Listed as a historic monument in 1977. The organ of the Abbey Church of Moissac is a splendid example of the second period of the organ builder Cavaillé-Coll. For about fifteen years, the builder from Paris broke away completely from his previous period. Until then, his organs had included numerous reminders of the classical period such as mutation stops, but from then on they were omitted. Thenceforth, he favoured eight-foot foundation stops and the plein jeu became harmonic and was used to reinforce the reeds in the trebles. Compositions by César Franck, Alexandre Guilmant and Charles-Marie Widor are particularly well adapted to instruments from this period. The Lavaur organ and also César Franck's organ at Sainte-Clothilde in Paris belong to this period, dating approximately from 1860 to 1874. It has often been said that this organ was the result of a gift from Abbot Mazarin, who was then commendataire of the Abbey monastery. In reality, Mazarin had debts owing to the Abbey and in 1663 the Chapter's legal representative obtained from him the sum of 3,000 livres. In 1665, the Chapter entrusted construction of the case to Jean Dussault, a sculptor from Montauban, using plans by Jean Haou, the organ builder responsible for the instrumental side. The price was fixed at 600 livres. Jean Haou also built the instrument in Montauban Cathedral in 1672, in a case strongly resembling the one in Moissac. Its installation high on the side wall in the nave seemed to help amplify the sound through the building. From 1699, Jean de Joyeuse was entrusted to maintain the organ by the canons of Moissac. From 1706 to 1710, François Dufayet organ builder from the city of Lion undertook various tasks and repairs at a cost of 290 livres. All that now remains of the organ built in the middle of the 17th Century is the great body of the magnificent case that can still be admired today. The positif-de-dos, empty since the 19th Century, was therefore built during the 18th Century. The instrument then underwent no changes for a century. In 1842, the organ was in a very poor state and the idea of moving it over the Abbey entrance was discussed. In 1863, Aristide Cavaillé-Coll obtained the contract for carrying out the work and the organ was completely reconstructed. The only element retained by Cavaillé-Coll was the magnificent 17th Century case, all else being new. The new instrument had 24 stops over two, 54-note manuals and a 27-note pedalboard. It is a perfectly balanced instrument with several eight-foot foundation stops and an impressive number of reed stops for an organ of this size. The cost rose to 25,000 francs: 7,000 francs more than the sum originally contracted. The completed organ was inaugurated on Wednesday 29th of June 1864 by Leybach, an organist and composer from Toulouse. Around the 1920s, work was undertaken in the Abbey without adequate protection measures for the organ being taken. This is why, in September 1921, a petition was sent to the Ministry of Instruction Publique et des Beaux-Arts listing important work to be done on the case and the instrumental elements. The cost of the work was estimated to be 6,990 francs. Maurice Puget then renovated the instrument, modifying the bellows and powering them with electricity. In about 1950, Léopold Trosseille replaced the 16-foot bassoon of the grand-orgue with a Nazard and slightly modified the plein jeu (removing certain ranks), in order to make the style more neo-classical. Most fortunately, these were the only modifications and Cavaillé-Coll's organ has come down to us almost intact. In the 1970s, the hundred-year-old organ was declining rapidly and in 1975 Paul Manuel submitted an estimate for repairs but the council did not make the money available until 1985. The organ was listed as a historic monument in 1977, both for its instrumental elements and for its case. Restoration was begun in 1985 by the Toulouse office of the Regional Cultural Affairs Directorate, managed by Jean-Pierre Decavèle, technical consultant. The contract for the instrumental parts was awarded to the Manufacture Languedocienne de Grandes Orgues (from Lodève) at a cost of 800,000 francs. The company proceeded with a complete renovation of the ageing instrument between 1986 and 1988 without any modification to Cavaillé-Coll's work. The 16-foot bassoon was reinstated (a copy of existing Cavaillé-Coll bassoons), the plein jeu was restored to its original position and multiple wind sources again became a feature. The organ was inaugurated on the 17th of September 1989 by Philippe Bachet. The Manufacture Languedocienne is currently responsible for maintaining the organ.