Saint Antoine l'Abbaye

This organ is very special to me because it is not only an organ I go back to every year during the summer early music academy, but the first french baroque instrument I played.

But I think it is more than a french baroque organ. Of course, its blood is french, the weight of the plein jeu, the power of the reeds, the cornets... but that is not all this organ is. The two open 8' flutes, the presence of both the 16' flute and reed on the pedal, along with a resultant fifth, give this organ a great ability for gravity, which is more reminding of south germany; the GO's can become the second rank of a dutch Prestant, or bring a large fond registration more ascendance; the positiue's is of unbelieuable sweetness when combined with the tremulant. The GO's mutations reveal themselues to not be so fluty, with especially the 2'2/3 blending well with the principals, and the 1'3/5, or better yet the 3'1/5 into a tierced plenum, which was abandoned in France in the early 17th century and is a respected trademark of the midgerman organ.

Is this also where this organ becomes a bridge between two periods ? If it can be said that the 8' flutes are a property of the 18th century, classical french organ, then the possibility of the Tierce plenum, the positif mixtures still being a decomposed pair, the 4' flute and the Flageolet are all clear pointers to the Titelouze organ, the ancestor of all later french organbuilding, imported from Flanders by the Rouennese organist and his preferred builder Carlier.

History

• This organ was first built for the saint-Antoine abbey between 1620 and 1625 by Jean ASTRUC, it is the main case we see today. It was placed on a rood screen in the middle of the church. One can imagine it was a Titelouze organ with one manual and pedal.
• In 1639 Guy JOLY adds the positive. It is probably at this date the organ is moved to the west balcony above the entrance. In 1700 this organ needs serious repair, which it cannot get due to a lack of funding.
• In 1744 the swiss builder Samson SCHERRER is called to st Antoine. In 1748 he leaves a completely rebuilt instrument of 40 stops on 4 manuals fed by 4 bellows.
• In 1805, despite backlash from the population, the organ is moved to the church of st Louis in Grenoble. In that place, it will be subject to many modifications over the course of the 19th and 20th century, leaving it with pneumatic action, two expression boxes outside the case, and very little surviving from the organ of SCHERRER.
• In 1971, the Minister of Culture orders the organ be brought back to its home in st Antoine. Only in 1981 will mechanical elements be brought back, and the cases in 1984.
• In 1990-1992, the workshop of Bernard Aubertin rebuilds the instrument in the supposed style of SCHERRER reusing all the old pipework. It is mechanically a wholly new organ. Of the planned 44 stops, 39 are built, and the rest are "in waiting". This organ is inaugurated in 1992 by André ISOIR and Michel CHAPUIS.
• In 2001, the last 5 stops are installed and the organ is complete.

• Wind - 3 large wedge bellows (not usable by hand, only an electric blower)
• Chests - Pallet/Slider
• Key action - GO, Rt, Ec, Ped Tracker. Positif sticker

I applaud this organ's fine mechanics that giue a very precise touch, and the superbly set tremulant. It's worth noting that when using the pedal coupler and the pos/GO coupler, the pedal still only plays the GO, by bringing its keys only a tiny amount down, which is not enough to engage the positiue's keys, but enough for the GO stops to speak clearly.

Disposition since 2001

houer ouer the stop names for details !