Cavaillé-Coll organ in St.-Ouen, Rouen, Normandie

[notredameswarrior1]

dude.....you are the luckiest. it is my dream to play on this organ.

[AeolianSkinner1983]

This is awesome playing! COuld you give the publisher of the book this is in. Thanks Ty.

[silverstartrucker]

Because of the weak camera recording equipment my LARGE Fisher studio speakers growled, where the Wanamaker organ makes them rumble like thunder. I liked the piece anyway :-)

[omahas9000]

WOW!!! Thank you for posting, thank you to Ms. Morisset-Balier, and THANK YOU to "the little nephew" who so diligently kept at it despite all. A wonderful performance on a positively incredible organ in an equally incredible building. I appreciate your sharing with us.

[geuros]

@Messjuh1 If you are able to play Gigouts Grand Chorus dialogue, call mr Daniel Roth and ask him, if you can play at St. Sulpice. In my opinion the great organ of St. Sulpice is the best among all organs in France. Yes, better than Notre-Dame.

[javajo46]

awwww i wanted to hear the 64' Gravissima :( well played though :)

[javajo46]

awwww i wanted to hear the 64' Gravissima :( well played though :)

[sbrinso11]

So this is the mightiest organ ever built according to your caption, but you get there and play "Stand, up, Stand up for Jesus." lol....interesting choice of repertoire on the organ Widor dubbed the "Michaelangelo" of organs.

[LCRECORDS1]

Hello this that this touching is excellent!! Since there is called what executing this one???

[costasimpson]

In reply to this magnificent beast, I am sure it is amazing to play and it sounds beautiful, in 1855 the Pope requested a quote for an organ from Cavaille Coll and there was a plan for a 80 stop, 4 manual beast with a 64 ft stop! The build was cancelled due to financial restrictions, but imagine what a MAGNIFICENT organ that would have been. Sigh...

[MrsFaraway]

A wonderful hymn, played by a wonderful musician on a wonderful organ. There is just nothing to say, except that I would LOVE to hear you play such an organ live. Thanks again for making my day(s).

[FromHolbergsTime]

A beautiful and somewhat astonishing portrait of this Cavaille-Coll masterpiece. I would love to play this instrument above all others in the world, even above St. Sulpice or Notre Dame, Paris. You certainly give this chorale a great and thrilling voice which resounds splendidly in such a grand cathedral ambiance. Such noble and majestic tonal clusters enter the ear gladly and have a way of staying there indefinitely. One senses the three dimensional character of this awesome place! Glenn

[ds1868]

I think we can say that many professional organists will be extremely envious of you getting your hands on this world-renowned instrument. Time to practise the French methinks........

[wljmrbill]

Lucky Dog to get to play so many fabulous instruments.. At least I have a friend you can do that whom I enjoy his playing.... Take Care My Frieend

[Lopear27]

How did you manage to get to play there?! You lucky thing!!

[Messjuh1]

I just called the organist and asked her (nicely, and in French).

[Lopear27]

Wow, how nice that she was willing to share this remarkable instrument with you. I think I shall have to brush up on my French and call her.

[willowthebored]

You, sir, make me unfathomably jealous. Well played!

[Messjuh1]

Thank you!

[poopingeneral]

@Messjuh1 I have to know....what does it feel like pulling out the 32 stop? I mean does the building shake, rumble? I'd like specifics? :D

[PerrrfictKats]

"Stand up Stand up for Jesus," was my favorite in church, sang it quite a bit! Thank you!

[advisorC101]

I hear this isn't being used as a church anymore.

[Messjuh1]

Yes, that's true. It's a church-shaped concert hall.

[advisorC101]

At least that's what it is now. Its a shame really and I'm not even a worshipper. But I see true beauty in this place.

It should be used again. But also from what I know this organ is very fragile now..

[BeFrSc]

And in my opinion the greatest concert hall and the greatest instrument in the world.

[advisorC101]

What a marvellous instrument, truly it is Cavaille-Coll's greatest masterpiece next to the organ of St. Sulpice.

[decimaquinta69]

Eccellente.

Organo fantastico

[etbuk]

:O! Fantastic instrument! you are very luky to play this instrument! :)

[Messjuh1]

Indeed! So far, this has definitely been the highlight of my experiences organwise.

[BeFrSc]

Where can I get the sheet music to this from?

[Messjuh1]

The collection from which this is taken is called "Festliche Musik für den Kirchenorganisten" and can be ordered at Bodensee Musikversand or Stretta Music. Just google for these shops.

[BeFrSc]

What a fantastic oppurtunity to have, thanks for posting this, how do I get in contact with Mme. Morisset-Balier?

[Messjuh1]

I went to the tourist office in Rouen in my holidays (it's probably easier for you to give them a call), they gave me her telephone number and I called her.

[BeFrSc]

Does she speak English? I know a bit of French if needs be.

[Messjuh1]

I talked to her in French - that's always the best thing to do with people in France. You should start talking in French so that they see you make an effort, perhaps later you can switch to English. They're very proud of their language.

[BeFrSc]

And rightfully so, they have a beautiful language. But if I were to start talking in French, and then switch to English, do you know if she knows much English?

[Messjuh1]

Sorry, no, I don't. I only talked to her in French. But as she is an internationally renowned artist I guess she will have no problems communicating in English. But show your good will first by starting out in French!

[BeFrSc]

Thanks, I'm pretty sure she must know some English then, I love the French language, and I know enough to have a conversation, so I shall do as you say, start off in French. Thanks for the advice.

[caddyorganist]

I never knew this was a German chorale. I've always seen it as Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus

[Messjuh1]

Perhaps you're right. I just assumed it was one because of the German words.

[Rankett16]

It is an American gospel song, sung in evangelical churches. How mind-blowing to hear it on the great St. Ouen organ!

[Messjuh1]

Thanks for clearing that up!

[casavantlover]

Out of curiosity, what can you do and what can't you do? Is there something wrong with the organ?

[Messjuh1]

Mme Morisset-Balier asked me to play the organ very carefully and gently because it is so very delicate. Also, she warned me never to touch the reed stops in the Bombarde section (4th manual) as there is a foot piston that controls them. I have already played other Cavaillé-Coll organs (Perpignan, Carcassonne, Clamecy), but I have to say this one really took some getting used to. As you can see in the video, the keyboards are pretty worn out and the action is quite hard. It was still great!

[casavantlover]

I was also wondering, how hard does the action become when everything is coupled together? I've heard it's quite hard with the octaves graves couplers on.

[Messjuh1]

Due to the Barker machine it is actually not as hard as one might think. I can't tell you about the octaves graves though because I didn't use them.

[caddyorganist]

Why did it matter if you used the foot piston instead of pulling out the Bombarde stops manually?

[Messjuh1]

Apparently, the Bombarde reed stops are controlled exclusively through the foot piston, you cannot pull out the stops individually and/or manually. I vividly remember Mme Morisset-Balier's stern words: "Il ne faut jamais, jamais toucher ça!" (indicating the Bombarde reed stops)

[caddyorganist]

Interesting!

[BeFrSc]

All the reeds are controlled by Ventils, the foot pistons you talk about. I'm not sure how much you know about French Organ systems, but if you want to know anything, just ask.

[Messjuh1]

I've played enough Cavaillé-Coll organs (Clamecy, Elbeuf, Rouen, Perpignan, Carcassonne) to be aware of that. But this was not what caddyorganist and I were talking about, because the Rouen organ has an extra: the reeds in the Bombarde section cannot be drawn by hand and then activated by the ventil, you have to press the foot piston and then the drawknobs of the Bombarde reeds "drive out" automatically and sound at once. When you press the piston again, the drawknobs return to their position.

[BeFrSc]

ahh, I have to say, that is a bizarre extra to have.

[AndreaPianoPlayer]

What a powerful instrument... I thought that it was impossible to play this instrument for the human beings :D Many people told me that the "official" organist, Mme. M.-A. Morisset-Balier, is very disagreeable...

[Messjuh1]

No, I can't say that she was disagreeable. I simply gave her a phone call when I was in Normandy and she let me play her organ for about 45 minutes. She did give me very strict instructions though on how to play, what to do and especially what not to do. It was a wonderful experience.