Short Introduction and History
The organ was built in 1854 by Alexandre
Ducroquet,
successor of the firm Daublaine
et Callinet in Paris.
Ducroquet built the new organ on
the Gospel side in the genuine former
chest, constructed
by Isnard, the famous organ builder
of St. Maximin . Cavaillé-Coll did tonal adaptions and restorations in
1880, added/replaced some stops, details to follow.
The pedal compass was
enlarged by Merklin 1915, who also
replaced some stops. The restoration
committee of 1972 had the difficult
task to decide, to which organ they should go back, the
original Ducroquet or
Ducroquet-Cavaillé-Coll? They decided for the excellent 1880
Cavaillé-Coll state.
The
big restoration and reconstruction
by organ builder J. Dunand started in 1973. The inauguration
concert took place on March,
19, 1975, performed by Marie-Madeleine DURUFLE and Maurice GAY.
The last restoration took place
in 2002. Titular organist has been Chantal
de Zeeuw since 1979.
The
Ducroquet-Cavaillé-Coll is
a transitional romantic-symphonic
instrument of very high quality
and therefore was classified as
a historical monument. Due to the Cromorne, the Sesquialtera and the brilliant Fourniture and Plein Jeu, which are normally not existing or have a darker colour within Cavaillé-Coll organs, one
is able to play the complete (French) organ repertoire, beginning from late baroque up to modern pieces.
