Matthijs Langhedul
| Matthijs Langhedul | |
|---|---|
| Born | Flanders |
| Died | c. 1636 |
| Nationality | Flemish |
| Occupation | Organ builder |
| Known for | Organ in Saint Gervais, Paris |
Matthijs Langhedul (d. around 1636) was a Flemish organ-builder who did important work in Paris. He and Crespin Carlier had great influence on the development of the classical seventeenth century French organ.
The family of Matthijs Langhedul was from Brabant, an organ-building dynasty founded by Victor Langhedul, who died around 1513. Victor's son Michiel Langhedul I built organs in England around 1530 and later in Flanders, living until at least 1570. Michiel's son Jan (or Jehan) moved to France, first to Lille and then to Paris in 1585 to escape from the ongoing fighting between the Dutch and Spanish. Jan Langhedul was given the title facteur d'orgues de Roy by King Henry IV of France for the work he did in restoring the organ of Sainte-Chapelle.
Matthijs Langhedul was Jan Langhedul's son. They moved to Paris around 1585 and worked on several organs. Jan Langhedul returned to Flanders while in 1592 Matthijs Langhedul obtained a position with the Spanish court. There he was court organist at El Escorial, and maintained four organs that had been built by his compatriot Jean Brebos. He held this position until 1599, when he returned to Paris. Before he left Madrid, the Archduke Albert made him a present of a large clavichord to which he had made various improvements.
Matthijs Langhedul was in demand in Paris to maintain the organs that he and his father had built or repaired. He restored the organs at Saint-Jean-en-Grève and Saint Benoit, where he replaced his father's spring-chest with a slider-chest to make repair easier. With an established reputation, he was asked to build or repair organs for the churches of Saints-Innocents and St Jacques-la-Boucherie. His most notable organ is the one built between 1599 and 1601 for Saint Gervais Church. Many of the original stops are still working. Some of the pipes are signed "Langhedul 1600". He made the organ for the Saint-Benoît-le-Bétourné Collegiate. When that institution was secularized in 1792, its organ was transferred and installed in the Église Saint-Jacques-du-Haut-Pas by Claude-François Clicquot. This organ underwent extensive restoration by Alfred Kern & fils, completed in 1971.
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