The Genius of Cavaillé-Coll

To mark the 200th anniversary of Aristide Cavaillé-Coll’s birth, and the 150th anniversary of his organ at St Sulpice, Paris, in 2012, Fugue State Films produced the first ever full-length documentary about his life and work. Aristide Cavaillé-Coll was the greatest organ builder of the 19th century and also probably the most famous of all organ builders. Creator of such instruments as those in St Sulpice, Paris, St Ouen, Rouen, he devised a new way of building organs that led directly to the development of the French Romantic school of organ composition. Franck, Widor, Vierne and all their contemporaries and followers were directly inspired by the sounds and possibilities of Cavaillé-Coll’s organs. They composed pieces that pushed the boundaries of composition for the instrument and are now at the very heart of the organ repertoire. This music is indivisible from the organs of Cavaillé-Coll. Each is made for the other.