CONCORA presents the music of Maurice Duruflé on Sunday, February 16, 4 p.m., at Immanuel Congregational Church, Hartford, Connecticut.
Richard Coffey, CONCORA's founding artistic director, returns to the podium to conduct the concert, which will feature the Requiem, Opus 9.
The program also includes the Quatre Motets sur des thèmes grégoriens and Notre Père.
Purchase tickets here.
For information: http://www.concora.org/
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.
Editor’s note: Part 1 of this series appeared in the May 2024 issue, pages 12–18.
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
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
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
Amann, Dominique. Le Facteur d’orgues Frédéric Jungk. France: La Maurinière éditions, 2013. www.la-mauriniere.com.
Les Amis de l’Orgue de Seysses. “L’orgue.” Accessed January 29, 2022. https://www.lesamisdelorguedeseysses.fr/orgue/.
Les Amis de l’Orgue Puget Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val. “Quand Théodore Puget Etait Representant du ‘Milacor’. . .,” 28 mai 2021. Accessed January 29, 2022. https://orguesaintantonin.fr/quand-Théodore-puget-etait-representant-du-milacor.
Art Lyb. “79 L’Orgue à cylindre d’Airvault,” filmed at L’Église Abbatiale d’Airvault dans les Deux-Sèvres. Uploaded October 13, 2017. YouTube, 4:59. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRCDtCXzg8c.
Association Aristide Cavaillé-Coll. “Frequently Asked Questions.” Accessed March 20, 2023. https://www.cavaille-coll.fr/en/frequently-asked-questions/.
Association Jean-Claude Guidarini. “Association Jean-Claude Guidarini–AssoJCG.Org.” Accessed January 25, 2022. https://assojcg.org/.
L’Association Orgues Meridionales. “Orgues Meridionales.” Orgues Meridionales. http://orgues.meridionales.free.fr/.
Association Régionale des Activités Musicales en Languedoc-Roussillon. Orgues En Languedoc-Roussillon: Gard-Lozère. Volume 2. Aix-en-Provence: Aux éditions Édisud, 1988.
Bachet, Philippe, ed. Orgues En Midi-Pyrénées (Toulouse et Région): 15ème Congrès de La FFAO, 13 Au 18 Juillet 1998. Lyon: Fédération Francophone des Amis de l’Orgue, 1998. OHS.
Barone, Michael J. “Historic Organs of Australia.” St. Paul, MN: American Public Media, 2017. https://pipedreams.publicradio.org/autumntour/australia2017brochure.pdf.
———. “Historic Organs of France.” St. Paul, MN: American Public Media, 2017. https://pipedreams.publicradio.org/tour/2017france/france2017booklet.pdf.
Basilique Saint-Sernin de Toulouse (Site officiel). “Notre-Dame Du Taur.” Accessed March 7, 2023. https://www.basilique-saint-sernin.fr/note-dame-du-taur/.
Bédart, Gabriel. “Les Orgues Tubulaire à Membranes de M. Puget.” L’Art Méridional, July 1, 1895. BNF. https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k53409606.
———. “L’Orgue du Conservatoire de Lille.” L’Art Méridional, June 15, 1900. BNF. https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k53410783.
Bédos de Celles, Dom François. L’Arte Du Facteur d’Orgues. Facsimilie edition. New York: Bärenreiter, 1963.
“Bénédiction Solennelle Du Grand Orgue,” November 22, 1888. Archives of the Musée de Lavaur, shared by l’Association Jean-Claude Guidarini.
Bennet, B. S. “19th Century French Politics.” University of Botswana History Department, September 11, 2000. http://www.thuto.org/ubh/ub/h202/fr19p1.htm.
Bouvard, Michel. “Michel Bouvard and #OrganTalk at Toulouse les Orgues Festival 2020.” Interview by Alexandra Bartfeld. YouTube, November 22, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPetM1nnP2Q.
Bovet, Guy. “Berlioz: ‘Symphonie fantastique’ (Yves Rechsteiner).” La Tribune de l’Orgue–Revue suisse romande 66, no. 1 (2014): pages 45–46.
Bush, Douglas Earl, and Richard Kassel. “Clicquot.” In The Organ, an Encyclopedia. Oxfordshire: Routledge, 2006.
“Les Callinet de Rouffach.” Accessed April 12, 2022. http://decouverte.orgue.free.fr/facteurs/callinet.htm.
Calmettes, Michel. “St Vincent Church–Carcassonne.” Orgues en France et dans Le Monde. Accessed October 14, 2022. http://orguesfrance.com/CarcassonneStVincent.html.
Cicchero, Jean-Marc. “Montreal d’Aude, Une Autre Colline Inspirée?,” July 13, 2016. https://orguesaintantonin.fr/montreal-daude-une-autre-colline-inspiree.
Cicchero, Philippe. Les Orgues Des Cathédrales de France. Gentilly: EMA, 1999.
Contrasty, Jean. Églises et Images de Sainte-Marie-de-La Dalbade Du VIe Au XXe Siècle. Tarbes, 1946. BNF. https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k3347371p.
De Lasala, Pastór. “The Discovery of Another Piece to the Elusive Jigsaw.” OHTA News 31, no. 3 (2007): pages 18–20.
———. “The Eugène Puget Organ Is Reborn.” OHTA News 35, no. 3 (2011): pages 7–17.
———. “A Puget Organ in Sydney: A Fortunate Historical Accident.” OHTA News 44, no. 1 (2018): pages 14–21.
De Lasala, Pastór, Ann Henderson, and Kelvin Hastie. “Chapel of Kincoppal-Rose Bay School of the Sacred Heart New South Head Road, Rose Bay; Théodore Puget, Père et Fils of Toulouse, 1890, Installed 1906 (2/13 Mechanical).” Organ Music Society of Sydney. Accessed January 28, 2022. https://www.sydneyorgan.com/Puget.html.
La Dépêche. “Carcassonne. Le Grand Orgue Retrouve Son Look Originel.” June 2005. https://www.ladepeche.fr/article/2005/06/13/374007-carcassonne-le-grand-orgue-retrouve-son-look-originel.html.
La Dépêche. “Histoire de l’orgue et Concert Lyrique: le Public Conquis.” March 4, 2015. https://www.ladepeche.fr/article/2015/03/04/2059782-histoire-de-l-orgue-et-concert-lyrique-le-public-conquis.html.
Deschamps, Frederic. “Visite Du Grand Orgue de La Cathédrale Sainte-Cécile d’Albi.” Filmed in May 2021 in Albi. YouTube video, 48:52. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eb2f6tOA5gw.
Dufourcq, Norbert. “Les Orgues de Toulouse.” Revue de Musicologie 38, no. 114 (1956): pages 155–56. https://doi.org/10.2307/928006.
ECHO-Organs. “ECHO: European Cities of Historical Organs,” February 18, 2023. https://www.echo-organs.org/.
Eschbach, Jesse. Aristide Cavaillé-Coll: A Compendium of Known Stoplists. Second edition. Volume 1. Kraichtal: Verlag Peter Ewers, 2013.
Évrard, Michel. “Toulouse Bonnefoy Un Orgue Puget aux Prénoms Trompeurs dans Deux Églises Successives.” Les Amis des Archives de la Haute-Garonne, no. 162 (October 31, 2008): pages 1–24.
Freeman’s Journal. “Rose Bay Convent Organ.” March 17, 1906. Trove. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article119940189.
Grenyer, Titus. “Sydney’s French Romantic Organ–the Puget Organ of Kincoppal Rose Bay, 2021.” Uploaded April 9, 2021, in Sydney, Australia. YouTube, 12:18. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tN87BZSI2Y.
Guidarini, Jean-Claude. “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.
———. “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.
———. “La Dalbade France 1888, Beethoven, Berlioz, Chopin, Saint-Saëns. . . .” Jacket notes to Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique performed by Yves Rechsteiner. Alpha ALPHA652, 2011. CD. https://cdn.naxosmusiclibrary.com/sharedfiles/booklets/ALP/booklet-ALPHA652.pdf.
———. “Le Grande Orgue.” Moments Musicaux à Notre-Dame du Taur à Toulouse, 2018. Accessed January 25, 2022. http://taur-1880.jimdofree.com/.
———. “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/.
———. “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/.
———. “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/the-jean-baptiste-puget-organ-of-albi-metropolitan-cathedral.
———. “L’Orgue Jean Daldosso du Temple du Salin à Toulouse.” Le Dermogloste, June 2008. Accessed February 10, 2022. http://dermogloste.viabloga.com/news/l-orgue-jean-daldosso-du-temple-du-salin-a-
toulouse-4.
———. 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.
———. “Les Puget, Une dynastie toulousaine de facteurs d’orgues.” Midi-Pyrénées Patrimoine, Été 2011: pages 34–36, 40.
Guilmant, Alexandre. “Deuxième Séance d’Inauguration Solennelle du Grand Orgue de Notre-Dame du Taur.” Typo.-Lith C. Berdoulat, June 1880. In “Le Grande Orgue” by Jean Claude Guidarini. Moments Musicaux à Notre-Dame du Taur à Toulouse, 2018. Accessed January 25, 2022. https://image.jimcdn.com/app/cms/image/transf/dimension=1024x10000:format=jpg/path/s5bdc24606d23f03d/image/i8c3c33134c11eaa2/version/1411689846/image.jpg.
Gullet, Laura. “Day 8: L’orgue Rend-Il Fou?” Boston Organ Studio (blog), June 10, 2017. http://www.bostonorganstudio.com/2017-france-study-tour/2017/6/13/day-8.
Hamilton, Maggie. “Poetic License.” Choir & Organ, June 2009: pages 55–62.
Hildebrandt, Vincent. “Boisseau–Cattiaux–Chevron.” Organs of Paris. Accessed April 9, 2022. https://www.organsparisn.vhhil.nl/boiscat.htm.
———. “Gonzalez-Danion-Dargassies.” Organs of Paris. Accessed March 19, 2023. https://www.organsparisn.vhhil.nl/gonzalez1.htm.
Hissink, Willemijn. “Carcassonne, Église Saint-Vincent, Hoofdorgel.” De Orgelsite (blog), May 25, 2021. https://www.orgelsite.nl/carcassonne-eglise-saint-vincent-hoofdorgel/.
Huegel, Henri. “Paris et Départements.” Le Ménestrel 54, no. 49 (December 1888): page 391.
“L’Inauguration du Grand Orgue.” Le Cri de Toulouse. December 3, 1921, 11ème Année, no. 47. BNF. https://orguesaintantonin.fr/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Le_Cri_de_Toulouse___..._bpt6k5395733j.pdf.
Jacobs, Simon Thomas. “In the Organ Lofts of Bordeaux, Toulouse, and Paris.” The Diapason 105, no. 8 (August 2014): pages 20–24. https://www.thediapason.com/content/organ-lofts-bordeaux-toulouse-and-paris.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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
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.
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.
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/.
Alan MacMillan is a Connecticut-based organist and composer whose works have been published by Paraclete Press, Augsburg, and Lorenz. He has served on the board of the Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival Hartford since 2022.
On September 22–23, 2023, the high school division competition of the Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival Hartford (ASOFH) returned to Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, for the first time since 2018. This biennial competition was canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic and was held virtually in 2021.
Three prodigiously gifted teenage organists impressed with playing that one might have expected from more seasoned artists. The common repertoire for each competitor consisted of Prelude and Fugue in G Major, BWV 541, by Johann Sebastian Bach, and “Andante Sostenuto” from Symphonie gothique, opus 70, by Charles-Marie Widor. As well, each player was required to perform a contrasting work composed after 1937 of their choice.
First prize and $7,500 went to Daniel Colaner of Ohio, a member of The Diapason’s 20 Under 30 Class of 2021, whose contrasting work was Scherzo Symphonique, by Pierre Cochereau, originally a virtuosic improvisation from 1974 later transcribed by Jeremy Filsell. A high school senior, Daniel is already a veteran of the concert hall and television as well as a winner in other organ competitions. He is a student of David Higgs at the Eastman School of Music.
Sarah Ku of New York, who is currently a student at the Groton School in Groton, Massachusetts, won second prize and $3,500. “Saraband for the Morning of Easter” from Six Pieces for Organ, number 2 (1953), by Herbert Howells, was her contrasting work. Sarah has studied in England and has received a number of awards and scholarships. She is a student of Daniel Moriarty.
Third prize and $1,500 was awarded to fifteen-year-old Henry Dangerfield of Minnesota. Henry is a student of Raymond Johnston and has attended the Curtis Summer Organ Intensive in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as has Sarah Ku. His choice selection was “Fugue” from Prélude et Fugue sur le nom d’Alain, opus 7, by Maurice Duruflé.
Daniel and Henry competed for the David C. Spicer Hymn Playing Prize by accompanying the assembled audience in “Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise” to the tune St. Denio. Henry won the $1,500 prize named in memory of the festival’s co-founder who was known for his passion for hymns and hymn playing. Henry also received the audience prize of $250 decided by paper ballot.
The jury of this final round of the competition consisted of Monica Berney (née Czausz), a graduate of the Curtis Institute and Rice University and currently director of music at Saint Paul’s Parish, K Street, Washington, D.C.; Nathaniel Gumbs, who holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Eastman School of Music and currently serves as director of chapel music at Yale University; and Michael Hey, a Juilliard graduate currently music director for Marble Collegiate Church in New York City and formerly associate director of music at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral. Berney and Hey are members of The Diapason’s 20 Under 30 Class of 2016, Gumbs the Class of 2017.
In addition to the competition, the festival was bookended by an opening recital by 2022 ASOFH young professional first prize and audience prize winner Bruce Xu and a closing festival concert featuring the combined choirs of Chorus Angelicus and Gaudeamus of Torrington, the Trinity College Chapel Singers, and the Choirs of Saint Patrick-Saint Anthony Catholic Church of Hartford. Chorus Angelicus and Gaudeamus director Gabriel Löfvall conducted, with ASOFH artistic director and Trinity College organist and director of chapel music Christopher Houlihan (a member of The Diapason’s 20 Under 30 inaugural class) at the organ.
Bruce Xu played an eclectic and engaging program for a large and appreciative audience that offered a combination of standard repertoire works: Choral Varié sur le thème du “Veni Creator” by Duruflé, Felix Mendelssohn’s Andante with Variations in D, and Bach’s Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor, BWV 582, with transcriptions of lighter works ranging from Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1 to Bésame Mucho by Consuelo Velázquez. The festival concert featured a rich and varied program with brass choir and percussion augmenting the choirs and organ, performed for a capacity crowd.
An all-too-rare performance of Heinrich Schütz’s double choir setting of Psalm 100, Jauchzet dem Herren, alle Welt, in this case with the brass acting as the second choir, opened the concert with stirring effect. A Villancico, or Spanish carol, Tlecantimo choquiliya, by the Portuguese composer Gaspar Fernandes, roughly a Schütz contemporary, transported the audience to a rustic Mexican village replete with the appropriate percussion. Daniel Colaner then reprised his performance of the Cochereau Scherzo Symphonique, dispatching it with the same élan as he had during the competition. Two of Marcel Dupré’s Quatre Motets, opus 9, “Ave Maria” and “Laudate” (Psalm 117), leant a devotional character to the close of the first half of the concert. After intermission, organ and brass were heard on their own in the Introduction and Chorale by American composer Louie White (1929–1979). Benjamin Britten’s Rejoice in the Lamb provided a moving finale; at once humorous, entertaining, full of pathos, and brilliantly performed, it was a triumph for all involved.
On September 21–22, 2024, the young professional division competition returns to Trinity College. Open to organists age twenty-six and younger, the competition awards $29,000 in prizes. The weekend will also feature Christopher Houlihan, organist, and the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, Carolyn Kuan, conductor, performing Howard Hanson’s Concerto for Organ, Strings, and Harp and Alexandre Guilmant’s Symphony No. 1 for Organ and Orchestra. For more information, please visit www.ASOFHartford.org.
