The Church of the Ascension, New York City, is happy to announce the installation and inauguration of a major new organ by Pascal Quoirin of St. Didier, France, to take place during the 2010-11 season. Comprising over 6,000 pipes, it is the largest new organ project to occur in France in nearly 50 years.

And even more significant, it will be the first French-built organ ever installed in New York.

Although generations of American organists have come back from trips to France in utter awe of the instruments they heard, when it came time to select a French-style instrument for their churches, they have hired American companies to build them. There are several "French-style" organs in New York, but not one from France.

Is there a difference? According to Ascension's Music Director Dennis Keene, the difference is profound. "The sounds Pascal Quoirin makes are unlike anything we currently have in the United States. The sounds are unabashedly French, full of color and character, while at the same time completely balanced and nuanced - just like all great French art." He continues, "One could explain it in terms of food and wine as well: like many New Yorkers, I eat in French restaurants in New York all the time. But when I land in Paris and have my first meal in a favorite bistro, I always let out a happy sigh and think, 'This food is just different than what we have.' Likewise, many American organs remind me of California cabernets, whereas Quoirin's instruments could be compared to a Lafite or, even more precisely, a Romanée-Conti."

Since the contract for the new Ascension organ was signed in May, 2008, this project has been talked about widely in organ circles in France. It is not just that the instrument is the largest new French organ built in a very long time, but it is likely to be the crowning glory of one of the greatest organs builders in the past century, Pascal Quoirin. This larger-than-life native Burgundian started his apprenticeship while in his mid-teens. When he received his own first commission for an instrument in a cathedral in Provence, he set up shop there and has never left. His atelier in St. Didier (about 30 minutes east of Avignon) is reached by small roads bordered by vineyards.

Quoirin has spent half his career building new organs, the other half restoring many of the great historical organs of France. He became particularly famous for his amazing restoration of the magnificent Dom Bédos organ at the Sainte Croix church in Bordeaux, certainly one of the two or three greatest French organs extant from the 18th century. By restoring many of these historical masterpieces, he has learned what worked and what didn't in some of the greatest organs in the world.

Although Quoirin has built some organs that are in particular historical styles, the instrument for Ascension will be a highly eclectic 21st century instrument. The 95-stop, 111-rank instrument has been designed to play as large a part of the repertory as possible. The core of the instrument will be a three-manual classical (baroque) instrument (Grand Orgue, Positif, Echo/Récit, and Pédale) played by a three-manual mechanical action console. This classical core will consist of a luxurious complement of all the timbres necessary for the French Classical literature, as well as various stops particularly intended for German Baroque music.

A second console - this one with four manuals and electric action - will control that classical core as well as many other stops intended for symphonic repertory, including a large French Romantic Grand Récit Expressif. In particular, the organ has been designed to play the works of Olivier Messiaen. Every registration that Messiaen calls for in his scores will be found in this organ.

The instrument will be situated in the front of the church on two sides of the chancel, flanking the famed 1888 mural "The Ascension" by John LaFarge. Four organ facades - two on each side - will include elaborate wood carvings of peacocks, inspired by the peacocks in the marble reredos, also from the 1880's. Two trompettes en chamade (horizontally-mounted sets of trumpet pipes), one on each side of the chancel, will face each other in the manner of the historic Spanish organs.

The new organ is made possible by a grant from the Manton Foundation to honor the memory of Sir Edwin and Lady Manton, who were active members of the Church of the Ascension for over 50 years. The Mantons were avid lovers of music, and particularly the music of Olivier Messiaen and other French composers.

See more project photos in our photo gallery.