Orgue Dom Bedos

The organ at the Abbey Church of Ste-Croix, Bordeaux and its distinguising features.

François Bedos de Celles, Benedictine monk, theoretician and organ builder-built during the 18th century a great 16ft. organ in the Abbey Church of Ste-Croix, Bordeaux. This outstanding instrument, a listed historical organ has come to us after the vicissitudes of time in a very bad condition, but relatively intact.

The perfect restauration of this unique masterpiece left to us by the genial monk, was carried out in the organbuilding workshop of Pascal Quoirin. The case as well as the instrument itself could eventually display their former splendour. The completion of this rehabilitation was celebrated in May 1997.

This organ stands out as the original sample of the 18th-century French classical organ. The height of perfection which it attains makes it remarkable, to wit :

grand fond d'orgue based on a 32 ft at the great manual
grand plein-jeu composed of 23 ranks
grand jeu de tierce
grand jeu with 14 reed-stops including a manual bombarde

The 45 stops are distributed on 5 manuals (C1 to D5) ; two manuals are used to play "récits". The pedal-board, composed of 32 to 36 pedal-keys, is built "à la française" in 18th century style including a "ravalement". The temperament (partition) is unequal and the diapason (pitch) is set at 390.

Rules

Clause I : The competition is open to candidates of all nationalities and ages. The competition takes place every four years. The anonymity of the candidates will be respected.

Clause II : The candidates must return the entry forms fully completed and signed, join a reliable proof of identity, such as a birth certificate or a ID, enclose two recent passport photographs, a curriculum vitae written out in French or in English plus the registration fee of 80 Euros. The last date for registration is no later than 15 January 2002. Work has to reach the competition secretariat before 15 May 2002.

Clause III : The candidates are required to write a solo piece of work for organ lasting not more than 20 minutes. This piece must take into account all the possibilities of the instrument of Sainte-Croix at Bordeaux. The piece must be original, unpublished and never played before. It must have a title or a device. The work must not be signed, thereby respecting the anonymity of the candidates. Two copies must be sent to the organisers of the competition.

Clause IV : Forms and conditions of the competition.
It will take place in two parts : on one hand, the reading and selection of the scores by the jury ; on the other hand, the performance of the chosen pieces of works, during a public concert which will occur on 26th September 2002 at 8 p.m. The works will be performed by professional organists chosen by the commitee, whose names will be made public on the day of the concert, or by the composer himself or herself. Should this happen, the composer must let the organisers of the competition know about it at the moment of inscription.
The registration fee is set at 80 euros. The candidate will receive on payment a complete description of the organ built by Dom Bedos and a list of accomodation places in Bordeaux.

Clause V : The jury is composed of French and foreigns members chosen by the commitee. The members' names will be made public on the day of the concert. The jury will meet in camera to decide which works will be performed on the final round. The decision of the jury is without appeal and does not have to be justified. The jury is not obliged to award the prizes.

Clause VI : The official announcement of the results will take place in the Abbey Church of Ste-Croix at Bordeaux at the end of the concert. This will be followed by the distribution of the prizes. The concert may be recorded or televised without the candidates having any claim to other royalties that those legal ones.

Clause VII : "Prizes"

First Prize presented by the Ministery of Culture : 4.574 euros (30 000FF)
Second Prize presented by the city of Bordeaux : 2.287 euros (15 000FF)
Public Prize : 762 euros (5 000FF)

The first Prize cannot be shared under any circumstance. The other prizes may be shared in the case of more one successful candidate being chosen. The work which has received the first prize will be published by Alphonse Leduc publisher Paris.

Clause VIII : The candidates are required to accept all the clauses of the rules. The failure to respect any clause will lead to the elimination.
The registration fee shall not be reimbursed. Only the French version of the rules can be taken into consideration in case of litigation.