Jean-Esprit Isnard (1707–1781) was a French

pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ''ranks ...

builder.

Biography

Early life

Jean-Esprit Isnard was born in 1707.Orgues et Vitraux
/ref> He was baptised in the Église Saint-Laurent in

Bédarrides Bédarrides (; Provençal: ''Bedarrida'') is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. Name The settlement is attested as ''villa Betorrida'' in 814, ''Biturrita'' in 898, ''Bisturri ...

. He learned how to build pipe organs in

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

. His brother,

Joseph Isnard Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

, was also a renowned pipe organ builder, as was his nephew

Jean-Baptiste Isnard Jean-Baptiste is a male French name, originating with Saint John the Baptist, and sometimes shortened to Baptiste. The name may refer to any of the following: Persons * Charles XIV John of Sweden, born Jean-Baptiste Jules Bernadotte, was King o ...

Career

He became a renowned builder of pipe organs. Many of his pipe organs can be found in Roman Catholic churches in

Provence Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...

. In 1742, as a

lay brother Lay brother is a largely extinct term referring to religious brothers, particularly in the Catholic Church, who focused upon manual service and secular matters, and were distinguished from choir monks or friars in that they did not pray in choir, ...

, he restored the pipe organ inside the Église Sainte-Marthe in

Tarascon Tarascon (; ), sometimes referred to as Tarascon-sur-Rhône, is a commune situated at the extreme west of the Bouches-du-Rhône department of France in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Inhabitants are referred to as Tarasconnais or Tarasc ...

. The following year, in 1743, he built the pipe organ inside the

Église de la Madeleine , other name = , native_name = , native_name_lang = French , image = Madeleine Paris.jpg , landscape = , imagesize = , caption = , imagelink ...

in Aix-en-Provence. He went on to build the pipe organs inside the Cathédrale Saint-Sauveur, also in Aix. In

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

, he built the organ inside the Église Saint-Cannat in 1747. In, together with his brother Joseph Isnard, he built the pipe organ inside the Basilique Sainte-Marie-Madeleine in

Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume (; oc, Sant Maissemin de la Santa Bauma, links=https://www.google.fr/maps/@43.4574354,5.8556205,3a,51.6y,135.48h,69.75t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sYHiJO3wua5rplRFJ-jGpTQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656) is a commune in the southeastern ...

from 1772 to 1774.Michael I. Wilson, ''Organ Cases of Western Europe'', C. Hurst & Co. Publishers, 1979, p. 5

/ref> Additionally, he taught Jean-Pierre Cavaillé, the father of Dominique Cavaillé-Coll and grandfather of

Aristide Cavaillé-Coll Aristide Cavaillé-Coll (; 4 February 1811 – 13 October 1899) was a French organ builder. He has the reputation of being the most distinguished organ builder of the 19th century. He pioneered innovations in the art and science of organ buildi ...

(1811-1899), how to build pipe organs.

Death

He died in 1781 in

, where he is buried.

Gallery

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Isnard, Jean-Esprit 1707 births 1781 deaths People from Vaucluse People from Tarascon French pipe organ builders