Les Grandes Orgues Cavaillé-Coll

The history of the César Franck console appears straightforward at first glance. Charles Toumemire (1870-1939) received the old console from the pastor of Saint-Clotilde - Toumemire bestawed it to Flor Peeters, 'because of all his friends, he was the most loyal' - Peeters legated it to the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp - the Conservatory donated it to the Vleeshuismuseum, where it still is. At the request of Orgelkunst for the occasion of the Cavaillé-Coll year 2011, Annelies Focquaert began to more thoroughly delve into this mostly orally-recounted story, upon which previously unknown sources surfaced. The matter of the right of ownership in 1933 is uncertain, but it is likely due to the efforts of the pastor and Toumemire that the console still exists today Toumemires testament contains no information whatsoever about the console, which, together with some letters, confirms the working hypothesis that it was Alice Tournemire who, immediately before WWII gave the console to Flor Peeters. Although a letter by Peeters to Alice Toumemire indicates that Tournemire wanted the consoleto be transported to the city of Liège after Alices and Peeters'deaths, Alice did not comply with this wish and offered the console to Peeters 'because she did not want to await her death'. The console remained in Peeters' house in Mechelen from 1946 or 1947 onwards. After his death in 1986, the console was placed in the directors office of the Royal Flemish Music Conservatory in Antwerp. In 1991 it was given on laon to the Museum Vleeshuis. After an exhaustive search through files and texts supposed to be lost, most of the pieces concerning the history of this consolehave finally fallen into place.
Abstract of a paper by Annelies Focquaert The history of the Cesar Franck console (in Dutch) published in Orgelkunst 34, 2, 82-96 (2011)

Original console of Cavaillé-Coll