{"id":1784,"date":"2020-11-20T17:27:08","date_gmt":"2020-11-20T16:27:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ligneorguesremarquables.com\/?post_type=orgues&p=1784"},"modified":"2024-12-29T16:58:15","modified_gmt":"2024-12-29T15:58:15","slug":"french-organ-in-luxeuil-les-bains","status":"publish","type":"orgues","link":"https:\/\/ligneorguesremarquables.com\/en\/the-organs\/french-organ-in-luxeuil-les-bains\/","title":{"rendered":"French Organ in Luxeuil-les-Bains"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n\n\n

Of Flemish origin, with French character , marked by an unfortunate episode and a reconstruction attributed to Jean Deloye and Philippe Hartmann \u2013 the historic organ of the Basilica of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in Luxeuil-les-Bains was inaugurated in 2020 after a restoration carried out by Michel Formentelli and Jean Deloye. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was in 1617, during the abbacy of Antoine de la Baume, that the first layer of the current organ was built. While we do not know the name of the organ-builder, an inscription inside the Positif provides information about the person who made the case: \u2018Ioan Dognadec \/ 1617\u2019. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The case made at that time corresponds to the central part of the\ncurrent main body, with three towers, and it had shutters that opened to reveal\nthe front pipes. According to Claude Aubry, the Positif case had the same\ndimensions but at a reduced scale, with the largest tower in the center.
\nNothing else known about the original\ninstrumental. The pipes dating back to 1617 seem to be of Flemish workmanship,\nwhich is plausible considering the close relationship between the Abbey of\nLuxeuil and that of Afflighem in Belgium. Additionally, the region of Comt\u00e9 was\nunder the influence of the Spanish Crown, just as Flanders was at the time.
\nIn 1668, during the reconstruction of the abbey\nbuildings, the door of the central main entrance was bricked up and the two\nside entrances visible today were created. It was to conceal the sealed-up door\nthat the gigantic wooden pedestal in the form of a lamp base was built between\n1668 and 1695, during the abbacy of Charles-Emmanuel de Bauffremont.
\nThis surprising and richly decorated element\nconsists of two parts: Atlas, who appears to support the entire structure at\nground level, and the long acanthus leaf above him, sculpted from a single tree\ntrunk.
\nVarious musical instruments, such as a violin,\ntrumpet, cornet, and recorder, can be seen among the acanthus scrolls.
\nThe highly curved central part is divided into\nthree panels by four caryatids supporting the balcony with their powerful arms.\nEach of the three compartments is finely sculpted with a medallion. On the\nright, Saint Cecilia at the organ is accompanied by an angel playing the\nviolin. In the center, Christ hands the keys of Paradise to Saint Peter, with\nSaint Paul standing behind him. On the left, King David plays the harp.
\nThese enlargement works in 1695 were entrusted\nto the organ builder Philippe Picard and his sons Antoine and Joseph, with the\naim of rebalancing the proportions of the case in relation to the imposing\nbalcony. This is when the two side wings of the main body were added. According\nto Claude Aubry, who analyzed the joinery before the restoration in 1980, this\nenlargement was carried out in two stages: first a flat face and a tower on\neach side, with the outer flat face being added later.
\nIt was also during these works that the Positif\ncase took on its current form, with the two large towers at the ends. The\ninstrument also seems to have been modified, as Claude Aubry dates some of the\npipework to this period.
\nCurrently, we have no information about the\nworks carried out in the 18th century. The organ suffered during the French\nRevolution: the pipes of the Positif were looted and the bellows were damaged\nby hay stored nearby when the building served as a hay store. The sources noted\nby Claude Aubry provide information about the instrument after the Revolution:\nthe Grande-Orgue keyboard extended up to F5, while the Positif keyboard had\nonly 4 octaves and 7 stops, including the Cromorne, Fourniture, Nazard,\nDoublette, and Tierce.
\nThe instrument was restored in 1808 by the organ\nbuilder Jean-Baptiste Gavot. He added a Basson-Hautbois stop to the Positif,\nextending its range up to F5 like the Grande-Orgue keyboard. He returned in\n1829 to install an \u00c9cho keyboard with a five-rank Cornet mixture and a\nTrompette mounted horizontally. Jean-Baptiste Gavot\u2019s son carried out a\nrevision of the instrument in 1835.
\nSignificant works were then undertaken by the\norgan builder Joseph Callinet. The records of the Fabrique council mention an\nestimate dated October 20, 1840, to which two addenda were attached on January\n6 and June 3, 1841, all for a total amount of 4000 francs. The acceptance took\nplace on July 23, 1841.
\nUnfortunately, none of these estimates have been\nfound, and the exact scope of these works is unknown.
\nThe organ case was classified as a Historical\nMonument in 1846.
\nFollowing a donation from Napoleon III for the\nrestoration of the abbey church, the organ underwent further works in the\n1860s, which Claude Aubry attributes to Claude-Ignace Callinet. It was at this\ntime that the wall supporting the current balcony was built, and the original\none, which was originally directly attached to the wall, was dovetailed onto\nit.
\nCleaning and general tuning works were carried\nout in 1903 by the Didier company from \u00c9pinal.
\nDuring World War I, the reconstruction of the\ninstrument was entrusted to Jules Bossier. Unfortunately, the works were quite\ndestructive: the back of the main case was torn open, the Positive section was\nstripped of its pipework and reduced to its facade, and the built-in console\nwas replaced with a detached pneumatic one. Pipes painted to resemble stone\nwere placed outside the case. The R\u00e9cit and the new Positif divisions were\nsuperimposed very visibly at the back left of the case, as can be seen in the\nperiod photos, as well as the large 16-foot pipes protruding from the ceiling\nof the main body. The inauguration of these works took place on Quasimodo\nSunday in 1917.
\nAs the operation of the instrument quickly\nbecame unreliable, works were entrusted to Louis Georgel in 1949, who rebuilt\nthe bellows and moved the R\u00e9cit division down into the base of the main body.\nIn order to accommodate the choir in the balcony, the base of the wings of the\nmain body was truncated and the carved spandrels were removed. Despite these\nworks, the organ quickly became unplayable.
\nEager to remove the alterations that this\ninstrument had undergone, the municipality, supported by the organist Michel\nChapuis, launched a restoration project in the early 1970s.
\nThe instrumental part was classified as a\nHistorical Monument on May 19, 1972. On August 9 of the same year, a\nspecification was established by Claude Aubry, technical advisor for the\nMinistry of Culture. Based on the existing ancient pipework and cases, and\ndrawing inspiration from the dispositions of Callinet organs, he proposed a\ncomposition of French classical inspiration, but with additions allowing for\nthe performance of European Baroque repertoire on the basis of five sound\nplans, one of which is referred to as \u2018Raisonnance\u2019 (sic), inspired by the\nIsnard organ of Saint-Maximin (Var).
\nThe works were entrusted to the organ builder\nJean Deloye, assisted by Philippe Hartmann for the voicing.
\nThe entire case was restored, with a significant\nportion of reconstruction for the mutilated parts (back and sides of the cases,\nspandrels). All the windchests and the suspended mechanical action were also\ncompletely rebuilt. The use of modern materials (metal for the reconstruction\nof the structure, industrially manufactured action) was avoided in favor of a\nreconstruction following the Rules of the Art as used in the Old Regime (wooden\nactions, use of wrought iron\u2026), an exceptional approach for the time. The\nbellows were rebuilt using the existing ones with parallel folds, not\nwedge-shaped, for economic reasons.
\nFrom 2018 to 2020, with the support of the\nState, the City entrusted the organ builder Michel Formentelli in collaboration\nwith Jean Deloye with the complete restoration (removal and cleaning of the\npipework, revision of the windchests and action). The work program included the\ninstallation of four wedge bellows for a better distribution of wind. The\naction also benefited from significant improvements. Michel Formentelli ensured\nthe revoicing in strict accordance with the original work by Philippe Hartmann\nand carried out a general tuning.
\nAccording to Claude Aubry and Eric Brottier,\ntechnical advisors for the Ministry of Culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sources\ndocumentaires <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n