Saint Sulpice 1 - 2

Place Saint Sulpice, 75006 Paris Orgue de tribune

1781 - Clicquot

1845/54 - Daublaine-Callinet-Ducroquet

1862 - Cavaillé-Coll

1903 - Mutin

1034 - Société Cavaillé-Coll

1991 - Renaud

2000 - Swiderski

V/102 - mechanical traction - stoplist

Saint-Sulpice is one of the largest churches in Paris, only slightly smaller than Notre-Dame. It was built on the place of a small shrine dedicated to Saint-Sulpice- des-Champs, which dates back to the 12th century. It was enlarged in the 14th and 16th centuries. The construction of a new church begun in 1646 and was not completed until 1745. The classic Italian-style façade (1732) was designed by Giovanni Niccolo Servandoni. The south tower was never completed (due the the revolution). The interior decoration of the building is typical of neo-classical churches with its abundant statuary. The many works of art were created by the most talented artists of the time (Jean-Baptiste Louis-Simon Boizot, Bouchardon, Slodtz brothers). The remains of Charles Marie Widor lie in the crypt. Chapelle de l’ Assomption Built by the architect Jean-Baptiste Laurent (1709- 1776), originally from Troyes and attached to the Prince of Condé, this chapel, first named "of the Childhood of Jesus" and then "of The Weddings", welcomed, around 1760 and until 1792, the German- speaking Catholic community. It thus became the "chapel of the Germans" and retained this name until the early years of the 20th century. From the outside, this chapel, with an amazing bulb roof, inevitably catches the attention of passers-by: they cannot miss the bronze ridge with the effigy of a pelican nourishing its young with its blood, after seeing pierced its own flesh. The interior has very interesting woodwork. The altar faces a beautiful pulpit served by two staircases.

Photo above: Jeroen de Haan other photos: Victor Weller The organ of Saint-Sulpice began to take shape in 1776. Two designs for the organ case are presented: the first, by the architect Laurent, where there were no apparent pipes - a new fashion - and the second, a drawing by Jean- François Chalgrin. The churchwardens opted for the second project because, in their opinion, it was more in harmony with the vast stone gallery built on Servandoni's plans. On January 1, 1778, a contract was signed with master carpenter Jadot (20,000 pounds) and sculptor Duret (16,000 pounds) for the making of the organ case. As for the organ, the proposition was prepared by François-Henri Clicquot and revised by Dom François Bédos while the contract was signed on January 1, 1780, for the sum of 40,000 pounds. The organ was completed by Clicquot on April 30, 1781. The referees appointed were the three organists of Notre- Dame, Armand-Louis Couperin, Claude Balbastre and Nicolas Séjan, assisted by Jean-Jacques Charpentier. Dom Bédos, who had been so passionate about the construction of the monumental instrument, had been dead for two years. The official inauguration took place on 15 May 1781 and, in the face of public interest, a second hearing was held the following day. The Clicquot organ had 64 stops, 5 keyboards, a 36-note pedal and 4,328 pipes powered by fourteen bellows. During the Revolution, Clicquot's masterpiece was fortunately preserved. In 1834, Louis Callinet began restoration work that was completed by Ducroquet in 1854. Neither the parish nor the organist were satisfied with the instrument. In 1855, they hired Aristide Cavaillé-Coll to harmonize and maintain the instrument. Almost immediately, Cavaillé- Coll prepared a project for a complete reconstruction of the instrument. After five years of work, Cavaillé-Coll delivered an instrument of 100 stops, spread over no less than 7 floors! The inauguration of this monumental organ took place on 29 April 1863 with the participation of César Franck, Camille Saint-Saen, Alexandre Guilmant, Auguste Bazille and the titular organist, Georges Schmitt. In 1883, the first cleaning was carried out by Cavaillé-Coll himself and some minor modifications were made mainly to ensure a better wind supply to the Swell. In 1903, Charles Mutin undertook a major restoration of the instrument and made modifications at Widor's request. Aware of his musical and heritage interest, the successive incumbents did not make any changes. From 1988 to 1991, Jean Renaud carried out a large dusting of the instrument, with the utmost respect for its authenticity. This organ is an authentic Cavaillé-Coll and one of the few larger organs of this builder which is NOT electrified! It is a magnificant instrument, in a church with very good acoustiscs. Site of the organ

Organiste titulaire

Daniel Roth (titulaire du grand-orgue) Sophie-Véronique Cauchefer-Choplin (titulaire- adjointe du grand-orgue) Ronan Chouinard (titulaire de l’orgue de choeur) Louis Jullien (titulaire-adjoint de l’orgue de choeur) Famous organists in the past: Guillaume-Gabriel Nivers (1651 - 1702) J.B. Totin (1702 - ca. 1714) Louis-Nicolas Clérambault (1715-1749) César François Clérambault (1749 - 1760) Evrard Dominique Clérambault (1761 - 1773) Claude Etienne Luce (1773 - 1783) Nicolas Séjan (1783 - 1819) Louis Nicolas Séjan (1819 - 1849) Georges Schmitt (1850 - 1863) Louis-James-Alfred Lefebure-Wely (1863 - 1869) Charles-Marie Widor (1870 - 1934) Marcel Dupré (1934 - 1971) Jean-Jacques Grunenwald (1973 - 1982)

Concerts

Each Sunday 10 AM organ concert after the mass of 9 AM 10.45 AM Prelude of the mass of 11 AM Regularly concerts on Sundays at 4 PM

Masses with great organ

Sunday 11.00 AM, 6.45 PM Videos Sophie-Véronique Cauchefer-Choplin Jean-Jacques Grunenwald Marcel Dupré