The wooden furniture in the Supreme Court of Canada’s main courtroom was installed in 1948 as a side quest by a company much more revered for its speciality: pipe organs. Based in Saint-Hyacinthe, Que., Casavant Frères was founded in 1879 by the sons of Joseph Casavant, a former blacksmith whose passion project was building organs.

Joseph, a music lover, began studying the mechanism of the organ at age 27 under the direction of his college priest. His sons, Claver and Samuel, took over the craft after their father’s death, sailing for Europe to learn new techniques before returning to Quebec to construct pipe organs for clients like the Notre-Dame Basilica in Montreal. Over the years,........

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