PLEASE REFER TO THE DOCUMENTS ATTACHED TO THIS PAGE FOR COMPLETE DETAILS OF :

FULL DAY-TO-DAY PROGRAMME  -  COSTING  -  REGISTRATION

RESUME OF PROGRAMME :

21 Sept : Arrival day. Participants must make their own way to Paris. Mid-afternoon  "Meet & Greet" with Tour Leader Dr Christopher Hainsworth, followed by a Welcome Get-together Dinner in the evening.

22 - 23 Sept : first a visit to the Louis-Alexandre Clicquot organ at Houdan which offers a superb appreciation of French organ technology and sound of the mid-18th century. 

After lunch in Chartres, with time to see the celebrated stained glass windows in the cathedral, we go into the city of Orleans - with its memories of Joan of Arc - to visit the great Cavaillé-Coll cathedral organ built towards the end of the 19th century. By contrast, we also visit the recently built Aubertin organ in the St Marceau church, as well as one of the oldest organs in France in nearby Lorris. 

24 - 25 Sept : into the "châteaux" region of the Loire Valley. First a guided visit round one of the most famous of them all, Blois, followed by a relaxed wine-tasting and déjeuner campagnard in the cellars of a wine-grower in Montlouis. Late afternoon we visit one of the loveliest of all châteaux, Chenonceau, then into the "royal town" of Amboise for the evening. The next day starts with a visit to what Chris describes as the "ultra-modern rather zany" new organ in the Temple Church in nearby Tours. In the afternoon we have one of the cultural highlights of the entire tour, the World Heritage site of Saint Savin.

26 - 27 Sept : two days in the historic university town of Poitiers - a place well-worth visiting in its own right, even for people with no interest in organs! The stay in Poitiers will be organised by the Associations of Poitiers organists, for there are no fewer than five instruments of which the town in justly proud!

In the cathedral is to be found - and heard! - one of the finest examples of the great François-Henri Clicquot's work, while in the World Heritage church of Saint Hilaire we discover the magnificent superbly restored Wenner romantic organ. We will also visit a truly fine Merklin, and two most worthy contemporary instruments.

28 - 29 Sept : two days in and around the city of Bordeaux - a World Heritage site especially famous for its prestigious 18th century urban architecture which now restored rivals that even of St Petersburg, a commercial and cultural heritage spanning more than 2000 years, and one of THE great wine capitals of the world! There is no more splendid place than Bordeaux in which to complete the French part of this tour!

In addition, Bordeaux is home to one of the most famous organs in the country, that built in the mid 18th century by Dom Bédos de Celles (author of a celebrated treatise on the art of organ building).  We will also visit an absolutely sensational Wenner instrument, considered by many to be his finest achievement.

Not far from Bordeaux is the small town of Montpon where Francis Chapelet has built up his private collection of historic organs. By far his most important contributions in this respect will be appreciated during the three days we spend in Palencia, in Spain.

We will also go to the abbey church of Guîtres to visit the organ built here during the 1980s which was designed to follow as far as possible the principles of organ building as exemplied in the works of Dom Bédos and F-H Clicquot.

30 Sept - 1 Oct : Driving south from Bordeaux and into the Basque country, our first day in Spain will be spent in the resort city of San Sebastian. Plenty of time to explore, enjoy the sights - and the food!

On the second morning we travel along the Basque coast to the town of Deba, where the newest organ in Spain has just been inaugurated, the work of organ-builder Gerhardt Grenzing. Following this visit, if all goes well we will have a final contact with the "Cavaillé-Coll sound" (the great organ in Azcoitia) before immersing ourselves in the organs of Spain, both ancient and modern!

2 Oct - 4 Oct : Three days in Palencia, in the company of Francis Chapelet who has organised the programme of visits, selecting as many as possible in the time available from the thirty or so instruments which he has saved. Without Chapelet's passionate involvement, an important part of Spain's musical heritage would have been totally lost.

Why Spain? Why Palencia? Spain because we have such a contrast with France, organ building, design, technique and sound being no exception! Generally much smaller than French 18th century instruments, the Spanish organs of the same period are nevertheless capable of producing an astonishing variety of sounds, and the organ lofts are invariably individual works of art, superbly decorated.

Palencia - it is here in this Spanish province that the world's largest collection of historic organs is to be found - when Francis Chapelet (re)discovered them, not one of the 90 historic organs was playable. Thanks to his passion, energy, initiative, and understanding, we can enjoy those he has brought back to life, largely unchanged since the 18th century.

5 - 8 Oct : After breakfast we drive into the land of the 11th century legendary hero El Cid, into a city indeed a region dominated by the great cathedral of Burgos. Close by (hopefully time will permit we visit all three places!) are the Royal Monastery of La Huelgas and the Carthusian Monastery of Miraflores. The cathedral, the second monument in Spain to be classified World Heritage as early as 1984, is the only cathedral in Spain to be so classified in its own right and not as part of an "ensemble".

Then we travel across to the region of the ancient kingdom known as Aragon, and its former royal capital Zaragoza. Some elements of the cathedral organ date back to the 15th century.

Close to Zaragoza is the small town of Daroca, where we find one of the most superb historic organs in Spain, restored by French organ-builder Quoirin. The organ case itself is an absolute camera-clicking masterpiece!

Afer Zaragoza, we drive into deep countryside beyond Cuenca, to visit the workshops of the organ-builder brothers Desmottes, who have restored many of the historic organs in the Aragon region, as well as those in Cuenca cathedral.

One of the highpoints of the tour in Spain is to the World Heritage city of Cuenca, one of the most remarkable places in Spain. A magnificently preserved medieval walled city, famous for its "hanging houses" suspended from the sheer cliff faces overlooking the river. An exceptional example of a medieval fortress town still containing many superb examples of religious and secular architecture from the 12th to the 18th centuries.

In the cathedral itself, we visit the two baroque Julian de la Ordan organs completely restored by the Desmottes brothers.

9 - 10 Oct : On leaving Cuenca with destination Madrid, we will spend as much of the day as possible in Toledo. Here it is not just the cathedral that is part of Spain's World Heritage patrimony, but the whole of the historic part of the city. There are two thousand years of history to be explored here, while inside the cathedral is to be found one of the most sensational retables in Spain (and the country has plenty of them!). Most famous of Toledo's citizens was undoubtedly El Greco, but you will not be disappointed by the Goyas that you come across in Toledo either!  You can't see everything in a few hours, but we'll do our best to help you understand why we love it so much!

The Finale - in Madrid! If this is your first visit, you will obviously have a fairly clear idea of what your orders of priority are! Sight seeing the great spots, visiting the Prado... El Greco, Zubaran, Velasquez, Goya...) and/or the Thyssen-Bornemisza (Holbein's Henry VIII), (not forgetting the Reina Sofia if you want to see the original of Picasso's Guernica. As far as organs are concerning, we finish with the great Grenzing which offers at once a recapitulation of the sounds European organ builders have been researching for some three centuries, and a token of the art of organ building at its most impressive at the end of the 20th century.

11 Oct : Departure (own arrangements)

 IF YOU WISH TO PROLONG YOUR STAY IN MADRID :

As long as you warn us sufficiently in advance we should be able without problem to prolong your stay in the hotel at the group rates even after the tour has officially ended.

A REMINDER :

Attached to this page (scroll back to the top) are three documents :

DAY-TO-DAY PROGRAMME  -  COST DETAILS  -  REGISTRATION

AND IF YOU HAVE ANY QUERIES :

Just email Annie & David Bancroft : cpederf@cpederf.com