The Fernwerk Music at the cathedral The first instruments 20th-century organs

1955 Photo: Charles Page, 2012 Page, Charles Photo:

1903 1965

The Fernwerk (literally “remote cathedral’s first Fernwerk. That instru- The cathedral has hosted a variety of from June to October. In the concert The first references to an organ at the by that church in 1729. Scherrer then From the end of the 19th century, in a mainly installed on the upper gallery. It division”), also sometimes called ment came from the church in the musical events from the early 19th context, an instrument that combines cathedral date back to the early 15th bought out his partner’s share and context when archaeological considera- had no case, so as to leave the window the “echo division”, emanates from village of Saint-George (), and was century on, tentatively at first, then at a tradition and innovation allows the faith- century. In 1529, on the eve of the moved to , taking his organ tions were given primacy, Scherrer’s at the back visible. To remedy this siting the German Romantic organ, and is dismantled to make way for a new or- steadier pace as the years went by. ful execution of four centuries of music, Reformation, a new instrument was in- with him. In 1733, he was given permis- organ, which obscured the unique which was not good as regards sound, played from the consoles of the main gan. That pipework was supplemented However, the first organ recitals date while at the same time being capable stalled. In 1537, after Berne’s conquest sion to place it on the west gallery of the layout of the double west gallery, was in 1965 some elements were moved instrument. by two reed stops made by Fisk. only from the 20th century. The instru- of exploring new fields in contemporary of the Pays de Vaud and the adoption of cathedral, free of charge and on a trial doomed. In 1902, Theodor Kuhn from to the lower gallery, four meters below. Lausanne Cathedral It consists of a set of 659 pipes located ment would be accorded the place composition. It opens up a huge field of , the organ was prohibited ; basis. He tried a number of measures Männedorf (ZH) made an instrument While this solution was more accept- in a case that is almost invisible, unlike The Fernwerk was officially inaugurated of honour thanks to the Société de discoveries to music lovers. it was destroyed, and the pewter recov- to sell it, not achieving a satisfactory with 77 stops, to suit these new require- able from an acoustic point of view, it the main organ, in the high gallery in in 2013. Concerts de la Cathédrale de Lausanne ered from the smelting was perhaps outcome until 1763. The organ seems ments ; it was arranged in a U-shape nonetheless proved disappointing at organ the north arm of the transept. (SCCL – Lausanne Cathedral Concert The programme of concerts is available sent to Berne. to have been played regularly during against the side walls of the upper gal- the technical and aesthetic levels, given Society), founded in 1932. Today it still from the cathedral reception desk and church services only from 1743 on, with lery, and was thus virtually invisible from that equipment designed for a different The 1903 Kuhn organ already had a ensures that the great organ is widely on the website www.grandesorgues.ch In the 18th century the ban was lifted, the advent of the organist Jean Gründler. the nave. The organ quickly showed place was being reused. Fernwerk located under the vaulting of known. It organizes the most important and instruments were reintroduced into The instrument with its free-standing its limitations : Its inappropriate siting the main nave, at the transept crossing. cycle of organ concerts in , Berne’s two main churches. In this con- case, its Baroque ornamentation, and its meant that its sound was unsatisfactory, In 1969, an instrument for use as a By a fortunate combination of circum- with around twenty-five recitals being text, the organ makers Samson Scherrer, visible pipework continued in existence and its pneumatic transmission lacked continuo organ at instrumental and stances, it was possible to recover and given every year to coincide with the Société des Concerts who came from Toggenburg, and until it was demolished in 1901, the precision. After long negotiations, in choral performances was installed at de la Cathédrale de Lausanne reuse all the pipework from a Kuhn main religious festivals (Good Friday, Place de la Cathédrale 13 Emmanuel Bossart from Berne built a victim of shortcomings in maintenance, 1955 the Kuhn factory supplied an the east end of the nave. It was made CH –1005 Lausanne tubular-pneumatic instrument dating Easter Sunday, Pentecost and Christ- Information: +41 21 316 71 61 great organ at their own expense for and developments in organ building and instrument with 93 stops distributed by the Armagni and Mingot organ- from 1902, so contemporary with the mas), as well as every Friday evening [email protected] another Berne church ; it was rejected musical styles. over four manuals and a pedalboard, building firm of Lausanne.

The Fernwerk in the high chapel of the Concert ambiance. Samson Scherrer’s organ, 1729. tower on the north side of the east end. State ca. 1900. Photo Claude Bornand, 2013. Photo Jérémie Leuthold, 2008. Cathedral archives Cathedral archives The Fisk grand organ The case The mobile console

case pipework

chamade pipes

stop knobs

manuals

Electronic add-ons The gallery console The 21st-century organ first saw > It is the first organ in the world to Made of mahogany, it surrounds the Thus the instrument’s appearance The console is the instrument’s control But above all the mobile console allows the light of day in Lausanne. have a case designed by a professional pipes. Manufactured in Canada based reflects its modernity. The originality of panel. It includes the manuals flanked those present to see the organist dur- The Grand Organ opus 120 made design firm, Italdesign Giugiaro, and on drawings by the famous designer the case is shown by various elements : by the stop knobs, the pedalboard, and ing concerts, because the music-loving by the American firm C. B. Fisk, Inc. to contain four of the main styles of Giorgetto Giugiaro, it symbolizes an other devices that make it possible to public wants to see musicians as (Gloucester, Massachusetts), installed organ building (French classical and angel with outspread wings. At its base > a structure in three parts, consist- play the organ. The instrument has two much as to hear them. It also makes it in Lausanne Cathedral, is a musical symphonic, German baroque and there are luminous panels that support ing of two large side towers – including consoles: The first is in the gallery, with possible to demonstrate the working and technological marvel. romantic). T he pipework T he m a n ua ls E lectro n ic a d d - o n s T he e n ch a m a d e pipes the instrument visually, giving it an im- the Back Positive and Choir divisions mechanical transmission between the of the organ to groups, thus raising > It cost over six million Swiss francs. The organ is a wind instrument. The The instrument has five manuals The instrument has a MIDI interface Arranged horizontally, these pipes pression of lightness in spite of the fact at their bases, behind the large façade keys and the pipes, while the second awareness of the instrument among > It took ten years to design and > It was inaugurated in December sound comes from the passage of air (keyboards): Positif de dos [Back making it possible for example to (Trumpet 8’ and Clarion 4’) are the that it weighs more than 40 tons. pipes – and a central part consisting of mobile one located in the nave is linked the public at large in an “educational” make, and involved 150,000 hours 2003 by Jean-Christophe Geiser, the into the pipes. That air is produced by Positive], Grand-Orgue [Great Organ], record the organist’s playing, play the most powerful in the organ. the gallery console and the Bombarde to the organ by a cable and electric manner. Finally it gives the organist the of work and two international Cathedral Organist; within the Organ two turbines located in the cathedral’s Positif expressif [Choir Organ], Récit organ remotely from another organ that The visual aspect of the new organ and division, placed in front of the Swell transmission. opportunity to gain a perfect appre- competitions, one for the instrument, Committee, he was instrumental in two towers. Only a few dozen of the expressif [Swell Organ], Bombarde. A is fitted with the same system, import T he stop k n obs its integration into the architecture of the division ; ciation of the registrations and their the other for the case. deciding on its musical design. instrument’s 7396 pipes are visible sixth so-called “floating” manual can be musical files, or note down improvisa- These make it possible to select the cathedral were constant considerations. > the design of the central part The presence of a mobile console is jus- balance in the nave, which cannot be > It consists of 7396 pipes from the nave. The pipes can be made added to any one of those five manu- tions. The application of these new pipes that are to speak, based on the In recent organ cases, preference has (the Bombarde case), above the en tified for several reasons. The cathedral done from the gallery console. (6737 for the main instrument of metal or wood. They vary greatly als at will, in order to play the Fernwerk possibilities offers an innovative field for piece that is being played. If the organ often been given to copies reflecting chamade pipes ; has to play the role of “concert hall with and 659 for the echo manual, in shape and dimensions since each [Echo Organ] located at the opposite contemporary musical creation. is compared to an orchestra, each the musical style of the instrument. > the presence of glass panels at organ”, as unlike other major Swiss or Fernwerk), distributed over six one produces a different sound. The end of the cathedral in the high chapel stop would correspond to a different Even if that option had been chosen at the base of the instrument, elements cities Lausanne has no other place at manuals and a pedalboard. organ’s biggest pipe is over 9 meters of the tower on the north side of the T he g a ller y co n sole instrument. Lausanne – though it was never seriously that can be lit up to produce a diffused its disposal where the repertoire for > It can be played from two long and weighs nearly 400 kilograms. east end. Using mechanical transmission (each considered –, it is hard to see which style light effect. organ and orchestra can be showcased A complete breakdown of the instru- note on the manuals and pedalboard is (Victoria Hall in , Tonhalle in consoles, a mechanical one in the ment’s composition is available on the It is at the back of the instrument and would have been used as a reference gallery, and a mobile one in the nave. www.grandesorgues.ch website cannot be seen. connected to the corresponding pipes). For the case and the mobile console, see following pages. since the instrument includes four. Zurich, KKL in Lucerne, for example).

En chamade pipes. Orgue Fisk. Giugiaro Design, Sketch of the console The mobile console. and case, 2001. Photo Charles Page, 2012. Photo Charles Page, 2012. Cathedral archives Photo Claude Bornand, 2003.