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THE CATHEDRAL ORGAN
"The organ has always been considered, and rightly so, the king of musical instruments,
because it takes up all the sounds of creation and gives resonance to the fullness of human
sentiments, from joy to sadness, from praise to lamentation. By transcending the merely
human sphere, as all music of quality does, it evokes the divine. The organ’s great range
of timbre, from piano through to a thundering fortissimo, makes it an instrument
superior to all others. It is capable of echoing and expressing all the experiences of human
life. The manifold possibilities of the organ in some way remind us of the immensity and
the magnificence of God."
Pope Benedict XVI, September 2006ember 2006
The pipe organ in St. John Cathedral is a masterpiece of French organ design. In the splendid acoustical environment of the Cathedral, the organ is thrilling to hear, and provides the listener with a sound experience that is unique in the state of Louisiana. The organ was installed in 1985 as part of the extensive renovation of the Cathedral.
In keeping with the Acadian tradition, the organ was designed by a Frenchman, Jean-Louis Coignet of Paris, and built by the firm of Casavant Frères, Limitée in French-speaking Québec. The organ console, which is solidly constructed of oak and maple, has three manuals (keyboards) and pedals. The largest pipe is sixteen feet in length and the smallest less than half an inch. The organ has fifty-three ranks totaling just over three thousand pipes as well as two digital bass registers powered by 600 amps.
The design of the organ was inspired by the great French Cathedral organs of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and is French in every sense of the word.
Click here for specifications of the organ.
Copyright 2006-2012 - Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist
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