Chapelet Spanish Collection, 18th c. [Hauptwerk]

The two Spanish instruments presented in this sample set are part of the collection of Francis Chapelet at Montpon-Ménestérol. Both organs are placed in the Auditorium, which Chapelet built in the garden of his house.

The organ with the green paint comes from the former monastery of Mondoñedo in Galicia. It was built by an anonymous organ builder at the end of 17th century. It has been restored by Pierre Chéron in 1977. All the stops of the single manual are divided between middle c/c#. The pedal is permanently coupled to the lowest octave of the manual. The instrument has a short octave, which was made chromatic in the sample set. The Hauptwerk software is able to emulate the short octave, if desired.

The instrument with the brown facade was saved by Francis Chapelet from a ruinous church in Castilia. Chapelet bought the organ, and one week after it was moved out, the church's vault collapsed. It was an empty organ case—only the front pipes were preserved and one of the windchests. The front carving bears the date 1736. Gerhard Grenzing restored the instrument in 1978 and enlarged it to allow for a wider repertoire. The organ has two manuals with a chromatic compass, and a full pedal of 30 keys.