Thursday, July 19, 2012

DUSTY, DIZZYING & DIVINE

Le buffet de la grande orgue de Saint-Omer
The spectacular baroque façade and ensemble of this Cavaillé-Coll organ was sculpted and crafted in Danish oak by the Piette family (a father, two sons who were both master sculptures, and a son-in-law) from 1716-1721 for the Cathédrale Notre Dame in Saint-Omer. The instrumental workings of the Saint- Omer organ,  originally constructed in 1717 by the Desfontaines brothers of Douai, had been denatured over time by repairs and transformations. In 1855 Arisitide Cavaillé-Coll reworked and rehabilitated the organ. The Cavaillé-Coll family was a line of famous French organ makers of the 18th and 19th centuries; in those days the making of masterpieces was often a generational family business.




 Vocabulary
un facteur d'orgue:  an organ maker
le buffet d'orgue:  the organ cabinetry
un chef-d'oeuvre:  a masterpiece

©2012 P.B. Lecron

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