Guilbault-Thérien Inc

Guilbault-Thérien Inc

Guilbault-Thérien Inc (Providence Organ Inc/Orgue Providence Inc 1946-79). Organ manufacturing company founded in St-Hyacinthe, Que in 1946 by Maurice Guilbault (1903-69) who had worked for the Casavant firm. In 1968 he handed over control of the business to his son André (b St-Hyacinthe 28 Nov 1937), who teamed up with a voicer from Casavant, Guy Thérien (b Iberville, Que, 20 Nov 1947, d St-Hyacinthe 11 May 2001). The company adopted its present name in 1979. At first it built electropneumatic organs but in 1969 it manufactured its first tracker organ. In 1990, it produced its 37th instrument, a 54-stop organ, the sixth in a series of large-scale instruments begun in 1984 for Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, and White Plains, NY. During these years Guilbault-Thérien reconstructed several electropneumatic organs mostly in Quebec, including those of the cathedrals of Rimouski, Valleyfield, Sherbrooke, Quebec City, and Chicoutimi. The company also completely restored the Déry organs in St-Isidore and St-Roch-des-Aulnaies. As for new instruments, the tonal structure of Guilbault-Thérien organs is mainly drawn from European, especially French, sources, but seeks a certain versatility of timbre for small or medium-sized instruments. The firm's reproductions reestablish, if needed, the structure of classical divisions while preserving, for the swell organ, the structure and colouring of the symphonic organ.