Saint-Etienne-

du-Mont

Place Sainte-Geneviève, 75005 Paris

Gallery organ Choir organ >

D5 Since around 1550 there was a small organ in this church placed in a chapel in the south transept. The present organcase of Saint Etienne du Mont dates from 1633 and was built by Jean Buron. It is a real masterpiece and perhaps the most beautiful organ case in Paris and the oldest case which is preserved completely. It originally housed an instrument of 34 stops and 4 keyboards of 48 notes and pedal of 32 notes (!) built by Pierre Pescheur with a Plein Jeu X on the Great and VI on the Positif. Some of the 16th century piping has been reused. 1656 Jean De Heman and Pierre Desenclos performed an overhaul. 1679 Overhaul by Jacques Carouge with the addition of two pedalstops 1717 Julien Tribuot restored the five wedge-shaped bellows and added Flute stops to the Pedal. 1766-1777 In July 1760, the organ was seriously damaged by a violent fire. In 1766, Somer began its restoration. After his death in 1771, François-Henri Clicquot took over the project, which would not be completed until 1777. • Complete overhaul of the action and the wind system. • The manuals were extended to 50 notes (C¹–D⁵, without C♯¹), and the pedalboard was enlarged in the bass (F⁰–C³). • The stops damaged by the fire were restored: the two Montres (Positif and Grand-Orgue), the Plein Jeu ranks, and the Grand-Orgue reeds. • Several changes were made on the Grand-Orgue: the 4′ Flute and the Cromorne were replaced by a Grosse Tierce and a second Trompette, and an 8′ Flute (treble) was added. • Addition of an 8′ Trompette on the Récit. • Clicquot rebuilt all the reed stops. • Clicquot also added an 8′ Hautbois to the Positif and another to the Récit, replacing the former 8′ Trompette. • Clicquot added a 16′ Bombarde to the Pedal. 1807 Overhaul by Pierre François Dallery 1833 The organ was reinstalled by John Abbey. The bellows and action were overhauled, and an expression box was added for the stops of the Récit division. 1863-1873 Aristide Cavaillé-Coll rebuilt the organ. The number of keyboards was reduced to three, including a completely new Récit of 42 notes. A 16' Bombarde was added to the Great Organ. The organ then included 39 stops. 1911 Théodore Puget carried out an overhaul of the organ, extended the Récit to 50 notes and the pedalboard to 30 notes, and added five combination pedals. In 1922, he installed an electric blower. 1928 Paul-Marie Koenig began a restoration and enlargement of the instrument. However, the work was halted in 1929. 1956 Beuchet-Debierre completely rebuilt and significantly enlarged the organ in a neo-classical style, under the supervision of its organist Maurice Duruflé. The instrument was expanded to 83 stops on four manuals and pedal. Around thirty stops, including those of the Pedal division, are located outside the main case. The key and stop action were electrified, and a new detached console was installed on the north side gallery, replacing the original console that had been placed between the main case and the Rückpositiv. 1975 The zinc bass pipes were removed, the scaling of each stop was revised, and the reeds were fitted with new tongues. Several stops were also replaced: Great: the Quint 2 2/3′ was replaced by a large two‑rank Mixture. Echo: an 8′ Trompette en chamade was added. Pedal: a 32′ Bassoon was installed, with extensions at 16′, 8′, and 4′. 1991 Restoration by Bernard Dargassies with some alterations of harmony, in consultation with Marie Madeleine Duruflé. 2012 Overhaul by Dargassies . 39 stops date from before the revolution, but they are severely modified (only 7 stops are still located on their original place); 6 stops date from Cavaillé-Coll. More info

Photo of the church: Charles Aknin St-Etienne-du-Mont was built between 1492 and 1626 as the church of an abbey dedicated to Saint Geneviève, the patron Saint of Paris. One of its chapels housed her reliquary, although her remains were burned during the Revolution. The site itself is much older, dating back to the 6th century, when Clovis (466–511) founded the abbey. Remains of the medieval buildings, located south of the current church, include the Tour de Clovis (Tower of Clovis, with its lower part dating from the 11th century), the cloister (15th century), and the refectory (1220), all now part of the Lycée Henri‑IV. The church combines Gothic and Renaissance architectural styles. The apse vaults were begun in 1491, the chancel completed in 1537, the gallery in 1545, and the vaults of the nave and transept finished in 1580. The portal was built in 1610, and the bell tower in 1624. Particularly remarkable is the rood screen (jubé), probably by Pierre Beaucorps around 1530, which spans the nave like a bridge with spiral staircases on each side — the only surviving example in Paris. The wooden pulpit (1651) is supported by a figure of Samson holding a jawbone, with a slain lion at his feet. The fourth chapel on the right from the entrance contains 16th‑century stained glass. In the mid‑19th century, the Chapelle des Catéchismes was added.

1636 - Pierre Le Pescheur (1) 1656 - Jean de Héman & Pierre Désenclos (6) 1679 - J. Carouge (6) 1717 - J. Tribuot (6) 1766-77 - Somer/Clicquot (5) 1807 - Dallery (6) 1833 - Abbey (6) 1863-73 - Cavaillé-Coll (3a) 1911/22- Puget (5) 1928 - Koenig (6) 1956 - Beuchet-Debierre (3a) 1975 - Gonzalez (3a) 1989 - Dargassies (5) 2012 - Dargassies (6) IV/89 (83) - traction électrique Stoplist