Grand Orgue

The term "grand orgue" can refer to two distinct things. In French, it can mean "full organ," indicating the complete set of stops on an organ, used as an adverb or adjective.1

However, "grand orgue" also specifically refers to the main manual division of a French pipe organ, analogous to the Great Organ in English or Hauptwerk in German. This division typically houses larger-scaled principal choruses and often includes a Tierce stop and cornet stops, which were frequently used in conjunction with reed stops for a powerful sound. French organs were known for their distinctive reed stops and were built with specific tonal characteristics to suit the music of the 17th and 18th centuries.2