Added: 3 years ago
From: latribe
Views: 101,818
Sort by time | Sort by thread (beta)

Link to this comment:

Share to:

All Comments (189)

Sign In or Sign Up now to post a comment!
  • welcome back and thanks.

    grazie

  • With such extravagant use of the Bombardes the organist exhibited little compassion for the bellows operators.

  • I remember when they used to play this right before the Tour de France on French TV every year. :)

  • Can you imagine the amazement and dumbfoundedness this would have caused in the poor peasants who beheld it when it was new?

  • @fordtruxdad What a thought! Yes!

  • meraviglioso! che potenza e che sonorità! pura maestosità e grandeur Louis XIV

  • Is this showing off a pedal Bombarde or a Bombarde used on the manuals?

    I think I hear a 32' Bombarde, but I know that a Bombarde pitched at 8' has a tonality similar to a trumpet.

  • I can hear Contre Bombarde 32 :)

  • i like the pure sound of the trumpets and bombard. truely a very great organ!

  • Marc-Antoine Charpentier "Te Deum"

  • Organs is because to chase the Devil away. I have never seen the Devil around. Works!? My spine is in orbit. Taking some time off to find it. Bye :D

  • Simply incredible!

    Would love to hear this in person.

  • was this a folk tune before MAC created this..This could easily be a national anthem, for example, just like the Marseillaise..Its a pipe tune basically, Bombarde and all...just like the intro to Orfeo. Aller l'Equipe de France Rugby!! (Hi Cathy!!!) I wish the team could listen to this right now, recovering after their Tonga defeat. This organ is right in the heart of Rugby-land France, not far from Toulouse.

  • Le ROI viens!

  • Bombardissimo! :)

  • awesome organ!!! how long does it take to tune it?

  • If you have the means the various European Organ Tours (there are several) is an absolute little slice of heaven. They are educational, awe inspiring and if your eyes are not welling with tears upon hearing some of these grand old ladies (some are hundreds and hundred of years old) you might not be human. There are several very old trackers in Amsterdam that were built in a way that as the years passed and the wind chests mellowed, and the pipes 'wilted' a bit, should u close your eyes you'd

  • @g5owner oopss,,,,you'd swear that there were human voices among the voices of the pipes,,,quite the epiphany

  • When the Full Organ fills the Quire, Th' Almighty one doth incline His ear.......how fitting to play Charpentier's Te Deum ^_^

  • does anybody knows where can I purchase music sheet?? it is really great but I couldn't find it anywhere.

  • p.s. I love Charpentier ;)

  • hmmm..... very good playing and good sound of bombardes ;)

    how old are these organ?

  • @dulcjan3 Construit par Moucherel en 1736, restauré par Formentelli en 1981.

  • There are some ferocious buzzing sounds going on!

  • Belle Organe annciene.

  • never heard anything quite like this. So the bombardes are the really high ones like in this one?

  • @GoPatriots100 Yes aren't they wonderful! It was the first time I had been introduced to this genre of organ and St Maximin is the other instrument to keep an eye on. But excitingly a new organ has been built in Italy at Rieti in this style by the organ builder who restored the Albi instrument. I would love to hear it one day!

  • What is that great Masterpiece of music called?

  • @Eragon2811 I' m not shure, but I think its the Eurovision Charpentier.

  • @MegaDani141 Thank You

  • @Eragon2811 It's the te deum.

  • @GoPatriots100 thanks

  • What I wouldn't give to actually be there & hear it for myself..! Gives me goosebumps! :-)

  • I both love and fear it...

  • Reeds and other stops will never sound up to their potential in a hand-held recording like this. Marie Alain's recordings - professionally done - on this organ are much better. This is still one of my favorite YT of this instrument.

  • THAT ORGAN IS BIG AS FUCCKKKKKKKKKK!!! truly a wonder of the world....and it makes beautiful sounds

  • Comment removed

  • CUDOWNE!!!!

  • grandioso!

  • I just love that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • Absolutely celestial a true monster...surely one of my dreams.

  • "Te Deum", Charpentier; This is the name of the piece, and it's composer.

  • Interesting that it is performed in C, instead of D.

  • @octavebasse8 The pitch of the organ at St Maximin is a tone lower than standard, so this instrument is likely to be the same - somewhere around 390Hz.

  • @latribe I believe that lower pitch is called "Chorton"

  • @octavebasse8 I have it in D, C and Bb :)

  • Comment removed

  • what is the name of this peice, i absolutely love it!

  • Very imposing, but no subtlety at all. I bet it's rubbish with the reeds off, doing quiet stuff like chorale preludes or Romantic pastorales.

  • @EccentricRichard Actually this organ is most beautifully voiced with really refined and beautiful solo and chorus flues which play with great sublety and excitement. Similarly the organ at St Maximin and a later instrument at Lorgue near Carces. In the tradition of Dom Bedos, the father of modern organ building, Moucherel and Isnard were masters of their craft.

  • @latribe - fair enough. I prefer a bit more refinement to the reedwork - I'm more of a romantic organ man, but, if pressed, I must admit a soft spot for the Dutch classical organ. And while I do not wish in any way to denigrate the work of Dom Bedos, is he really the father of modern organ-building? Schnitger was building organs that are recognisable as a similar animal to today's organ 20 years before Bedos' birth, and the big Silbermann at Freiberg was build when Bedos was only five years old.

  • @brigadeir998 The quality and heritage of Moucherel's work at Albi is demonstrated by its capability to have been "preserved" by incorporation into successively romanticised instruments seperated in the 1980s work into two instruments in the two neighbouring buildings, one wholly romantic and this, a restoration of the classical instrument. However St Maximin remained unincorporated into later developments and unaltered since 1776. It's the "unrefinement" of reeds giving real excitement

  • @brigadeir998 listen to Handel81's videos - he sometimes plays on an organ built recently, but wholely according to Dom Bedos's book "L'Art du facteur d'Orgues" - even in somewhat romantic improvisation it has all the necessary sounds and force

  • @pordzio please, dont comment to anything said on this acount, my brother is abusing the use of it :-( he is eccentricrichard

  • @latribe V- To avoid any confusion in french organ history, it will be better to turn at the french source references and be sure on the informations previously to tell absolute non sense.

    By example Albi pedal keyboard has a compass of C1-D1 to F3 on 29 keys without « grand ravalement » on A key and without C#1 key.

  • @latribe IV- In fact, Christophe Moucherel who was originated from Toul in Lorraine, received a joinery formation and was very skillfull in woodcraft to build case and wooden organ parts.but he was a very poor organ builder and most often his organ must have been repaired soon by other builders. In Albi François Lépine repaired Moucherel Cathedral organ no longer than ten years later. It was the same for the Auch Cathedral organ. and other places.

  • @latribe III- Zeiger was school master and pianist in Rouffach, the same alsatian village than François Callinet. He migrated to Lyon where first he teached piano and was a musical instruments retailer. Then he employed a shop foreman from François Callinet factory to build organs in Lyon where organs were prohibited in the liturgy during the ancient monarchical regim. Lorgues organ was the first organ his workshop built the year of his wedding.

  • @latribe II- Another idiotic tale, the Lorgues organ by Augustin Zeiger isn't in the tradition of Don Bédos. It is related to german tradition of Karl Riepp successors (Karl Riepp, Joseph Rabiny, François Callinet and sons, Michel Côte, Augustin Zeiger). More Lorgues Organ isn't a french classical organ but an alsatian pre romantic organ.

  • @latribe I- No Don Bédos de Celles wasn't the father of modern organ. Don Bédos was a monk and an organ builder in the late 18° c. He only discribed the way to build organ in « his times » but the other comtemporary french organ builders worked in the same fashion without to be learn by Don Bédos (Isnard, Lépine, Clicquot, JP Cavaillé, ...). There is not a single specific father of modern organ building nor in France or anywhere else. It ‘s a complete non sense.

  • is there an organ transposition for this? i found the piano one, but it looks to short.

  • fantastic bombardes

    i love reeds

  • i love it when the bombardes come in. that roar gives this organ a very majestic and regal look

  • Man those are some Bombardes! The camera that is being used to record this amazing organ can't even "completely" record the sounds being made by the organ! Bombardes so beat "speaker bass"! quick question for everyone and anyone; What is louder, the bass being created from the bomardes (from this organ) compared to a set of bass speakers (concerty speakers)?

  • are there any 32' registers on this organ because it really sounds like there is!!!!

    :)

  • @juaniluco888

    I think there might be a 32 in the manual but I know there is no 32 in the Pedal The pedal Spec is 16 8 4 Flûte and Bombardes. The organist just played 5ths in the pedals

  • @Bachlives2 Hi! It's because the pedals go down to bottom A below C.

  • @latribe I did not know that.... But this piece is in the key of D The last note is an open fifth. Great Recording!

  • @juaniluco888 I think that the pedal compass goes down to A below bottom C so although the spec is 16ft it goes some way lower. Bottom pedals are arranged in a strange way as on short compass harpsichords.

  • I'd love to be there at that moment- I wonder what it would be like up at the consul.

  • that was amazing!!!!

  • that looks huge!!!!! very AGRESSIVE!

  • Assolutamente STRATOSFERICO: l'APOTEOSI!!

  • Comment removed

  • Can't believe what I hear.. Need to go there! Grtz from Holland

  • :-) The other place you _have_ to go is St Maximin - search "St Maximin Bach" for an outrageously wonderful performance of the D minor

  • ahhhh. ten piękny krumhorn...!:)

  • die Bombarden wundervoll ^.^ *schwärm*

  • I'm looking forward to hearing the bombardes on the new Llandaff Cathedral Organ in Easter. Being a member of the Cathedral Choir, i shall been in a prime position to listen =D

  • WOW! I have just looked up the spec - what a truly exciting instrument! I hope you'll be posting some YouTube videos of it in due course!

  • If I can I shall post some videos.

    Although I'm a choral scholar in the cathedral choir, I shall be having Organ lessons on the Cathedral Organ after Easter, so hopefully I can post a couple of things

  • Do you know the Cardiff organist Jeffrey Howard? I can't wait to hear him do a recital on the new organ at Llandaff.

  • @Contrubas I don't know him no. But I know there are some recitals planned on the organ

  • French Organs are amazing, I wish there were some bigger organs in England!

  • Hi! Yes - that's why I'm trying to create some excitement for the instrument in concert. See "Hugh Potton Reubke" for a recording that I keep returning to . . .

  • MUSIC / SONG:

    Marc-Antoine Carpentier - Prélude pour le Te Deum

  • A magnificent organ in an utterly stunning building, and (at the console at least) shattering loud and quite wonderful. Grateful thanks to Mme Prat Molinier for allowing us to play it nearly ten years ago. Must go back one day.

  • Simply amazing. The sheer power of this organ is imense.

  • For Mr Latribe: some French classical organs need to get a better fame as the great Organ Cliquot in the Cathedral of Poitiers; there are few records on it and its sounds of reeds are very clear;As the Cliquot of Houdan and St Maximin Isnard ,, there haven't not been depredated by the 19 th century era of refurbishment. Cliquot of St Roch in paris is very interesting too

  • Merci à latribe de nous faire partager ce splendide moment, le nombre de "vues" est impressionnant; il faudrait demander à M Chapuis de jouer à son tour ce morceau.sur cet instrument : Royal!!

  • @toitrap Hi! Please can you put me in touch?

    This instrument as well as the one at St Maximin are possibly central in trying to raise the profile of the King of Instruments in public perception to try to avoid such destruction as one witnesses frequently as I have documented in "A plea for organs"

    It's for this reason that I have tried to introduce the excitement of French Reeds into the English soundscape.

  • Can you really compare these reeds with the ones on the Hammerwood Park organ???

  • Hi! No - of course not - but I'm trying for the reason that such sounds are very exciting and unheard in England and the organ in England needs a higher public appreciation profile as the King of Instruments than it has at the moment. See "Latrobian Dionysian Whirl" accompanied by an organist who used reeds version 1 and search "French Baroque Masterclass" for the Grand Jeu and "Medieval baroque in Meantone temperament" for other reeds & "D Minor registered in St Maximin" demonstrating thespirit

  • Ah, alright i see.

  • WONDERFUL :-)

  • this sounds great! what's the name of the piece?

  • it's a prelude to a Te Deum by Charpentier

  • This piece for organ has great nobility and celestial power. The power or imagination and inspiration.

    I wish I were there to hear it personally.

  • WOW, that sounds so massive!! I love it!

  • Ottima interpretazione!

  • Try searching "St Maximin Bach" for the Bach D minor played in an equivalently fantastic way on the other of the famous French organs

  • what is this piece called? its pure gold!

  • like written above

    Te Deum from Charpentier

  • @trombonewesman

    'Te Deum' Prelude by Charpentier?

  • @trombonewesman It's called the Te Deum

  • According to you not beosin of images pouir listen to it fabulous instrument!

    Yes but then it is a CD and not a video

  • It's not a CD - I filmed it during a concert in August 2008 and it introduced me to the French Baroque Grand Jeu. Search "French Baroque masterclass Grand Jeu" to hear what I have done in England to bring this sound across the English Channel

  • Comment peut on présenter une vidéo aussi nulle sur une musique aussi belle

  • Sorry, if I do not misunderstand you. The whole point is to hear the extraordinary sound of this organ. One cannot do a more exciting video without the camera being at the console. With regard to my camera work, what else does one look at whilst listening to a concert?

  • i think you're in the perfect spot to hear the majesty of this organ. i never like it when the camera is at the console because one can hear all the mechanics of the organ which are unpleasant. bravo to this great organ music!

  • Hi! Yes - thanks for this! I had similar luck at St Maximin - search "St Maximin Bach" for an amazing performance of the Bach D Minor - and "St Maximin camera cannot cope" for an example of how a recording at the console can be overpowered. In fact when playing my first chord at St Maximin on Grand Jeu it was such a shock I nearly jumped off the organ bench!

  • suena muy bien

  • I didn't know the Albi organ had such a ravalement, but it can be clearly heard at 1'40

    A Baroque 32' reed, that's quite something..

  • No, is the A-1 of the Bombarde 16', tipical of French Baroque organs!

  • Yes - I thought it was a 32ft and it is . . .! The bottom C# on the pedals sounds the A below rather than a C# . . .

  • ce n'est pas une anches de 32', c' est une anches de 20' !!!!!!!

    pedal: flute 16', flute 8', flute de 4', Bombarde 20', Trompette 10', Clairon 5'

  • 20' ? Could you add some further explanations?

  • I guess this is because the stop is refered to by the "pitch length" of the lowest pipe of the rank. Since the lowest note on the pedals is A (called on by bottom C# key), Bombarde 20' would be what we'd call Bombarde 16' today.

    My question is though, did French classical organs have the pitch length marked on the stop labels?

  • Sometimes, mostly to distinguish between foundation stops such as Montres which can be either 16' or 8'.  But for the most part, the French classical organ is so standardized that the name itself is sufficient.

  • @orgaman Oui si on veut. En fait il y a un grand ravalement sur la seule note du La0 grave en place du Do#1 et uniquement pour les anches de pédale. Le jeu de Bombarde 16' sur le Do1 se retrouve bien à 20' sur le La0 et de même pour les autres jeux du grand ravalement (6/5 * 16') = 19.2'. Cependant il me semble que ces jeux sont notés en Bombarde 16', Trompette 8' et Clairon 4' sur les étiquettes.

  • @frenchiecocorico1 oui et non la tradition française des écriteaux des jeux ce veux le plus clair on ne note donc pas le pied, l'organiste n'est censé pas ce tromper ( sauf bourdon 16', et 32' manualiter, mais il est facile avec montre, prestant, doublette... de ne pas se tromper sur la hauteur.). Mais effectivement on peut bien sur dire qu'il s'agit bien d'un 16', a Souvigny on note aussi à la pédale:

    - trompette 10' - clairon 5'

    pour les même raisons que vous avez évoqués

    .

  • @orgaman En dépit de votre syntaxe française très défectueuse qui me laisse penser que vous vous exprimez avec difficulté dans cette langue, je dois dire que vous vous trompez totalement. La tradition française est de noter sur l'étiquette le nom et la hauteur du jeux en pieds à compter du DO1. Il est beaucoup plus rare que la hauteur soit manquante que l'inverse. Le grand ravalement étant une disposition exceptionnelle, l'indication des jeux en fonction de ce ravalement est tout aussi rare .

  • @frenchiecocorico1 je ne vous ai pas contredit. Quant à la qualité de mon expression, permettez moi de vous faire remarquez que ne me connaissant pas, je trouve assez déplacé un jugement aussi hâtif sur ma personne.

  • @frenchiecocorico1 Dernière remarque de ma part, vous dîtes : " Le grand ravalement étant une disposition exceptionnelle ", expliquez moi pourquoi. Je suis Organiste depuis plus de 20 ans, les instruments 'Classique Français' qui ont survécu sans quasi remaniement sont maintenant rare mais il nous reste quelques merveilles [...]

  • @orgaman 2- De plus, je vous fais remarquer qu'on notait les hauteurs des jeux pour éviter des confusions dans les compositions où le même type de jeux était employé plusieurs fois (Montre 16' ou 8', ou 4' au positif, flûte 8' ou 4', bourdon 32' ou 16' ou 8', Gros nasard 5' 1/3 ou nasard 2' 2/3, Grosse tierce 3' 1/5 ou Tierce 1' 3/5, Trompette 16' ou 8', etc...).

  • @orgaman 1- Pour ma part, je suis organiste depuis presque 40 ans et je connais aussi très bien le patrimoine des orgues classiques français. Le grand ravalement même à l'époque baroque de leur construction était une disposition rare car il n'était implanté que sur certains grands instruments, en général égal ou supérieur aux 16' en Montre (Saint Maximin, Poitiers, Albi, Saint Quentin,...) mais jamais sur les orgues ordinaires des paroisses.

  • @frenchiecocorico1 [...] à la Cathédrale de Poitiers, à Ste Croix de Bordeaux, au Saint-Sacerdos de Sarlat, au Prieuré Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul de Souvigny en Allier et à la Basilique de Saint Maximin, tous, sans exception possède le grand ravalement à la Française en 10' ou 12', et certains sont des instrument d'assez petite dimension.

  • @frenchiecocorico1 Votre "exception" est inexacte:

    -Notre Dame de P en 1677 : le pédalier possède des jeux séparés Flûtes 8' et 4', Trompette et Clairon sur l'étendue considérable de 33 notes de Sol0 à Fa3 (sans 1er Sol#).

    -St Germain des Près en 1663: pédalier à 4 jeux; flute 8' et 4' ainsi que les deux jeux d'anches avec grand ravalement au Fa0

    -St Gervais en 1649: Pescheur rajoute a l'orgue de 1601 un pédalier en tirasse permante avec grand ravalement au La0 sans 1°Ut dièse au clavier

  • @orgaman Mon exception reste tout à fait valable et corresponds à ce que j'ai décrit avant que vous ne me laissiez le temps d'y répondre pour tous les instruments que vous avez cités et qui malgré leur nombre apparent, restent une infime minorité mieux épargnés par les destructions que les autres orgues plus ordinaires de l'époque car plus prestigieux et chers.

  • @frenchiecocorico1

    alors oui ma syntaxe et mon orthographe laissent à désirer, mais le plus important ce n'est pas ça.

    Je vous rassure, je ne m'exprime pas aussi difficilement que vous vous l'étiez peut-être imaginé.

    Bien à vous.

  • @orgaman C'est déjà mieux de le reconnaitre (après l'avoir nié). Personne n'est parfait et moi pas plus qu'un autre. Je ne suis d'ailleurs ni censeur ni expert en orthographe française et je ne passe pas habituellement mon temps à corriger les fautes des autres, étant trop préoccupé à vérifier les miennes. Je n'ai fait cette remarque que parce que certains passages de ce texte étaient et demeurent incompréhensibles pour moi!.

  • @frenchiecocorico1 désolé cher monsieur, je me suis emporté. Mon emportement est dû a un extrait de notre conversation: "qui me laisse penser que vous vous exprimez avec difficulté dans cette langue".

    J'en suis désolé, ne m'en tenait donc pas rigueur.

    Où êtes vous donc organiste? et sur quel Orgue exercez-vous?

  • @orgaman (désolé de la redondance entre " emporté" et "emportement"

  • @orgaman 3- "Mais il est facile avec montre, prestant, doublette ...de ne pas se tromper sur la hauteur" au lieu de "Mais il est facile de ne pas se tromper sur la hauteur avec (les seules indications) montre, prestant, doublette" (ce qui est faux --->voir mes explications dans le chapitre correspondant). "Manualiter" employé à la place de "Manuel"

  • @orgaman 2- La phrase suivante est totalement incompréhensible: "La tradition française des écriteaux (des étiquettes) ce veux le plus clair"!!! "l'organiste n'est censé pas ce tromper" au lieu de "l'organiste n'est pas censé se tromper".

  • @orgaman 1- Mon jugement n'est aucunement déplacé. Ce n'est d'ailleurs pas un jugement mais une constatation et puisque vous contester ce point, je ne puis faire autrement que de corriger vos propos dont certains passages sont totalement obscurs pour démontrer le bien fondé de mon observation.

  • The bombardes sound amazing but the pedel is very slossy - the avalanche up and down the scale should be clear.

  • Most amazing sound in the pedal i have heard...love it!!

  • sounds of heaven

  • I've seen the console of this organ: those with short hands cannot reach all the manuals :D.

  • wow amazing what 16' bombarde can do

  • Absolutely and completely a quite f***ing amazing sound...what's the piece by the way?

  • Marc-Antoine Charpentier, Te Deum.

  • nice bombarde.. all organs should have such a bombarde in the pedal..

  • It gives me the creeps... So beautiful !!

  • wow it's very impressive,magnificent...beaut­iful!!!!

  • all i can say is WOW there are no other words for this

  • Yes - there're no other words for this...

  • There were two 32' added in the 19th century, but they were removed in 1981

  • Wow!! That organ has some really powerful reed stops. Very exciting!

  • Add to my previous comment - the organ also has a bombarde division with 16' bombarde and three 16s on positiv de dos. Suggestion - check out latribe's recommended link, then click on "Cathedrale" and the full organ spec. is published there. A marvelous instrument!

  • First post apparently disappeared into cyberspace. Specification of this splendid organ shows two 16s in the Pedal division. No 32s or larger. I'm no expert, but from the specification this instrument appears to have a lot of Spanish influence.

  • WONDERFUL! About time this piece was recorded the way it should sound. Can't beat the amazing majesty of a French organ roaring away!

  • Awesoooooome !

  • Royal

  • So powerful...

  • Hmmm...

    4' Bombarde Clarion

    8' Bombarde Posaune

    16' Bombarde

    32' Contra Bombarde

    64' Bombarde Gravissima

    Even the word "Bombarde" is powerful...but yep, these reeds rule!

  • Bombarde Gravissima O.O Does it have a resultant 64' reed? If it does it's so low I can't hear it :D

  • If you listen to it in HQ Audio with Tannoy Speakers - then you can certainly hear (or more feel) a resultant 64' tone entering at 1:24.

  • the organ at albi doesnt have a 64 reed stop -.- my mentor played on it several times an i think it hasnt a 32 foot stop either...

  • You can't listen to 1:24 and beyond and say that Albi doesn't have a 32' reed. There is definitely a 64' Resultant playing here as well. Whether it's studio-created or a Reed Stop, I don't know.

  • such a deep sound doesnt have to come from a big pipe, there so many other things that have influence on the pitch, such as intonation or strenght of the reeds.... this music was all about technique to simulate sounds they werent really able to produce... listen to 1:40 some of you hear a deep 32 reed but this is just 2 notes

  • sorry, 2 notes half tone from each other "away"... sorry for my bad english ;) trust me, no 32' oder 64' in this organ

  • POSITIF:Trompette 8',Cromorne 8',Clairon 4'

    GRAND ORGUE:Bombarde 16',1ere trompette 8',2ieme trompette 8',Clairon 4'

    BOMBARDE:Cornet V ranks,Bombarde 16',1ere trompette 8',2ieme trompette 8',Trompette 8' ,Voix humaine 8',Clairon 4'

    RECIT:Trompette 8',Hautbois 8'

    ECHO:Cromorne 8'

    PEDALE:Bombarde 16',Trompette 8',Clairon 4'

  • Thanks for the spec, would be interesting to have a 32' here though wouldn't it? Same goes for St Maximin en Provence as well. Sounds great anyway!

  • well i´ve only listed the reed voices there are many others, and for me, i wouldn´t add some more stops. this organ is very very historic and unique, i would keep it as original as possible... but a deeper reed sound would be "interesting", whether the organ at albi has power enough :)

  • Yes I agree, these historic instruments must be kept original, but it would be interesting nonetheless to add a 32' in the same voicing to see the results. I'm sure it would be spectacular - and expensive!

  • ;) perhaps its a cool experiment and surely interesting... but not realizable

  • I will say that it does not have a 32' reed

  • The Albi organ has what is called a 'ravalement' (extension) in the pedal. Here, the bottom C# pedal plays a contra A (ie 32' A). This was a very useful note in the old literature: it was the dominant of the 1st tone or the tonic of the 3rd tone and added considerable gravitas. Some organs like the Clicquot in Poitiers have a ravalement which has the A, A# (Bb) and B below the normal bottom C.

  • TE DEUM LAUDAMUS. A M E N!