The French Symphonic Organ

This instrument was built by the organ firm Verschueren Orgelbouw BV (Heythuysen NL) in accordance with the working methods and philosophy of the French 19th-century master, Aristide Cavaillé-Coll. The individual parts of the instrument - the specification, measurements, wind system, and mechanical coupling systems for different divisions of the organ, as well as the Barker machine for the playing action - all needed to reflect Cavaillé-Coll's original instruments. But the primary goal was to get these different parts to work together with one another in a coherent and recognizable French Romantic aesthetic. It was also planned that the instrument's façade would have some relationship to the original 19th-century instruments, while still blending with the rest of the architecture of the room. The organ was inaugurated in May 1998.