Saint Jacques

du Haut Pas

252, rue Saint-Jacques, 75005 Paris

Orgue de tribune OdC >

Organiste titulaire Patrice Holiner Concerts - Masses with organ Saturday 6:15 PM, Sunday 10:00 AM Video - Photo: Jeroen de Haan

1586 - Jean Langhedul (1) 160x - Matthijs Langhuedul (2) 1640 - Nicolas Pescheur (2) 1655 - Guy Jolly/Pierre Cauchois (2) 1673 - Alexandre et Charles Thierry (2) 1687 - François Ducastel/Bressart (2) 1767/84 - Nicolas Somer/François-Henri Clicquot (3) 1793 - Claude-François Clicquot (5) 1803 - Pierre Dallery (6) 1887 - Joseph Merklin (3a) 1908 - Joseph Gutschenritter (5) 1958 - Probst père et fils (6) 1971 - Alfred Kern (3) 1987 - Alfred Kern et fils (6)

IV/47 - traction mécanique

composition

D2 In 1792, the municipality of Paris offered the parish the organ case of the nearby collegiate church of Saint-Benoît-le- Bétournée (now disappeared). Claude-François Clicquot is in charge of the transfer and reconstruction of a new instrument (33/IV) in the historic buffet. Parts of the case date back to 1586, giving Saint-Jacques du Haut Pas the privilege of partially owning the oldest organ case in Paris. In 1969-1971 Alfred Kern built, inside the historic case, a large instrument (47/IV) of classical design, entirely mechanical. The back positive is restored and some pipes of the old organ are preserved. 1586 The organ had been commissioned from the Flemish builder Jean Langhedul, while the case was entrusted to the carpenter Claude Delaistre. It was a small 4' organ with a single keyboard of 45 keys and pull-out pedalboard. The instrument was overhauled and enlarged in the early seventeenth century by Mathieu Langhedul, son of the preceding, then Nicolas Pescheur. 1640 The organ was equipped with a 2nd keyboard for a 3-foot back Positive. 1655 Enlargement by Guy Jolly with redesign of the large case. The work left unfinished by the latter was completed by Pierre Cauchois: resumption of the GrandOrgue with addition of Bourdon 16', installation of a 3rd keyboard of Echo, Pedal extended to 29 notes. 1673 New campaign of work entrusted to the Thierry brothers (Cymbal II rows on new Positive , wind tunnel replaced and moved). 1687 Dismantling of the organ on the occasion of the replacement of the tribune, by Ducastel and Bessart. The organ was reduced to 4 keyboards for 31 stops, reaching the classical ideal within the limits of its dimensions. 1767-1784 Major renovation, entrusted to Nicolas Somer, interrupted by his death during the work. The work were taken up by François-Henri Clicquot in two successive campaigns: repair of the large wind chest, addition of a 5th Bombarde keyboard, passage in 8' of the Positive, enlarged keyboards ... it is a virtually new organ which, in 1784, came out of the hands of Clicquot, and was soon made available by the decommissioning of Saint-Benoît. 1793 After the organ of Saint-Benoît was awarded to the parish of Saint-Jacques, an adequate tribune was built which made it possible to install the case without having to modify it significantly (slight enlargement). Claude-François Clicquot took the opportunity to complete the Pedal. 1803 Overhaul by Dallery 1887-1889 A major reconstruction of the instrument was entrusted to Merklin who emptied Ie Positif, and wanted to equip the organ with the very recent electro-pneumatic system "Schmoële & Mols", with a complex program of pairing the great organ with the choir organ: the tribune organ was to have 29 stops, that of the choir 15 stops, the two instruments being playable simultaneously or alternately from a single console of 4 keyboards located in the choir. Some of the sound material was reused, but according to the practices of the time, the new pressure was increased. 1906-1908 The improvement of this random system was entrusted to Gutschenritter, who combined the use of electricity and tubular system (thus a new electropneumatic transmission system, considered revolutionary at the time), lowered the pressure, reharmonized the instrument by slightly reworking the composition. The large tribune organ and the small choir organ are paired: a single console of four keyboards, placed in the choir behind the altar, allows both instruments to be played alternately or simultaneously. This was an attractive solution in theory, but which, not taking into account the significant acoustic delay, made it inconvenient and dangerous to use the tribune organ from the choir. To remedy this, around 1920, the eminent organist Achille Philip had a second console installed on the tribune. Although perfectly designed at the time, the electric transmission gradually deteriorated and the instrument became almost unplayable.

cont'd 1958 An overhaul carried out by Probst father and son brought only a precarious improvement to the wear of the electro-tubular traction. Soon after, the connection with the choir organ disappeared with the removal of the common console, but the instrument became almost unplayable. 1969-1971 In 1964, it was decided to build a new instrument in the tradition of "Alsatian syntheses", recently opened in Paris at the organ of Saint-Séverin, an organ that is able to meet as far as their compatibility the needs of German music and the needs of the French classical organ, referring to a tradition inaugurated once by André Silbermann. 1987 Alfred Kern et fils carried out an overhaul and, at the request of the titulaire Nicolas Gorenstein, exchanged the 4' Clairon of the Récit (by Merklin) for a new Douçaine 16' in order to obtain at this keyboard a "16'-8'-4' battery". Old stops Stops of the XVIIIe century: • GO: Cornet V rangs G-O • Pedal: Trompette and Clairon Stops of Merklin : • Positif: wooden pipes of the Bourdon 8. • GO: Montre 8, bass in wood of the Bourdon 16 and Bourdon 8, Double Nasard, Voix humaine. • Récit: Trompette. • Echo: Hautbois • Pedal: Flûtes 16, 8, 4.