LDV113-4

56 FRANCK But the true artistry of the organ builder, beyond the indispensable learning and knowledge, resides above all in a more irrational and visceral savoir-faire, which alone can give masterpieces that inexplicable, extra-special touch of poetry. Aristide took the utmost care over the organ of Saint-Sernin, even exceeding the initial specification by throwing in no fewer than five extra stops (including two chamades in the Spanish style), and various ingenious additional mechanisms. For example, there are ‘detachable’ octave and unison couplers, which multiply the possibilities of the instrument. Designed with his best collaborators in the famous workshops of the avenue du Maine in Paris, reassembled and voiced in Toulouse under the direction of his renowned voicer Felix Reinburg, the organ of Saint-Sernin was magnificently suited to the biggest Romanesque nave in Europe (110 metres long) and its splendid acoustics. What I admire above all in this instrument is the clarity and precision of intonation, still classical, of both the foundation stops and the reeds, especially those of the Récit, which are astounding in the low register!