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This improvisation organ competition is dedicated to the famous organ builder Joseph MERKLIN (1819-1905) who has built great organs like Clermont-Ferrand cathedral, Saint-Nizier church in Lyon, Basel, Roma. Batignolles protestant church has a smaller one, which is the last built by J. MERKLIN himself in 1898.
- This symphonic instrument has been so well restaured by Mulheisen (Strasbourg) in 1990's, preserving all the original pipes and above all the pneumatical keyboards transmission, which is the real Joseph MERKLIN's invention.
- The first competition took place on 8th April 2009, organized by the Organ's Friends Association. Three young French and one young German were contestants.
- The originality of the competition was the subjects given to the contestants to improvise on, particularly the Carl DREYER's mute short movie
Ils attrapèrent le bac (they caught the ferry) which they have to make the music for, at the same time the movie was shown. In this way the MERKLIN competition is a pioneer on the international scene.
- If we know that organ's future is between young talents' hands as executants, composers, or improvisors, it is also between researchers' and explorers' ones : to give existense to the organ in other place than religious one, whith other forms than great known musical forms, or mixed whith other arts, other musical production ways, but absolutely preserving the quality of the created music in its structure and expression.
This kind of researcher's and explorer's music will be awarded during this second Joseph MERKLIN competition.
I wish all the best and good luck to all the contestants !
Noël HAZEBROUCQ
Artistic director of the competition.