private industry pipe organ manufacturing founded 1879 1879 in saint hyacinthe quebec founders joseph claver and samuel marie casavant headquarters saint hyacinthe quebec canada areas served worldwide website www.casavant.ca 1919 photo of pietro yon at console of casavant fr res organ casavant practice organ in salt lake assembly hall . casavant fr res is a prominent organ building canadian company in saint hyacinthe quebec which has been building pipe organs since 1879 . as of 2014 they have produced over 3900 organs . contents 1 company history 2 technical innovations 3 some significant casavant organs 4 recordings 5 external links 6 references company history edit brothers joseph claver 1855 1933 and samuel marie 1859 1929 got their start in organ building in the shop of their father joseph casavant under his successor eus be brodeur . claver worked with brodeur during 1874 1878 then went to france for a 14 month apprenticeship with the firm of john abbey in versailles . he and samuel then visited many organs and workshops in western europe before establishing their factory on the site of their father s workshop on rue girouard in saint hyacinthe in 1879 . 1 technical innovations edit their instruments boasted many innovations unique for that time such as concave pedalboards balanced expression pedals keyboard improvements and other enhancements . their reputation as organ builders of international status was cemented in 1891 with their construction of the organ for the notre dame de montr al basilica a four manual organ of eighty two stops . this famous organ features adjustable combinations and speaking pipes of thirty two foot length in the fa ade . they won the grand prix at the international exhibition held in antwerp belgium in 1930 . they built organs around the world including canada the united states france the west indies south and central america south africa and japan . their organs have been praised by many famous organists over the last 100 years including guilmant vierne widor bonnet lemare dethier courboin bingham and many others who inaugurated and played casavant organs . casavant organs are also found in leading colleges universities and conservatories in the united states and canada . after the death of the casavant brothers the company continued to add innovations to their instruments . these include an extraordinarily reliable key contact and tracker touch mechanism which is a hallmark of the casavant playing action . during the 1960s casavant pioneered new electronic technology to the capture system of combination actions . in 1960 the company returned to mechanical action technology while continuing to build electropneumatic action instruments as well and has since built over two hundred tracker action instruments ranging in size from a single manual portable continuo of four stops to two three and four manual organs . new technology such as solid state coupling and switching systems multiplex multi memory combination actions and midi have been adopted . other improvements such as more effective expressive enclosures continue to be made . the sound and style of casavant organs has varied throughout the company s history . the casavant brothers themselves samuel and claver casavant reflected mostly influences from contemporary france but they traveled widely and visited many european instruments . they later brought in an englishman stephen stoot under whose direction the tonal palette reflected additional influences from england . later tonal directors lawrence phelps and gerhard brunzema contributed styles from the german organ reform movement . the most recent tonal directors jean louis coignet and jacquelin rochette are rooted in but not limited to the various french organ building traditions . some significant casavant organs edit saint nom de j sus montreal quebec saints anges gardiens de lachine montreal quebec casavant organ co. interior of the pipe shop st. hyacinthe que . 1930 opus 34 1892 orig opus 715 1917 rebuilt opus 1647 1940 montreal quebec canada notre dame de montr al basilica 83 stops specifications and history from casavant 1 opus 78 1897 westfield ma st. mary s church the oldest casavant still in use in the united states orig . notre dame church pittsfield ma removed 2005 installed in st. mary s 2008 2 opus 371 1909 ; opus 2071 1951 2007 edmonton alberta canada first presbyterian church of edmonton opus 452 1911 orig opus 1841 1946 rebuilt sydney ns highland arts theatre 33 stops . 30 registers . 32 ranks . 2045 pipes . specification 3 original specification 4 opus 550 1915 toronto ontario canada st paul s anglican church 106 stops specification and description from casavant 5 opus 553 1915 jacksonville fl jacksonville symphony orchestra 63 stops specification 6 opus 600 1915 montreal quebec canada saint nom de j sus 90 stops specification and description from casavant 7 opus 700 1917 boston ma emmanuel episcopal church 137 stops relocation to an organ museum in gulangyu island china in 2008 8 original specification 9 opus 715 1917 see opus 34 opus 802 1919 ottawa ontario canada the ottawa korean community church specification 10 opus 1200 1927 detroit mi the detroit institute of arts auditorium 11 specification 12 brief history 13 opus 1312 1929 toronto ontario canada royal york hotel 107 stops specification 14 opus 1367 1930 toronto ontario canada metropolitan united church five manuals 109 stops specification 15 opus 1397 1930 enfield new hampshire united states mary keane chapel missionaries of our lady of la salette three manuals . 4 divisions . 28 stops . 26 registers . 29 ranks . 1862 pipes . 16 opus 1608 1938 montreal quebec canada saint james united church 64 stops rebuild of wadsworth 1888 and warren 1909 . specification 17 opus 1647 1940 see opus 75 opus 1659 1940 flushing long island new york saint andrew avellino church roman catholic 43 stops specification 18 opus 1841 1917 see opus 452 opus 1879 1921 halifax nova scotia canada st. matthew s united church 59 stops 61 ranks . new console 1957 . revoiced and console digitized 1998 opus 1893 2560a 1947 1959 cambridge massachusetts the church of st. paul harvard square roman catholic 50 stops 1947 specification 19 opus 1925 war memorial pipe organ in university of alberta edmonton alberta convocation hall in memory of 80 university of alberta comrades who gave up their lives during the great war . the pipe organ was cleaned and reconditioned in 1947 . 2 opus 2025 1950 weston ontario canada central united church opus 2133 1953 saint john new brunswick canada st. peter s church opus 2269 2270 1954 1955 st. john s newfoundland canada basilica of st. john the baptist 66 stops specification 20 opus 2570 1960 halifax nova scotia canada st. mary s basilica 38 stops 2 856 pipes . dedicated to st. mary s basilica parishioners who served in world war ii . opus 2576 1960 denver co first church christ scientist 69 ranks 51 stops specification 21 opus 2666 1965 state college pa grace lutheran church 33 ranks and 2048 pipes specification 22 opus 2670 1963 dayton oh westminster presbyterian church . specification 23 opus 2722 1963 minneapolis mn central lutheran church 24 . 78 stops 107 ranks specification 25 the casavant pipe organ at notre dame basilica . opus 2730 1963 wolfville nova scotia acadia university canada manning memorial chapel specification 26 opus 2793 1964 fall river massachusetts st. anne s church 3 manuals . 4 divisions . 58 stops . 57 registers . 84 ranks . 4518 pipes specification 27 opus 2889 1966 traverse city mi first congregational church specification 28 opus 2927 1967 saratoga springs ny bethesda episcopal church specification 29 opus 2955 1968 fort collins co colorado state university recital hall 2079 pipes 34 stops opus 3079 1970 portland or chapel of lewis & clark college 66 stops probably the only organ in the world which was built entirely suspended from the ceiling . specification and description from casavant 30 opus 3101 1971 asheville nc cathedral of all souls in biltmore village specifications 31 opus 3105 1971 iowa city ia university of iowa iowa city ia usa 53 stops 74 ranks specification and description from casavant specification hall now abandoned since 2008 due to flood damage . organ to be relocated to st. andrew s presbyterian church iowa city ia 32 opus 3145 1972 providence rhode island cathedral of saints peter and paul 6 616 pipes 125 ranks 73 stops largest mechanical action organ in north america specification 33 opus 3254 1975 lansing mi plymouth congregation church 57 stops 75 ranks specification 34 photo 35 opus 3312 1976 guadalupe mexico basilica 116 stops 187 ranks specification and description from casavant 36 opus 3414 1979 scranton pa st. peter s cathedral photos and specification 37 opus 3434 1982 melbourne australia hamer hall formerly melbourne concert hall victoria arts centre 60 stops tracker action specification 38 opus 3700 1993 independence mo temple complex of the community of christ a four manual organ of 60 stops 5 685 pipes specification and description from casavant 39 opus 3743 1995 lamoni ia graceland university 24 ranks specification 40 opus 3750 1995 1996 fort worth tx broadway baptist church 191 ranks 129 stops history and description 41 dedication program 42 opus 3796 2001 wheaton il wheaton college edman chapel specification 43 specification and description from casavant 44 opus 3828 2003 dallas tx first united methodist church history and description 45 opus 3837 2005 new york ny brick presbyterian church new york city 46 new york ny specification 47 opus 3839 2004 conover nc st. john s lutheran church specification 48 miramichi new brunswick canada st. james & st. john s united church opus 3899 2012 washington dc rubenstein family organ john f. kennedy center concert hall specification 49 opus 3900 2014 montr al qc canada . grand orgue pierre b ique at maison symphonique de montr al. 50 recordings edit there have been many recordings performed on casavant fr res organs . many recent recordings are listed on the firm s website . celebrated canadian pianist glenn gould recorded his 1962 album the art of the fugue by bach columbia records on a 1960 casavant fr res organ in all saints kingsway anglican church in toronto available with other art of fugue recordings on sony 87759 . destroyed by fire in 1966 . a new casavant organ opus 3874 2009 is now in the building . external links edit wikimedia commons has media related to casavant fr res . casavant fr res website official website french historica s heritage minute video docudrama about joseph casavant . adobe flash player . casavant fr res at canadian encyclopedia references edit bouchard antoine . casavant fr res . encyclopedia of music in canada . retrieved 2008 12 19 . university of alberta war memorial pipe organ convocation hall music of canada portal classical music portal retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title casavant fr res & 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