The First Casavant Organ

The first organ was an 18-stop instrument (1,063 pipes) built by Joseph Casavant, the founder of the Casavant organ building firm, and inaugurated on March 7, 1850 by Damis Paul, organist at the cathedral in Montreal. The instrument had been partially installed in 1848 for Bishop Guigues' consecration. The organ case was later sculpted by Flavien Rochon in 1871 and the organ was restored by organbuilder Louis Mitchell a few years later.

The Second Casavant Organ

Casavant’s sons completely rebuilt the organ in 1892 as a 52-stop instrument over 3 manuals and pedal. The instrument used an electro-pneumatic action which represented a new summit for the Casavant firm. The main section of the organ is located in the rear gallery while a second organ, a 17-stop choir organ over 3 manuals and pedal, is located in two arches over the sanctuary and is known as the Sanctuary Organ. Both organs are played from the console in the rear gallery.

This organ is one of the three outstanding instruments in the history of the Casavant firm, along with those in St. Hyacinthe Cathedral (1885) and Notre Dame Basilica in Montréal (1890).

From the very beginning, the organ case was divided into two sections in order to show the magnificent stained-glass window. Originally the console was attached to the left organ case.

New stops were added in 1917. A more modern console was installed in 1940 when a major rebuild was undertaken and, in 1975, a revision of the electric action was carried out.

Guilbault-Thérien

In 1999, Guilbault-Thérien carried out a major renovation, replacing the 1940 console, and adding 7 extra stops in order to achieve a better balance among the divisions while respecting the symphonic aesthetics of the instrument. The Sanctuary Organ was left untouched.

The current instrument (including the Main and Sanctuary organs) has 4,700 pipes (96 ranks in 8 divisions over three manuals and pedal) with 72 stops (55 for the Main Organ and 17 for the Sanctuary Organ). It has a 256 level memory combination system.

Organists

Amédée Tremblay (1876-1949) was organist of the Cathedral for 26 years, from 1894 to 1920. Like Alexis Contant, he was one of the few major musicians of his time whose training was exclusively Canadian. According to the Canadian Encyclopedia, he “was a prominent figure in the life of the capital as an organist, composer and teacher.” After his years in Ottawa, he held positions as organist in Salt Lake City and Los Angeles.

His pupil, Wilfrid Charette, was Cathedral organist for half a century, from the 1920s to the mid 1970s.

Since 2006, the Cathedral organist has been Jennifer Loveless.

The Gallery Organ

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