Monaco: Salle Garnier

Monaco issued a set of six stamps in 1979 celebrating the 100th anniversary of their opera house, the Salle Garnier. Five of the stamps show scenes from various operas produced in the theater. The sixth (Scott 1172) shows a painting which is above the stage. The painting shows various musical instruments and players. Among them is an organ and organist. It wasn't until I was examining the image on the card that I looked more closely at the stamps and discovered the organ tie-in on this particular stamp. What a find! This is a first day of issue card. The image printed on the card replicates the painting: the organists and pipes are quite clear. With the postcard and stamp images in mind, one can just barely discern the details in the photos below. I couldn't find any images that showed the instruments, let alone the organ, any more clearly.

Monaco: Cathedral

This post follows up on the earlier post on the history of the organ in the Monaco Cathedral. The stamp was issued in 2012. The instrument was completed in 2011. The website for the builder, Belgian firm Orgues-Thomas, tells us the instrument has 4 manuals and pedal and includes 74 ranks. This discussion board thread discusses the instrument, and includes the stoplist, as well as information about the inaugural concert for the instrument.

Monaco: Cathedral, an organ history

Earlier in the fall I learned that Monaco has released a stamp celebrating a new organ in the cathedral. I have been doing a bit of research to determine the history of organs in the cathedral. I found this site and used google translator to get a (rough) interpretation of the history. As one expects with cathedrals, the organ's lineage is complex.

Located in the stands above the entrance gate, the Grand current organ was built in 1975 and inaugurated by Pierre Cochereau holder of the great organ of Notre-Dame de Paris from 1955 to 1984.
On the occasion of the restoration of the great organ in 1988, its proprietor, René Saorgin in Church of Monaco (January 1989, and this instrument and its history:
"The first instrument platform was probably installed in the Cathedral around 1887 soon after its completion. Featuring eleven games only, it is not enough to fill the vast and lofty nave of the Cathedral. It was sold to the Church of the Cordeliers Gap city where you can still admire the neo-gothic elegant buffet.
A great instrument was then fifty games built in its place by the factor Charles Martin, the successor of the famous Cavaillé-Coll, author of the organ of Notre-Dame de Paris. One signed Cavaillé-Coll instrument remains in the new Carmelite church in Monaco. It was opened April 8, 1922 by Master Emile Bourdon, a direct disciple of Louis Vierne, who remained the owner until 1968 ...
This organ was donated by a patron, more composer Jean Bartholini, Consul of Monaco in Geneva.
The organ Mutin was placed on each side of the rostrum, in the bottom of triforiums. He got very ill from the nave, but the organist was placed almost in the middle of the pipe, he had a magnificent sound ... The reeds had a stamp incisive, biting, even terrifying. Funds were beautifully mellow and sang beautifully. Everything does not lack nobility and greatness and fitted well in the tradition of the great symphony orchestras of the time.
Various upgrades, expansion and electrification started in 1951 by Maurice Puget factor, Toulouse, did not improve the instrument "too altered, concealed evil age" (Carol H.).
The Princely Government therefore decided to build a new instrument and addressed it to Jean-Loup Boisseau, Poitiers. This factor realized the current instrument has sixty games over four manuals and pedal. It was inaugurated on 10 October 1976 by Pierre Cochereau (cf. Church of Monaco, November 1976).
Designed in the classical French style, this "Grand sixteen feet" includes all syntheses and games to bring own solo classical French literature. "Grand Plein-Jeu" glittering with desire, dynamic and nervous, is quite exceptional. The "Great Game (chorus reeds) is positively glowing in the purest French tradition. Few elements foreign to the French classical aesthetics (whistle, flute harmonic unda husbands dulcian) allow to address a different directory but without turning to the organ as an instrument of synthesis.
Unfortunately, the mechanical parts (chests, prints notes and records, tanks) suffered greatly in recent years. Consists of various materials: wood, metal, leather, felt, skin, organ, more than any other instrument, is very sensitive to temperature changes and humidity especially ...
A major restoration work was then entrusted to the House Tamburini, Crema (Italy).
This restoration was carried out with care and remarkable art. Today the 4840 pipes of the great organ of the Cathedral of Monaco sing again and the faithful in each réentendent ceremony at the Cathedral, the splendid harmony Jean-Loup Boisseau had given them.
Several improvements have been made: adding a drone sixteen feet keyboard story, adding a trumpet and cornet separation ranks fourth keyboard, adding a second bugle to the pedal, installation of a series of twelve combinations adjustable facilitating the organist play. "
After 18 months of work, the end of the restoration of this instrument rejuvenated, which honors the Principality and is probably the best and most successful of the Côte d'Azur, was inaugurated in a ceremony presided over by Archbishop Sardou May 29, 1988 with a concert by Philippe Lefebvre, owner of the great organ of Notre-Dame de Paris.
Note that this is also the house that Tamburini was entrusted the construction of the choir organ.


I am still looking for specifications of the instrument(s) at any point in their existence. I plan to post and image of the new instrument and specification when I get a copy of the new stamps.

Monaco: Liszt

In 1986 Monaco issued a single stamp (Scott 1549) honoring the birth of Franz Liszt 175 years earlier. Interestingly the background includes some organ pipes. (The stamp background also looks remarkably like the Bach-Handel stamp background from a year earlier.) "Interestingly" because Liszt is not "known" as an organist nor a composer for the instrument. . Liszt has a single (very famous) fantasia on a Meyerbeer chorale tune for the organ, but that's really about the only work of any reknown.

Monaco: Bach-Handel

Monaco issued a set of 4 stamps honoring authors and composers in 1985 (Scott 1496-1499).  The first honored Sacha Guitry; the second the Brothers Grimm; the third Chopin and Schumann; and the last Bach and Handel. Their stamp includes a set of pipes nestled into fan vaulting from a ceiling. The pipes are not seemingly intended to be a specific instrument.

Monaco: UNESCO issue

Monaco issued a set of 4 stamps celebrating the 25th anniversary of UNESCO in 1971.  Other stamps in the set featured: "culture" (scholar, book, film, television); "science" (alchemist, radar, rocketry); and the high value was an image of Prince Pierre of Monaco. The low-value in the set was called "arts" and included an organ case/facade and a detail of Michaelangelo's painting "The creation of Adam" on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City, Rome, Italy. The case is distinctive, but one cannot determine the organ from the stamp alone. The Cathedral in Monaco has recently gotten a new organ. The stamp does not depict that instrument. Monaco has recently issued a stamp celebrating the new cathedral organ. When I have a copy, I'll post a new blog entry with an image of the stamp and (hopefully) a specification.

 

There was/is another organ that was in the cathedral, but it is not the organ used for the stamp image. I have tried to locate the instrument to no avail. If anyone can help identify this instrument, please contact me.

 

I heard from my friend Mark Jameson regarding the organ(s) in the Monaco cathedral:

I have found the 1934 spec of the 1922 Charles Mutin organ that lasted until 1968, original organ was c1887.  In 1971 I suspect the Mutin had been replaced by an Allen.   I have e-mailed Olivier Vernet [organist] to try to obtain more history for use in the next Journal – Monaco & organ, San M, Vatican & Italy for stamps.