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The reason Casavant Frères has achieved the distinction of being the oldest continuing name in organ building in North America comes not just from more than a century of continuous organ building, but also from the quality of the instruments that have been installed all over the world where they continue to serve their intended purpose decade after decade. Such longevity is the result of the use of quality materials and workmanship of the highest order. From the very beginning, the Casavant brothers understood the importance of these elements in building the reputation they wished to establish.
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 Kyoto, Japan Doshisha University, 1980 |
 Toronto, Ontario St. Paul’s Anglican Church, 1914 |
The excellence of materials and workmanship is meaningless however, unless the tonal quality is also of the highest quality and based upon such solid musical values that the instruments withstand the movement of the stylistic pendulum that is part of all artistic activity. That Casavant organs built today, as well as those built fifty, eighty and one hundred years ago continue to be appreciated, played and recorded is proof of this musicality. |
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| Tonal and Visual Architecture | ||
| In designing a successful instrument we often speak of two significant and closely related areas of architecture: visual and tonal. | ||
Visual and tonal architecture in organ building are inseparable and have a “chicken and egg” relationship. Because most listeners’ initial impression of an organ is visual, it is important that the image be positive, invoking anticipation of the musical sounds to follow. |
 Detroit, Michigan Central Woodward Church 1928 |
 Los Angeles, California Bel Air Presbyterian Church, 1991 |
The placement of the instrument
in the building is fundamentally important and one of the first
elements taken into consideration when designing an organ. Beginning
with an understanding of the musical requirements and worship practices
of the church, the next step is to determine the most effective
relationship between the organ, organist–music director, choir and
congregation. Taking care that the instrument speaks unimpeded and
directly towards the listeners preferably from an elevated position
above their heads are some of the factors that are determined in
the design phase. |
| Understanding and respecting the architectural style and scale of the building becomes the foundation upon which the designer works to create the organ’s visual presence. Keeping the organ in proportion and balance with its surroundings is key to integrating the instrument into the building so that both have the appearance of being conceived simultaneously. Appropriate wood species, finishes and suitable decorative features such as wood carving, application of gold leaf and hand painting are used in realizing the organ’s integration into its environment. |  Dublin, Ohio St. John Lutheran Church, 2004 |
Sewanee, Tennessee University of the South All Saints Chapel, 1961 |
Harold E. Wagoner, a well-known
architect who designed many churches in the United States once commented,
“The great thing about being an architect is you can walk into your
dreams.” Musical composition and organ tonal design follow a similar
path of working out one’s aural images on paper before they are
realized. The design of a pipe organ begins with listening, listening
to the resident musician describe the requirements and aspirations
for an instrument and listening to the space in which the organ
will find its home. Imagining how it will sound in the building’s
acoustic, what will be played and how it will be used becomes the
basis for what stops are selected. |
| Organs built for our time are
called upon to play a wide range of music from organ solos to the
accompaniment of choirs and instruments and leadership of the congregation
in the singing of hymns and other music appropriate to the worship
experience. One must also take into account that there will be a
desire to perform music from different nationalistic traditions
spanning several hundred years. Such diverse requirements require
the design to be creative and eclectic, however it must be more
than a collection of stops for it to be successful. |
When designing an organ we select individual stops to provide variety of tone at various dynamic and pitch levels while pipe scaling is determined to maximize the breadth and warmth of the organ’s ensemble at the same time maintaining clarity and transparency of the combinations needed for polyphony. Appropriate and well-developed tonal ensembles are developed on each division, which are balanced with one and another and related to the instrument as a whole. "Ensemble first, last and
always" |
 Claver Casavant Toronto, Ontario Royal York Hotel, 1929 |
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The hallmark of virtually every successful professional musical organization is found in the unity of their ensemble sound. Just as a conductor works to shape the sound of individual performers into a unified whole, we work to achieve a sound that is cohesive. When stops are added together they contribute to the whole in such a way that the ensemble builds smoothly, virtually seamlessly from pianissimo to fortissimo with each new stop contributing to the ensemble while blending with the stops already drawn. Relationships between divisions are established in such a way that each division maintains its individual character and integrity while blending into the total ensemble in a logical and time-honored manner. |
Our approach to voicing is to provide individual stops with their maximum color potential while simultaneously developing choruses where individual voices blend together in musically cohesive ensembles. |
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