Aristide Cavaillé-Coll (1811-1899) was a French organ builder who is considered by many to be the greatest
organ builder of the 19th century. His innovations to the art of organ building permeated throughout the
profession and influenced the course of organ building through the early twentieth century. The organ
reform movement sought to return organ building to a more Baroque style, but in the last few decades of the
nineteenth century, Cavaillé-Coll's designs came back into fashion.
It was with this backdrop that the Empress Eugenie commissioned a Cavaillé-Coll organ for the mausoleum church
of St Michael that houses the National Shrine to St Joseph. The result is an organ that fulfills and
advances the reputation of the Cavaillé-Coll name whose beautiful appearance with ornate golden piping is
surpassed only by the quality of sound emanating from this original piece.
The organ continues to serve the monks at the Abbey in accompaniment of the Sacred Liturgy in addition to
a season of Organ Concerts in the
Summer months by famous artistes.
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