Saint-Georges

de La Villette

112-114, avenue Simon-Bolivar, 75019 Paris

Choir organ

Construction of the church began in 1873, at a time when the Third Republic had not yet been officially proclaimed. The first architect and designer of the plans was Louis‑Pierre Chauvet; the work was completed under the direction of Alfred Coulomb. The sanctuary is dedicated to Saint George, in memory of the Archbishop of Paris, Mgr Georges Darboy (1813–1871), who was executed by the Communards. The church is in a neo‑Romanesque style, with few windows but fine figurative stained‑glass windows. It is rather dark inside, offering an interesting contrast between the lighter tones of the lower part of the walls and the darker vault above.

E6 The choir organ originally came from the church of Saint‑Pierre de Chaillot, where it had been installed by Mutin in 1907. It was rebuilt in 1971 by the firm Beuchet (with voicing by J. Picaud). Between 1993 and 1995, it was moved to Saint‑Georges by the organ builder Bernard Dargassies, who reused part of the Abbey pipework from the gallery grand organ. The gallery grand organ was built by the Abbey firm in 1900. It remained authentic until 1967, after which it underwent a series of transformations that were never fully completed. In 1967, Jean Hermann began electrifying the action; the following year, Gutschenritter altered the pipework, and in 1974 Gonzalez modified the wind chests and the case. Serious damage occurred after the church was restored in 1983, so the instrument itself was dismantled and only the case was left in place. Part of the original pipework was then incorporated into the choir organ.

1907 - Mutin (1) 1971 - Beuchet (3a) 1994 - Dargassies (3a) 2014 - Dargassies (6)

II/27 (25) - mechanical traction -

stoplist

Titular organist ? Organistes célèbres ayants illustré l’orgue par le passé : Léo Delibes, Léon Roques Parish website Photos Organ: Jeroen de Haan Church: Vincent Hildebrandt

The organs of Paris