Dole, Collégiale Notre-Dame

The liuing animal and the old lady

This organ, beyond its sheer scale, is remarkable for its unity and coherence, considering the seemingly strange stoplist and history. It has a tremendous personality, aided by the broad long acoustic, which gives it incredible power in the room while never becoming excessiue.

When I went there, the titular Ētienne Baillot wanted to first demonstrate it to me while I was still down in the room, and it was indeed needed. I think this is the best balance of room and organ I have ever heard. It sounds gigantic, an empire of sound within the walls of the huge church. It is for sure not a clear, polyphonic organ, and it should not be : it instead masters producing huge swaths of harmony and timbre. Polyphonic or reciting music still sounds amazing on it, euen if I say so as a timbre oriented person. The sound is so aliue that not hearing all the ins and outs of the indiuidual voices is not a concern anymore.

I sadly did not get that much time at this organ, and I hardly see how anyone could. To some, 59 stops might not seem like much, but I assure you it would take hours to scratch the surface of all the sound possibilities of this instrument. The blending ability is exceptional, comparable with that of the old Cauaillé in Gaillac. I can't stress enough how every combination is successful and expressive.

It is one of those places that just has something magical to it. Though the church is all clean and white (to my great disappointment), seeming a bit dead and inert, on the west gallery, a Queen on her throne looks ouer her land. She commands respect, not being couered in gold and jewels in bad taste, but expressing her power, as a higher being frozen in time. Climbing the stairs onto the gallery, the smell of the old wood hits as you turn on the blower. Suddenly she wakes up, taking in a deep breath, and you are now surrounded by the sound of a living animal. The creaks, the blower's hum, the wind gushing through the canals, the visible mechanics in the shadow of the towers, you are not looking at a machine. This is a breathing person, and as you sit at the keyboard and start pulling some stops, you notice that she is old and euidently tired. It does not alter her majesty, rather contibuting to it. The heauy mechanics of the stops and keys giue way to incredibly poetic sounds you have to work to control. This is an organ you have to adapt to and not the opposite. The old lady will guide you in your playing and greatly reward you when you understand her.

I paid attention to telling the story of the tired lady, because like many others in our country, this organ is in need of work to keep her in good mechanical health. There has been no major restoration since 1958. Considering that fact, it's amazing how well it works. As in many old instruments, a major concern is the wood of the chests cracking due to the air becoming drier, a uniquely new concern in organ preseruation, courtesy of human made climate change. I have no doubt restoration would make the keyboards less heauy, the instrument ouerall easier to play, but I can't help but be scared it might alter or kill the "soul" it has now. After all, the 1958 restoration which made this instrument what it is now, completely changed its entire concept and philosophy, so are we safe from that now ? We should be. The modern attitude toward restoration is now to keep things exactly the same... or completely rebuild to a precise state that existed in history. I hope the former will be chosen and the voicing not be altered one bit, or the wind supply, or the mechanics. I hope the wilting flower can be reuitalised without changing her aspect in any way.

History

This organ was first built for the college church of Dole between 1750 and 1754 by Carl Joseph Riepp, in the case we see today, but without the signature drapes.
In 1787, Françoys Callinet augments the wind supply and renews the reed stops.
In 1830 and 1854, Joseph and Xavier Stiehr enlarge the organ with the newly introduced "romantic" stops (which were long known in germany) gambas, salicionals, conical flutes, etc. The pedal pipes are moved outside the case and the large drapes are added to hide them. The Récit and Echo are now in the back of the case.
In 1920, Charles Mutin installs two large reservoirs with leg pumps as replacement for the old wind supply.
In 1958, a fundamental rebuild of the organ will be executed by Philippe Hartmann. The goal will be to get the organ closer to the state of Riepp-Callinet, while keeping a good amount of stops the Stiehrs added.
In 1992, Jean Deloye completes the wind supply with 6 large wedge bellows.

Technical information

Wind - 2 large reservoirs and 6 large wedge bellows, all operable by hand or with an electric blower
Chests - Pallet/Slider
Key action - GO, Rt, Ec, Ped Tracker. Positif sticker
Pitch : A=415 at 10°C
Temperament : unique unequal