinasse, titulaire organist at Saint-Severin, who conducted the first masterclass which addressed French Classical music. His comments focused on correct registration and the careful and sensitive employment of the French manner. Mme. Langlais gave to the participants an extensive handout on registration and interpretation.

Saint-Roch was the next stop for a recital by David Erwin who played works by Clérambault, Balbastre, and Langlais. Lefébure-Wély, at age 15, assumed the organist position there in 1832. The instrument dates from 1751 with several rebuilds, including one by Cavaillé-Coll 1840-1862.

At Notre-Dame-de-Paris, the group gathered in the organ loft for Philippe Lefebrve's demonstration of the famous Cavaillé-Coll in this most famous of churches. Lefebrve's exciting improvisation began with employment of Clicquot pipework--a Grand Plein Jeu with pedal en chamade. Next, an Adagio with variously the Voix humaine, Doublette, Cromorne, Hautbois, Strings, and double pedal. A Flute Scherzo with Vox Humana countermelody in the pedal was followed by a lively march with Trompette long-note melody in the pedals. The stirring finale was built from Fonds+Reeds+Cornets to full organ with pizzicato pedal sprinkled throughout.

In the loft at La Trinité, titulaire organist Naji Hakim, protégé of Langlais, and Messiaen's chosen successor, told of Guilmant's collaboration with Cavaillé-Coll for the 1871 instrument. Hakim, a charming man, successful composer, and virtuoso organist, spoke with great reverence of his predecessor, Olivier Messiaen. He played two unpublished early Messaien works, Offrande and Prélude, which showed influence of Fauré and Debussy. Amid telling delightful stories and putting off the vacuum-cleaner-wielding sexton, he played portions of his own Sinfonia and a new piece, Chant de Joie. He then assisted participants in trying the organ.

The first participants' recital, open to the public at Saint-Roch, featured nine performers in a program of Clérambault, Boëllmann, Balbastre, Dupré, de Grigny, Widor, Langlais, and Saint-Saëns.

Notre-Dame-des-Champs was Ca-vaillé-Coll's parish church. Today the two-manual mechanical action organ, with Barker machine and Appel lever, is 90% original Cavaillé-Coll pipework. Titulaire organist Marie-Bernadette Dufourcet demonstrated the beautiful Flûte Harmonique and rich Montre of the Grand Orgue division and improvised on Fonds and Anches. She played portions of pieces by seminar director Christina Harmon, herself, her husband Naji Hakim, and René Vierne, who was organist at the church before his death in WWI.

At The American Cathedral of the Holy Trinity (Episcopal), Ned Tipton, organist of the cathedral, explained the varied history of the 1845 Cavaillé-Coll organ and later rebuilds and additions by Mutin, Henry Willis, and others. The west-gallery 1970 neo-Baroque organ, added as an aid to congregational singing, was eventually revoiced and brought into compliance with the chancel instrument. To demonstrate the diversity of the organ, Mr. Tipton played works of Bach, Sowerby, and Duruflé. A masterclass followed, conducted by Lynne Davis, with participants playing works by Franck, Vierne, Dupré, Widor, and Tournemire. Miss Davis' succinct comments focused primarily on tempo, phrasing, articulation, and delineation of form. Following the masterclass, David Wilson, retired professor of music history and early-music ensemble director at Dalhousie University in Halifax, presented a lecture on the French Romantic Organ School.

The historically rich Schola Cantorum, located in what was an English Benedictine monastery, was founded by Guilmant in 1896 for the restoration of Gregorian chant after Solesmes, and for fostering the heritage of the organ in that tradition. A temple of "non-official"  music, it nurtured students such as Debussy, Milhaud and Roussel. Teachers have included Vierne, the Duruflés, Grunenwald, and Langlais. The organ, designed by Guilmant, who played the inaugural recital, is a 1902 three-manual Mutin after Cavaillé-Coll. Mutin worked for Cavaillé-Coll and took over the company after Cavaillé-Coll's death. Participants were treated to a fine recital by Lázló Deák, competition-winner and student of Mme Langlais.  Repertoire included works of Guilmant, Vierne, Duruflé, Grunenwald, Messiaen, Litaize, and Langlais.

Also at the Schola Cantorum, Marie-Louise Langlais conducted a master class on the Franck Choral in E Major and Cantabile, Duruflé Veni Creator Variations, Widor Salve Regina, Langlais Fantasie, and Vierne Prélude from Symphony #1. Besides telling of the rich history of the school's site and heritage and the attributes of the organ, she wove stories and anecdotes of Franck, Sainte-Clotilde, Messiaen, Duruflé, Litaize, and Langlais for performers and audience.

The Sainte-Clotilde Cavaillé-Coll was demonstrated by Jacques Taddei, titulaire organist and current director of the Paris Regional Conservatory. After playing the Franck B-minor Choral he demonstrated the colors of the organ beginning with Grand Plein Jeu (of Baroque influence from Dom Bedos) the Positiv Clarinet (Cromorne) which was moved to the Récit by Tournemire but later moved back to the Positiv, Fonds 8¢ with Oboe, Great and Positiv Trompettes, all reeds together, solo reeds Oboe, Vox Humana, Trompette; and the  Grand Orgue, Récit, and Positiv Harmonique Flûtes. He improvised on two melodies: Amazing Grace and the refrain of  Battle Hymn of the Republic--chosen by Marie-Louise Langlais for all of the Americans present. It is among the "sweetest" of Cavaillé-Coll instruments (1859), reworked by Beuchet-Debièrre in 1933 and 1960 and Barberis in 1983. The console was electrified after WWII. The assertive unenclosed Positiv, forward in the case, contrasts greatly with the recessed Recit, a factor affecting registration of Franck's music on American organs. We would return to Sainte-Clotilde to play the organ and hear an impressive participants' recital of music by Franck, Boëllmann, Tournemire, Dubois, Guilmant, Vierne, and Langlais.

Michel Chapuis was the host at the Palace of Louis XIV at Versailles.  In the royal apartments he demonstrated an 18th-century harpsichord (Blanchet) and chamber organ. The highlight of the visit was his demonstration of the magnificent organ in the chapel. After his presentation, members of the group were able to play briefly.

Philippe Brandeis, titulaire organist at Sacre-Coeur and co-titulaire at Les Invalides, demonstrated the organ at the beautifully resonant chapel at Les Invalides (Church of the Dome). The chapel, built in 1675 by Louis XIV, is now reserved for military events and services and is the seat of the bishop of the military. An organ was finished in 1687 (Thierry) and LeBegue played there for the king. The organ had a checkered history throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, and in 1957 was reconstructed after Sainte-Clotilde, though the present instrument is considered neo-classic with only one stop left of the original. Brandeis played the Duruflé Sicilienne and The World Awaiting the Savior by Dupré.

The noble chestnut trees of the cloister of Saint-Severin welcomed us to the architecturally eclectic church in the heart of the Latin Quarter of Paris. A walk from the West end pillars to the apse ambulatory columns and new stained glass designs is for the eye a short journey from the 13th to the 20th century. François Espinasse, titulaire organist, demonstrated the 1964 Kern (case from the original 1745 instrument) with flutes, cornets, and Basse de Trompette. Assisted by Espinasse and David Erwin, participants played Bach, Couperin, LeBegue, Raison, and deGrigny.

Our next stop, Saint-Sulpice, a mammoth Roman-style church with interior arches and huge paintings, boasts a Cavaillé-Coll of five manuals and 102 stops. Daniel Roth, titulaire organist, presented an excellent history of the organ. Its original Cavaillé-Coll mechanical-action console and preserved pipework are due in large part to the legacy of two organists, Widor and Dupré, whose combined, unbroken tenure there spanned 100 years. Despite protests that he "played too much like a German," Widor was appointed "interim" organist at Saint-Sulpice at age 26 upon the strength of Cavaillé-Coll's recommendation. He stayed for 63 years. Cavaillé-Coll retained the 1781 Clicquot pipework from the instrument which miraculously escaped desecration during the Revolution. Roth played an extended recital including Guilmant First Movement from Sonata #5, Widor Scherzo and a Fugue in A Minor. After demonstrating the Grand Jeu and other combinations, he concluded with an improvisation to demonstrate all the solo colors, strings, flutes, and tutti. Ample opportunity for all to play this great instrument was provided later in the week, with M. Roth assisting on the bench.

François-Henri Houbart, 20 years the titulaire organist at La Madeleine, discussed the considerable visibility of the church and its 1845 Cavaillé-Coll in terms of its history of celebrity organist-composers: Saint-Saëns, Fauré, Nadia Boulanger, Gigout, Dallier, Jeanne Demessieux, and Odile Pierre, and of the state occasions observed there. Many great musicians played the organ, including Frederick Chopin, Clara Schumann, and Anton Rubenstein. The organ was Cavaillé-Coll's second large instrument after Saint-Denis and is reminiscent of the French Classical design, with Plein jeu principals after Dom Bedos. There is no cromorne or cornet. The voix celeste is in the Positiv rather than in the Récit, and the Positiv is placed above the Grand Orgue. Its four-manual console is electrified, and 46 of the original 48 stops are preserved. Houbart demonstrated the organ with a long improvisation, delighting and amusing his audience, on the theme from "Dallas." Afterwards he assisted participants for playing time.

The visit to Chartres, site of renowned international organ competitions on the Danion-Gonzalez reconstructed organ of 1969-71, proved more than just the opportunity to hear and play the organ. This Queen of Gothic Cathedrals stands above all others as witness to and testament of the Age of Faith. Malcolm Miller, who has made a career studying and lecturing on the Chartres Cathedral, gave a guided tour especially for FOMS participants. Its 400 stained-glass windows, unparalleled in beauty, and the 4000+ sculptures which adorn the exterior capture and mesmerize all who journey there. Tourist traffic has failed to destroy its atmosphere and radiance.

 On the northern environs of Paris, titularie organist Pierre Pincemaille was our host at the ancient basilica church of Saint-Denis, the place of coronation and burial for centuries of French kings. It was here where the influential Abbot Suger instructed his architect to open up the apse ambulatory to light and space. The resulting gothic arches and provision for walls of colored glass realized Suger's belief that God can be known through beauty on earth. The nave is wide and "open." The 1841 Cavaillé-Coll instrument, his first in Paris and first to use the Barker lever, was restored in 1987 by Boisseau.

On Sunday morning, participants had opportunity to hear our French hosts improvise and preside from their organ lofts: Lefebvre for hundreds of tourists at the Notre Dame Gregorian Mass, Espinasse at Saint-Severin, Pincemaille at Saint-Denis, Taddei at Sainte-Clotilde, Dufourcet at Notre-Dame-des-Champs, Fréderic Blanc at Notre Dame d'Auteil, and Roth at Saint-Sulpice.

At St-Etienne-du-Mont, Maurice Duruflé's church, titulaire organist Thierry Escaich demonstrated the 1863 Cavaillé-Coll. The four-manual organ of 89 stops has been rebuilt and electrified by Beuchet-Debierre (1956), and rebuilt again by Gonzalez (1975) and Dargassies (1991).

The group traveled to Rouen to hear the spectacular 1890 Cavaillé-Coll organ at the abbey church of Saint-Ouen, a site with a history of bishops dating to the 7th century. The present flamboyant Gothic-style church's cornerstone is dated 1318, and the nave was finished in the 16th century.  Organist George Baker, describing his passion for the instrument, mentioned that it was the last organ which Cavaillé-Coll personally supervised. Widor played the dedication recital in 1890. The four-manual organ has one of the most spectacular of cases, with five figures crowning the towers: the central one is Christ, with King David, Saint Cecilia, and two angels on either side. Marcel Dupré's father Albert was titulaire organist at Saint-Ouen from 1911-1940. The organ was demonstrated first by titulaire organist Marie-Andrée Morriset with trumpeter Michel Morriset, in works of Vierne and Morriset. George Baker and Fréderic Blanc treated the group to a lengthy recital which included music of Vierne, Duruflé, and Widor. Dale Peters, Professor of Organ at the University of North Texas, played the Toccata by Lanquetuit which was dedicated to Albert Dupré.

From Rouen the group arrived late in the afternoon at the Regional Conservatory of Rueill-Malmaison. Professor, organist, and musicologist Susan Landale treated the group to her recollections of Marchal, Messiaen, and Langlais. A student of André Marchal in the 1950s and early 60s, she played several recordings of performances by these master teachers and discussed their relationships with one another through many interesting anecdotes and stories.

The next portion of the seminar itinerary took us to the south of France, first arriving in Bordeaux to visit the 14th-century Gothic Cathedral of Saint-André and its Gonzalez organ of neo-classical design. Our organist-host played the Final from Symphonie II by André Fleury. Bordeaux was the birthplace of Charles Tournemire, who was  organist there at Saint Michel. After playing-time at the cathedral and lunch, the bus drove towards Toulouse through the heart of wine country with a short stop at the picturesque, ancient Roman town of St. Emilion.

Continuing on to Toulouse, traveling through the beautiful countryside, we arrived in this beautiful city ready for the two days of events scheduled there. Most participants were attracted to the south of France because of the promise of experiencing the great organ at Saint-Sernin, but many other delights awaited. Two churches were on the first-day agenda. First, Église de la Duarade ("golden" from the gold mosaics that once decorated the interior), a Roman-style church with rounded arches with varied past of pagan, Moorish, and eventually Christian dominance. The organ, an 1864 Poirer and Lieberknecht, is typically Romantic, including a lovely free reed Euphone. Lefébure-Wély dedicated the instrument. Participants had ample time to play, with the assistance of François Espinasse and Sylvie Mallot, assistant director of FOMS. The choir organ, by Puget, was a jewel of an instrument with its Baroque case. A walk past the Garonne river took us to Église de La   Dalbade, a Gothic interior with familiar brick exterior common in this city and region. The organ of three manuals and 50 stops is an 1888 Puget. Espinasse played Messiaen's Dieu parmi nous. The voix celeste was particularly beautiful and the reeds assertive.

The Basilica of Saint-Sernin, a magnificent Romanesque church with spectacular spire, houses one of the most powerful of Cavaillé-Coll's instruments. Built in 1887-88 and restored in 1996, its three-manual console retains the original mechanical action. The reputation of the 54-stop organ comes partially from the presence of Pedal 32¢ Principal and 32¢ Bombarde, Grand-Orgue 16¢ Montre, 16¢ Bourdon, reeds from Bombarde 16¢ to 2¢ Clairon-doublette, and Trompette and Clarion en chamades 8¢ and 4¢. The Positiv is unenclosed. The fifteen performers for the third participants' recital prepared repertoire by Dupré, Langlais, Widor, Guilmant, Gigout, Boëllmann, Vierne,  and Franck.

The second day in Toulouse commenced at the Musée d'Augustine for a recital on a neo-Baroque organ by Arendt (1981). Housed in what was the impressive Gothic chapel of a monastery, the instrument was built upon recommendation of Xavier Durasse, an advocate for organ restoration in the region, who felt that Toulouse needed a modern instrument of this type. The first event held there was a Bach competition. Tuned in Werckmeister III, the organ has three manuals, 30 stops and a beautiful case with side door-panels.

The Cathedral church of Saint-Etienne houses an organ restored by Cavaillé-Coll in 1849. It was restored again by Puget between the World Wars and by Kern in 1976 to become a neo-Baroque instrument of four manuals with an echo manual. François Espinasse played works of deGrigny, Marchand, and Bach. This organ is placed so high on the wall, with access to the loft so difficult, that one of the titulaire organists there was forced to resign because of acrophobia.

The last day brought visits to three towns: Cintegabelle, Albi, and Lavaur. Tiny, picturesque Cintegabelle boasts a Roman-style church of Moorish influence and a large French-Baroque instrument built by Boulbonne which was moved to the church from a nearby 17th-century monastery. Its magnificent case dominates the building. Of three manuals and 36 stops, the organ has the French pedalboard of short keys. Participants practiced for the fourth recital of the seminar for works by Couperin, Roberday, Dandrieu, d'Aquin, and deGrigny.

In the city of Albi, with its magnificent and imposing cathedral church of Sainte-Cécile, participants visited the fabulous Toulouse-Lautrec museum (he was born in Albi) across from the church and then returned for the fifth participants' recital. The French-Baroque organ by Moucherel was restored to its original voice in 1971-1981 by the firm of Formentelli. The recital, including works by Clérambault, de Grigny, Le Begue, and Corrette, was enjoyed by many ambulating tourists.

Lavaur, a peaceful town with its church of Saint-Étienne, was the last stop of the seminar. Like many places in the region, Lavaur suffered during the Albigensian Crusade in the early 13th century, a legacy of terror and destruction. Today the river Agoût flows peacefully along its edges and beautifully sculpted gardens welcome the visitor to the church. The organ is an 1876 Cavaillé-Coll, whose case resembles La Madeleine in Paris.  Within the quiet surroundings, participants again heard the Romantic sound of Lefébure-Wély, Franck, Chausson, and Tournemire.

Directors Christina Harmon and Marie-Louise Langlais and their associates planned the schedule for maximum use of time, and the seminar fulfilled its purpose as an educational experience and delight for the ear. The gracious hospitality of our hosts included a dinner at the home of Naji and Marie-Bernadette Dufourcet Hakim, a garden reception at the Schola Cantorum prepared by Mme. Langlais and her daughter Caroline, and two group dinners at private rooms in fine restaurants, one of which was for celebration with song and gifts on Mme. Langlais' birthday.

The first French Organ Music Seminar in 1987 attracted six students who spent five days studying with Philippe Lefebvre at Notre Dame in Paris. The eighth tour, with 60 students from age 16 to 75, provided experience of a wide variety of instruments and invaluable personal interaction with fine scholars and teachers.  

Timothy Huth holds a master’s degree and doctor of musical arts in organ performance from the University of Michigan. He is currently organist at First Presbyterian Church in Dearborn, Michigan, and a nationally certified massage therapist and cranial sacral therapist.

Led by Marilyn Mason and Gale Kramer, the University of Michigan Historic Tour LVI began on the Mediterranean in sunny Barcelona, then traversed southern France to Bordeaux on the Atlantic coast via Toulouse and Carcassonne. From there we followed Conques, Poîtiers, Angers, Orléans, Chartres, the Chapelle Royale at Versailles, and finally Paris itself. Historic churches and cathedrals with organs in the Catalan, French classic, and French symphonic traditions graced our way, and frequently our host organists would improvise, lecture, and assist tour members at the console. Several visits to museums and historical sites as well as sampling the local cuisines along the way complemented much music making.

Barcelona
Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia, is a vibrant cosmopolitan port city with ancient roots, with fine museums and architecture spanning centuries. Catalan organ building flowered here in the 16th century, taking a different path from that in Castile and central Spain, where organ building reached its peak in the 17th century. Linked by trade and geography to continental Europe, Catalonian builders were influenced by the Flemish, North Germans, and French. The organs usually have several reeds, although in Catalonia reeds never became as numerous or prominent as in the rest of Spain. Trompetas and Baixons (Clarins) are powerful and bright, and the organs are rich in mutations, cornets, and mixtures (Pie, Simbalet). Often there are colorful solo reeds on secondary divisions. Catalan cases are flat, narrow, and usually tucked into a small space. Even on smaller instruments there is usually a horizontal Trompeta or two, which affords economy of wind and space. Frequently there is a smaller Cadireta or Chair Organ suspended behind the organist (sometimes behind and under the organ bench), with a small chorus, mutations, and reed (Regalia, Cromorne, sometimes Trompetas).
As in baroque France, the music determined the registration—for example: Nazardo combinations using Nazardos and Quincenas; Lleno; Flautado; Campana (bell: unisons and Cymbalet). Rossignol, tympani, and bird stops are common. Often Iberian organ registrations were incorporated into builders’ contracts. Stops were divided for maximum flexibility of solo/accompaniment registration. The Principal (Cara 8′) would usually be of wood. Unique to Catalonian and Majorcan organ building, manuals divide between b2–c3 (in Castilian organs, c3–c#3).

Santa Maria del Mar
On the first day, we walked through Barcelona’s medieval city to Santa Maria del Mar (St. Mary of the Sea), where we met Neal Cowley, parish organist and a historian of Spanish organs. This vast basilica, built by Catalonian merchants and traders in the 13th century, has a history of important organs, beginning with Bernat Pons in 1393, and later instruments of 1464 and 1691. Lost in the Spanish Civil War were the 1797 ‘large organ’ by Jean-Pierre and Dominique Cavaillé (Aristide’s father and grandfather built several large organs in Barcelona) and the ‘small organ’ (1495, 1672, for accompanying chant). The current organ, the ‘small organ’, is a 17th-century instrument by an unknown builder from the convent in Vic. There are two manuals, a large 14-stop Orgue Major (II), and a 6-stop Cadireta (I). Using casework and pipes found in an antique shop and rescuing bellows and keyboards from an old farmhouse near Vic, Gerhard Grenzing rebuilt this instrument following the tradition of the period and by studying the few remaining period instruments. Particularly notable is the powerful warmth of the Cara, the blossom of the flutes, and impressive ensemble, able to fill the large Gothic space. The parish plans for a new ‘large organ’ to replace the lost Cavaillé.

Recitals—Barcelona Cathedral
At the Barcelona Cathedral (completed in 1298), eleven of our tour prepared for a late afternoon concert of Spanish music on the 1538 Pere Flamech organ (IV/58), with its casework by Antoni Carbonel towering over the San Ivo door near the apse. One of four major organs by Flamech, it has been significantly modified over the years. The ‘Batalla’ organ (IV) of Trompeta Magna 16′, Trompeta Real and Clarins Clars 8′, Baixons and Clarins Alts 4′, and Violetes 2′ (all horizontal reeds) resonated through this vast space scented with candles and incense and alive with thousands of pilgrims and visitors.
Academia a l’Orgue Barroc
Later that week, tour members performed at the ‘Academia a l’Orgue Barroc’ at La Poble de Cérvoles, where our hosts were Maria Nacy, the Academia founder, with three of her enthusiastic young students. The Academia’s organ hangs on the mid-front right wall of the parish church. It is a stunning restoration by Wilfried Praet of a 2-manual/8′ Pedal 1752 Anton Cases organ, with a 3-stop Cadireta Interior added by Joseph Cases/Soler in 1784. Another very fine Praet reconstruction was at St. Jaume, Ulldemolins. This 2-manual instrument with full choruses, bright reeds, and lovely Cara featured painted case doors of the Annunciation by an anonymous female artist. An El Greco painting behind the altar and Catalan icons completed the space. The organ, brought to the church via an enthusiastic priest and funded by parish and town, is a source of regional pride. Back in Barcelona, Gerhard Grenzing welcomed us to his workshop, where we saw several works in progress. Grenzing’s repertoire of over 170 organs includes significant European restorations and new instruments (e.g., Brussels Cathedral IV/60).

Cathedral de Santa Maria, Castello d’ Empúries
On our last day in Catalonia we saw the great Gothic Cathedral de Santa Maria, Castello d’Empúries, originally with an 11th-century instrument by Pere Granyera. The 51-stop, 4-manual gallery instrument (Scherer circa 1600/Grenzing 2004) combines Spanish and classical French characteristics with an expanded 16′ Pedal and stops of Spanish and continental nomenclature (e.g., Alemanya IV on the Orgue Major, Oboe, but also Trompeta Batalla and Magna). This is one of the great organs of this region of Spain and France.
Following a visit to Salvador Dalî’s seaside home and his fantastical museum at Figueras, the rolling hills and meadows of France welcomed us to the Abbey of Sainte-Marie, Fontfroide. Following Cistercian tradition, this vast Romanesque abbey church never had an organ; the Offices and Mass were all chanted a cappella.

Basilica of SS. Nazarius and Celsus, Carcassonne
Many great (now former) monasteries and churches are along ancient pilgrim and trade routes. In the walled city of Carcassonne, the Basilica of SS. Nazarius and Celsus has a Romanesque nave around which, in 1269, a Gothic cathedral was built. Fourteenth-century stained glass illumines the 1522 organ case. The instrument combines a 1679 organ by Jean de Joyeuse (III/24), with renovations and an 8-stop Récit added by Jean-Pierre Cavaillé in 1775 (III/32). Fomentelli integrated the two instruments in 1985 (IV/40). Here is an example of the late French classic style, with cornets on every manual, Grand Cornet, and powerful bombardes. Unique to the Carcassonne organ are two Positif divisions (Positif Intérieur and Positif de dos), in addition to the Récit and 28-note Pédale. The upraised faces of tourists and pilgrims toward the loft attested to this captivating instrument as Marilyn Mason gave an impromptu lesson on de Grigny.
A visit to L’église Sainte Marie de Cintegabelle brought us to Moucherel’s splendid 1741 instrument, restored in 1989 by Boisseau & Cattiaux, with its sparkling Plein Jeu, voluptuous Grands Jeux, and stunning wide and shallow case topped by golden angel musicians.

Toulouse, Languedoc, Dordogne
In Toulouse, organist Jean-Claude Guidarini led us to Saint-Pierre des Chartreux, where high over the former Dominican choir area in the large apse presides the 1683 Delauney (IV/51) instrument, restored by Joseph Cavaillé-JB Micot in 1783, and Grenzing 1983. Several hours later we walked to Saint-Sernin and the towering Cavaillé-Coll organ of 1889, with pipework from Daublaine-Callinet (1845). Following Guidarini’s brilliant improvisation, our group enjoyed hours of playing in the empty basilica.
At Albi in Languedoc, Mary Prat-Molinier met us high in the loft at the red brick fortress of the Cathédrale Sainte-Cécile, built at the end of the Albigensian crusade (13th century). Built in 1735 by Christophe Moucherel as a 43-stop organ, Lépine added a Bombarde manual in 1747, and Formentelli restored it in the mid 1970s, incorporating many remaining pipes. Each division has a Cornet séparé, and the Voix humaine is new, after that of Cintegabelle. Next door we enjoyed the Toulouse-Lautrec museum in the former bishop’s palace.
At Sarlat-la-Canéda in the Dordogne valley, near a lively public market in this medieval city, Henry Jullien, a former pupil of Susan Landale, improvised and shared console time on a unique 37-stop Jean-François Lépine organ of 1750, restored by Cattiaux in 2005, in the Cathedral of Saint-Sacerdos. From a family of builders, Lépine (who built for Saint-Roch in Paris) was a pupil of Dom Bedos, who inspected this instrument. The organ is 80% original, with drawings and clues in the gallery floorboard greatly aiding in the reconstruction of the action, chest layout, and winding system.

Bordeaux
The next day at Sainte-Croix Abbey in Bordeaux, we heard Daniel Tappe (a graduate of Oberlin, now at the Musik Hochschule at Hanover) in a recital of Clérambault, Froberger, Bach, and Kerll on Dom Bedos de Celles’ masterpiece. The 18th-century verdigris case with golden filigree and 16′ Montre glistened as the room filled with the sound of brilliant, powerful trompettes and cornets, full flutes, and the gravitas of the 32′ Bourdon and Grand Plein-jeu XIII of the Grand Orgue. One of the hallmarks of every great organ that we saw were the foundation stops, which, given the materials and acoustics of the churches, provided a richness and warmth supporting the tonal edifice. In the restoration, Pascal Quoirin of Carpentras followed Bedos’ 1766–78 L’Art du Facteur d’Orgues and used early inventories of the instrument as well as extant pipes, including the battered façade. With a full complement of couplers, reeds on all manuals, manual bombardes, and the ability to create terraced dynamics, the organ is capable of a more diverse repertoire and is clearly along the road toward the new symphonic style.

Poitiers
Following the Loire valley, we arrived at the Cathédrale Saint-Pierre in Poitiers. A lack of money prevented Aristide Cavaillé-Coll’s planned rebuild of François-Henri Clicquot and son Claude-François’ masterpiece, a 16′ ‘Grand Orgue’ of four manuals, 44 stops, and 28-note Pedale, with its original temperament including four perfect thirds. Organist Jean-Baptiste Robin pointed out that while of classical disposition, the organ carries the power and presence of later organs and is capable of a more diverse repertoire. Later in the week at St. Godard in Rouen, titular organist Nicholas Pien conversely spoke of their 1885 Cavaillé-Coll (III/38) and its ability to perform Vierne as well as French Baroque pieces. Widor, who dedicated the St. Godard organ, called it ‘Raphael’ to distinguish it from the Cavaillé-Coll in St. Ouen, which he called ‘Michelangelo’. With its piquant Swell Gambe and powerful intense reeds, it has an immediate presence in this smaller Gothic structure with wooden floor and ceiling. A Cavaillé-Coll choir organ (II/16) graces the apse.

Loire Valley
In the Loire Valley, we toured Fontevrault Abbey, a former monastic community of men and women under an abbess (later a prison where the author Jean Genet spent time), and the burial place of Eleanor of Aquitaine. That afternoon, following the Loire River, we came to the Cathédrale Saint-Maurice in Anjou province. The carved neo-Gothic staircase to the gallery matched the spired towers of the 1879 Cavaillé-Coll, containing earlier pipework, including a 1742 Positif. Restoration after World War II included electrification and additional stops.

Chapelle Royale at Versailles
Our gateway to Paris was the gilt and marble Chapelle Royale at Versailles, with its IV/37 instrument in the musicians’ gallery over the high altar. François Couperin premiered the Etienne Enocq/Robert Clicquot organ in 1711, and Gonzalez rebuilt it in 1936 (Widor wanted to keep the earlier 1873 Cavaillé-Coll rebuild). Recently, Boisseau et Cattiaux scrupulously restored the 1710 organ, keeping the 1736 (Louis-Alexandre Clicquot) and 1762 (Francois-Henri Clicquot) additions. Its console has features of the Poitiers organ, and it is also a 16′ instrument.
Paris, La Madeleine
We arrived in Paris to play the 1847 Cavaillé-Coll organ at the church of La Madeleine (IV/46). Here is Cavaillé-Coll’s first Voix Céleste and first reverse console (now electrified). Planned-for 8′ and 4′ Trompettes-en-Chamade have been added. Organiste-Titulaire François-Henri Houbart improvised à la Dupré, starting from the wide breadth of the Flûte Harmonique and colorful solo stops through waves of mixtures and reeds to full organ and powerful choruses anchored by the Bombarde. It was a thrill to play the Tournemire Te Deum in this grand space on this venerable instrument.

Saint-Gervais
Our last few days in Paris saw visits to still more instruments. The final Sunday of the tour found some of our group in the loft with Jean-Paul Leguay at Notre-Dame Cathedral, some at Saint-Eustache, and others at Mass at Saint-Sulpice with the sublime improvisations and service playing of Daniel Roth. That afternoon at Saint-Gervais where eight generations of Couperins worked, Elise Frist, an assistant organist, ably demonstrated the organ (V/41, 1628 Thierry, 1768 FH Clicquot, 1843 LP Dallery, 1974 Gonzalez, 2003 Muhlrisen). Indeed, the Couperins’ music fitted the organ well, with its balanced ensembles and clarity of voicing evoking that of Lépine, Delauney or Clicquot. Much original pipework remains, and the console has the oldest keyboards in Paris. The original pedalboard is mounted on the rear case, which is also embellished with etchings and photos of the many organists who have played and worked there.

Sainte-Marguerite and
Notre-Dame de Chartres
Sunday evening found us again in recital, this time featuring music of Widor, Tournemire, Dupré, and improvisations at the church of Sainte-Marguerite, built in 1624, and where the young Dauphin Louis XVII is buried. The organ is an 1878 installation by Stoltz Frères of Alsace.
A side trip to Notre-Dame de Chartres found us in the gallery with headphones on to be able to properly hear the instrument (IV/68, Relevage Jean-Marc Cicchero 1996). Without them we were surrounded by sounds of the Pédalier.

L’Église Saint-Antoine des Quinze Vingts
At l’Église Saint-Antoine des Quinze Vingts we found a unique 1894, 48-stop Cavaillé-Coll originally built for the Baron de l’Espée, who wished to play Wagner in his personal hotel on the Champs-Élysées. A purely symphonic instrument, it was moved to the church and enlarged in 1907.

Notre-Dame d’Auteuil and
Sainte-Clothilde
The Grand-Orgue of Notre-Dame d’Auteuil (Cavaillé-Coll 1884, Gloton-Debierre 1937–38) is a shining example of Cavaillé-Coll’s mature work. Dedicated by Widor in 1884, its sound evoked that of Saint-Sulpice. It is one of the most glorious instruments this organist has ever experienced. The 1938 renovation, under the auspices of a committee with Tournemire, Vierne, Duruflé, and Dupré, preserved the entire organ (III/52), enlarged and enclosed the Positif, and added pedal and manual mixtures. Josef Franck, the brother of César, was organist here, and in 1884 Widor and Dellier played the dedication. Its full flutes, generous fonds, and bombardes of great gravitas are well balanced and perfectly blended in the room. This was a favorite organ of the Duruflés and much of Paris; Marie-Madeleine Duruflé attended Mass here in her later years. Titular organist Frédéric Blanc told us that the original instrument intended for the church was loaned to the French government, whereupon Cavaillé-Coll enlarged it and installed it in the Trocadéro, which opened in 1878. At Sainte-Clothilde, assistant organist Olivier Penin improvised on the 1859 Cavaillé-Coll, renovated by Dargassies in 2004. It was a thrill to also play the instrument of Langlais, Pierné, Franck and Tournemire.

La Trinité
The La Trinité organ was built by Cavaillé-Coll in 1869 and reconstructed after the Paris Commune in 1871. Merklin rebuilt it in 1901, and in 1934 Pleyel-Cavaillé added combination action, batteries of reeds and mutations, and mixtures. It was again rebuilt in 1965 by Beuchet-Debierre, with further alterations and additions in 1984 and 1992. Messiaen referred to the remaining older pipework as the most admirable sounds on the instrument and considered the instrument a masterpiece.

Saint-Étienne-du-Mont and
Saint-Roch
Our final afternoon found us at Saint-Étienne-du-Mont, with organist titulaire Vincent Warnier improvising in the style of Duruflé, after which we spent several hours at the console. In 1930 when Maurice Duruflé was appointed here, the ailing 1873 Cavaillé-Coll (a rebuild of a 17th-century organ with original case) was renovated in consultation with Tournemire and Dupré. Work resumed after World War II (Marilyn Mason recalled her lessons on the front choir organ shortly after the war). Now electrified and enlarged, the main organ has been transformed and still possesses many pipes from all of its incarnations. Its brightness and color complement the wonderful late flamboyant Gothic sunlit nave of the church and indeed the music of Maurice Duruflé.
The last church we visited was Église Saint-Roch and its III/54 Cavaillé-Coll (1840, 1862), restored by Renaud in 1992, including the mechanical action with Barker levers on the Grand Orgue. At Saint-Roch, Cavaillé-Coll used pipework from previous organs dating to 1751. That evening, the group celebrated our final dinner near Sacré-Coeur Basilica on Montmartre.
Historic Organ Tour LVI showed us many treasures of the organ world from Catalonia and France. These instruments and the music written for them become vibrantly alive when yet again the organist places hands on those historic keys. From the camaraderie of our tour group to the magnificent organs of the Catalonian Renaissance and French classical and symphonic traditions, to the food and wine enjoyed on terraces in the warm evenings, our venture was a fun and enlightening two weeks.

Tour members
Betsy Cavnar
Jeffrey Chase
Christine Chun
Joanne Vollendorf Clark
John Clark
Ronald DeBlaey
Richard Ditewig
Bela Feher
Janice Feher
Esther Goh
Steven Hoffman
Timothy Huth
Jerry Jelsema
Gale Kramer
Evelyn Lim
Rose Lim
Marilyn Mason
Enid Merritt
Paul Merritt
Mary Morse
Winnifred Pierce
Jean Savage
John Savage

Almar Otjes (tour guide)

Christina Harmon resides in Dallas, Texas, where she is organist at Park Cities Baptist Church. She is a graduate of Oberlin Conservatory of Music and Southern Methodist University and has done doctoral study at Union Theological Seminary and the University of North Texas. Her teachers include Robert Anderson, Robert Baker, Dale Peters, Garth Peacock, Guy Bovet, Bernadette Dufourcet, Naji Hakim, Daniel Roth, and Jean and Marie-Louise Langlais. She is founder of the French Organ Music Seminar. Since 1989, an outgrowth of the seminar has been the production of videotapes in France. These videotapes cover French organs and organ music history and include Langlais playing and teaching at his home and at the Schola Cantorum, Marie-Louise Langlais teaching at the organ of Sainte Clotilde, and Daniel Roth teaching and playing at the organ of Saint Sulpice. The videos and one DVD are available for sale through the Organ Historical Society.

The fifth British Organ Music Seminar, led by Christina Harmon and Cliff Varnon, took place in England and Wales from June 24–July 3. With John Hosking, noted British concert organist, as guide, the group of 14 organists and their friends and spouses visited and played organs and attended Evensongs in London, Exeter, Truro, Wells, Bristol, Wales, Chester, Birmingham, and Blenheim. Well-known British organists Richard Townend, Daniel Cook, Andrew Millington, Robert Sharpe, Matthew Owen, Philip Rushforth, and Duncan Middleton served as hosts and teachers to the group along the way for extended two-hour or more playing sessions at each organ. In addition to spending a whole day studying British and French music with John Hosking at the St. Asaph’s Cathedral organ in Wales, the group was treated to a full afternoon of playing the Klais organ in the Birmingham Concert Hall. On July 3 the group took the Eurostar to Paris where they were joined by 32 additional organists and their spouses and friends to begin the French Organ Music Seminar, led by Marie-Louise Langlais and Sylvie Mallet. That afternoon the group enjoyed a recital at Notre Dame Cathedral by Angela Kraft-Cross, former participant of FOMS, and in the evening a session with Philippe Léfebvre at the Notre Dame organ.
Monday the group visited the Temple du St. Esprit with Kurt Lueders, then went to St. Etienne-du-Mont for a demonstration by Vincent Warnier, co-titulaire, followed by Christina Harmon’s performance of “Agnus Dei” by Thierry Escaich. This piece was commissioned by FOMS member Bruce Westcott and dedicated to another FOMS member, his brother Michael Westcott. A long afternoon of playing this famous organ of the Duruflés followed the performance, assisted by Mr. Warnier.
On Monday night, FOMS participants Lois Holdridge, Terry Flanagan and Colin Lynch joined Swiss organist Tobias Willi and Langlais students Beatrice Piertot and Chung-A Hong at the church of St. Eustache to present a concert of works by Guillou and Florentz to a large audience, with Jean Guillou in attendance, who provided personal remarks to the program. After the concert FOMS participants joined Mr. Guillou for dinner at a nearby restaurant.
Tuesday, July 5, at noon, FOMS participants Jason Farris, Jay MacCubbin, Samuel Gaskin, Tim Lyons, Colin Lynch, David Erwin, John Walko, Julia Walton, Jill Hunt, Mark Scholtz, Jeremy Tarrant, and Marko Petricic played a recital at the church of St. Roch. The afternoon and evening were spent in small groups with Marie-Bernadette Dufourcet and François Espinasse at the organs of La Trinité and St. Severin. On July 6 the group gathered in the morning at the Schola Cantorum for a panel discussion on the works of Franck with Kurt Lueders and Mmes Langlais and Mallet. A masterclass on Franck followed, with organists Barbara Reid, Jill Hunt, Marko Petricic, and Samuel Gaskin. In the afternoon group members Jason Branham, Samuel Gaskin, Louie Brewer, Bryan Jepson, Sean McCarthy, and Ray Peebles presented a concert on “The New Bach Organ for Paris”—the Aubertin organ at Eglise St. Louis en l’Isle. Afterwards, members of the group either stayed to play on the Bach organ, accompanied Kurt Lueders on a special tour to play lesser-known Cavaillé-Coll organs of Paris, or went with Mme Langlais for a group lesson.
On July 7, groups alternated to study with either Frédéric Blanc at Notre Dame d’Auteuil or Sophie Choplin at St. Sulpice. Scholarship contributors enjoyed a special lunch at the Langlais apartment. Later, participants in small groups received instruction and were treated to brilliant improvisations by Naji Hakim at La Trinité, while others gathered at the apartment of Maurice and Madeleine Duruflé. At night we gathered again at St. Sulpice for Daniel Roth’s lecture and concert.
On July 8 groups again alternated between playing at Les Invalides and St. Sulpice, while others studied privately and in small groups at the Regional Conservatoire with Langlais and Mallet. The evening was spent with Pierre Pincemaille at the St. Denis Basilica.
On July 9, Saturday, we boarded a bus to go to the Cathedral of St. Ouen in Rouen, hosted by Christophe Mantoux. Several people were able to play. On return Mantoux offered a special improvisation class for those who were interested; others had private lessons in Paris.
From July 10 through July 16 Mmes Langlais and Mallet took a smaller group to Burgundy and Switzerland, where we were hosted in Burgundy by Maurice Clerc, organist of Dijon Cathedral, and played many wonderful organs, including the Dijon Cathedral organ. We continued to Romainmôtier, where we spent the afternoon playing the Alain organ.
The group spent a large part of one day at the beautiful organ of the Tonhalle in Zurich. Designed by Jean Guillou, this contemporary organ is one of the most spectacular in Europe.
Another wonderful day was spent in Lucerne with Wolfgang Sieber, organist of the Hofkirche in Lucerne, who presented the group with an incredible crowd-pleasing concert, including his show-stopping arrangement of “Bridge Over Troubled Waters,” complete with organ effects guaranteed to win over even the many organ purists among us. With his virtuoso arrangements and theatrical gymnastics, coupled with the amazing organ of the Hofkirche, he attracts full houses at his concerts in Lucerne. Plans are underway for the 2007 British and French Organ Music Seminars, with a special celebration in France in honor of the 100th birthday of Jean Langlais, which will include choral as well as organ events. Information will be available beginning in July, 2006, at .

Nunc Dimittis

Wilbur R. Dodge, 83, died November 20, 2017, in Binghamton, New York, an engineer, physicist, professional photographer, English country dancer, organist, organbuilder, and organ technician. He graduated from Clarkson University and Harpur College (now Binghamton University) with degrees in electrical engineering and physics and followed in his father’s footsteps working at Ansco Film Company.  With Norman Smith, he started their company, R D & D before he moved on to Link Aviation where he worked on simulators for the Gemini and Apollo missions.

Dodge was a member of the choir and guest organist for various churches in the community including Trinity Memorial and Christ Churches. He also maintained and tuned pipe organs in churches throughout the region. He was dean of the Binghamton Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, 1999–2001. 

Wilbur R. Dodge is survived by his partner, Anneliese Heurich; children: Glenn Burch (Bellefonte, Pennsylvania), Michael and Tammy Burch (Deland, Florida), Barbara Burch (Paisley, Florida), and Laura Appleton (Binghamton); several grandchildren and great-grandchildren. A memorial service was held at Christ Episcopal Church in Binghamton on January 20.

Mark Coan Jones died December 24, 2017. Born February 25, 1957, in Asheville, North Carolina, he studied organ with Marilyn Keiser and with Donna Robertson at nearby Mars Hill College. For the past 22 years, Jones was director of music and organist for The Pink Church (First Presbyterian Church), Pompano Beach, Florida. He previously served St. Nicholas Episcopal Church, Pompano Beach; First Presbyterian Church, Newton, North Carolina; and Trinity Episcopal Church, Asheville.

Jones appeared with the Florida Philharmonic, New World Symphony, Lynn University Conservatory Orchestra, Young Artists Chamber Orchestra, Palm Beach Atlantic Symphony, and Miami Bach Society, and in collaborations with chamber groups and area choruses, including the Nova Singers, Florida Philharmonic Chorus, Master Chorale of South Florida, Masterworks Chorus of the Palm Beaches, Fort Lauderdale Christian Chorale, and Gay Men’s Chorus of South Florida. He arranged music for organ and brass and performed with the Dallas Brass, Avatar Brass, Empire Brass, Lynn Conservatory Brass, and Eastman Brass. He performed extensively across Europe, Scandinavia, and Russia, in collaborations and solo recitals. 

Jones’s organ compositions have been performed in venues across the United States and in Europe, and have been broadcast nationally. His Three Lenten Hymn Meditations, Trumpet Tune in D, and Lenten Hymntunes have been recorded and performed by various organists.

From 2006 through 2014, Mark was principal accompanist for the von Trapp Children, the great-grandchildren of the singing family made famous by the Rodgers & Hammerstein movie The Sound of Music. His solo appearances and concerts with the von Trapps included performances around the world.

Mark Coan Jones is survived by his parents Hubert Mack and Shirley Williams Jones of Asheville, his sister Suzanne Jones Hamel and husband Richard Anson Hamel of Covington, Kentucky, and his partner Hilarion (Kiko) Suarez Moreno of Deerfield Beach, Florida.

Yuko Hayashi died January 7 in Salem, New Hampshire, at the age of 88. She was born in Hiratsuka, Japan, on November 2, 1929. For more than 40 years she was professor of organ at the New England Conservatory and department chair for 30 years. As a performer, she concertized extensively on three continents—Asia, North America, and Europe—giving recitals and masterclasses in Japan, South Korea, the United States, Holland, Germany, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, Denmark, Italy, Spain, and Portugal. She was the recipient of the coveted Arion Award from the Cambridge Society for Early Music as an “outstanding performer and master teacher of the historical organ.” She was also awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award from the New England Conservatory.

Hayashi graduated with a degree in organ performance from Tokyo University of the Arts in 1948 and for five years was organist for the symphony orchestra of NHK, the Japanese national broadcasting company. She came to the United States in 1953 on scholarship, sponsored by Philanthropic Educational Organization and studied for one year at Cottey College in Nevada, Missouri. She then transferred to the New England Conservatory in Boston where she was awarded three degrees in organ performance: Bachelor of Music, Master of Music, and Artist Diploma. In 1960 she began teaching at the conservatory and was appointed chair of the department in 1969 by then president Gunther Schuller. Her primary teachers were George Faxon, Donald Willing, Anton Heiller, and Gustav Leonhardt (harpsichord).

Her frequent travels to Europe began in 1966 when she went to the Haarlem Organ Academy in the Netherlands and began life-long associations with Anton Heiller, Luigi Tagliavini, and Marie-Claire Alain. In 1971, she studied with Michel Chapuis in France and was introduced to many historic organs in North Germany and Holland by Harald Vogel and Klaas Bolt. This was the beginning of many exchanges of concerts and masterclasses across the Atlantic Ocean between Boston and Europe. It was during this time that Hayashi became organist of Old West Church in Boston, performing on a new mechanical-action organ built by Charles B. Fisk. She served as organist there for nearly 40 years and was the founder and executive director of the Old West Organ Society until her retirement in 2010.

Beginning in 1970, Hayashi crossed the Pacific Ocean yearly to give recitals and masterclasses in Japan. With Italian organist Umberto Pineschi and the assistance of Japanese organ builder Hiroshi Tsuji and his wife Toshiko Tsuji, she founded the Italian Organ Academy in Shirakawa. She was influential in persuading organ committees from universities, churches, and concert halls to commission mechanical-action organs from organbuilders from around the world. Most noteworthy are the instruments for International Christian University (Rieger), Toyota City Concert Hall (Brombaugh), Minato Mirai Concert Hall, Yokohama (C. B. Fisk, Inc.), and Ferris University, Yokohama (Taylor & Boody, Noack Organ Company, and J. F. Nordlie Pipe Organ Company organs).

In 1989, Yuko Hayashi took a leave of absence from the New England Conservatory to accept a position as professor of organ at Ferris University, Yokohama. She taught there for six years before returning to Boston. She also became titular organist at St. Luke’s International Hospital Chapel, which houses an organ built by Marc Garnier of France. She was responsible for relocating a historic 1889 organ built by Hook & Hastings to St. Andrew’s Episcopal Cathedral in Yokohama where her father served as priest for many years.

Yuko Hayashi is survived by two brothers, Makoto Hayashi and Satoru Hayashi, and several nieces and nephews, all residing in Japan. A memorial service for Yuko Hayashi will be held at Christ Church, Andover, Massachusetts, April 28, at 11:00 a.m. Memorial contributions may be directed to: Old West Organ Society, c/o Jeffrey Mead, Treasurer, 72 Trenton Street, Melrose, Massachusetts 02176;  St. Andrew’s Cathedral, 14-57 Mitsuzawa-shimo-cho, Kanagawa-ku, Yokohama City, Kanagawa, 221-0852, Japan; or St. Luke’s International Hospital Chapel, c/o Organ Committee, 9-1 Akashi-cho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, 140-8560, Japan.

Pierre Pincemaille, 61, died, January 12, an international concert organist, church organist, music professor, and composer. Born in Paris, France, December 8, 1956, Pincemaille was awarded five first prizes at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris (harmony, counterpoint, fugue, organ interpretation, and organ improvisation) and won five international improvisation competitions: Lyon (1978), Beauvais (1987), Strasbourg (1989), Montbrison (1989), and Chartres (1990).

In 1987, Pierre Pincemaille was appointed titular organist of the prestigious 1841 Cavaillé-Coll at the Gothic Saint-Denis Cathedral-Basilica. He loved accompanying beautiful liturgy there, amidst the tombs of the Kings of France. Highly inspired by Pierre Cochereau, Pincemaille founded a concert series there, from 1989 to 1994. For his 30th anniversary there, he performed his last concert on November 5, 2017, programming choral works he cherished, conducted by Pierre Calmelet: Louis Vierne’s Messe Solennelle and three of his own recently composed vocal motets (to be published), as well as J. S.
Bach’s Pièce d’Orgue, BWV 572, symbolizing for him the three periods of life.

Pierre Pincemaille also performed with orchestras under the direction of conductors such as Mstislav Rostropovitch, Myung-Whun Chung, Riccardo Muti, Charles Dutoit, and John Nelson. His recordings include the complete organ works of Maurice Duruflé and César Franck, Charles-Marie Widor’s ten symphonies, selected pieces by Jehan Alain, Pierre Cochereau, Olivier Messiaen, and Louis Vierne, his own improvisations and transcriptions of Stravinsky’s The Firebird and Petrushka, as well as works with orchestra by Camille Saint-Saëns, Hector Berlioz, Joseph Jongen, and Aaron Copland. Several of Pierre Pincemaille’s compositions were published: Prologue et Noël varié [Prologue and Variations on a Noel] (Sampzon, Delatour France, 2007), a 4-voice a cappella Ave Maria (Lyon, À Coeur Joie, 2013), and En Louisiane for trombone and piano (Delatour France, 2017).

Recently, Pierre Pincemaille taught counterpoint at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, harmony at the Conservatory in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, and organ improvisation at the Conservatory in Saint-Maur-des-Fossés for the past 17 years. For the past 14 years, he formed a generation of French and foreign organ improvisers, many who have won prizes in international competitions: among them, six Parisian organists: David Cassan (at the Oratoire du Louvre), Thomas Lacôte (La Trinité), Samuel Liégeon (St.-Pierre-du-Chaillot), Hampus Lindwall (St.-Esprit), Baptiste-Florian Marle-Ouvrard (St.-Eustache), and Olivier Périn (St.-Paul-St.-Louis).

Among his honors and distinctions, Pierre Pincemaille was a Knight in the following three orders: the Academic Palms, Arts and Letters, and St. Gregory the Great. 

Pierre Pincemaille is survived by his wife, Anne-France, and their three children, Claire, Marc, and Éric.

—Carolyn Shuster Fournier, Paris, France