APOGEES of the ORGANS and
APOGEES of CIVILISATIONS

It is curious to note that the great periods of climax of civilizations coincided with the blossoming of the organ.
To meditate ! Here are some examples:

Ancient Greece : The organ had a great development: it took the form of a very powerful outdoor instrument, often used for stadium games and the Olympic Games. In Egypt too, the organ flourished during the first centuries before Christ.

The ancient Rome : several emperors played and appreciated l'orgue.

The medieval period was marked by an almost total disappearance of the organ. Only small portable organs remained in the castles. It was forbidden in churches because it was considered a pagan instrument. Let us quote only Pepin the Short and Louis the Pious, son of Charlemagne who received as a gift from Bysance an organ. Instrument that sidera the courts of the time, because the organ was totally unknown in the West. The priest George of Venice faithfully preserved the tradition of the organ, which existed only in the Eastern Roman Empire in Bysance.

The Renaissance period was also a period of organ revival, which continued to grow until the French Revolution. In other European countries, however, he continued to prosper.

During the french revolution, and until the beginning of the 19th century, the organ was the object of massive destruction. The metals composing the pipes: tin, lead, zinc were used to make ammunition, during the many internal and external wars which punctuated this period. Then throughout the nineteenth and first half of the twentieth, a phenomenon identical to the destruction of the first centuries occurred : The musical art of the past centuries was banned from the conservatories. The piano developed, as well as orchestral music. The composers of the classical period and the organ fell almost into oblivion. With the exception of Bach and a few others, known only to insiders. However, one must recognize that the french republic en the second French Empire built several churches with organs during the XIXth century. Mainly in Paris, where Cavaillé-Coll has had the opportunity to exercice is remarkable talent.

However, renewed interest took place in the 20th century, followed by the current period of stagnation in France. Classical music from the 15th to the 18th century was honored. One can notice that many positive organs (polyphon type) were built during the end of XIXth century and beginning XXth century. However, at present, apart from a small minority of connoisseurs, the French public is completely unaware of the organ. But remains sensitive when chance (or rather Providence) invites him to discover one. So much so that the public in France generally believes that the organ was invented by the church, unaware that it has banned it during 1400 years. Juste after Christ era. Because the first christians bishops were willing to destroy all the Roman civilisation : Temples, Forums, villas, theaters, public and private buildings.