Saint-Léon

1 Place du Cardinal Amette, 75015 Paris

Gallery organ Choir organ >

E6 This organ is the former choir organ of Merklin of the Sainte Clotilde Basilica. Built by Merklin in 1888 as the choir organ for Sainte-Clotilde Basilica in Paris, with electro-pneumatic action, 14 stops across 2 expressive manuals and pedalboard. 1935 Dismantled in 1935, then installed and enlarged by Cavaillé- Coll for the Paris salon of the Marquis de Froissart, a major shareholder and financier of the firm. Major changes included: • adding a large symphonic Récit; • converting the old Récit into an expressive Positif; • replacing the Merklin console with a grand three-manual one. For this expansion, the Azans organ was used, bought by the Marquis in 1923 via Mutin's catalog (a two-manual organ incorporating parts of a 17th-century case) for Azans church. 1948 Donated to Saint-Léon parish in Paris 15th. Reinstalled by Jules Isambart, with: • Grand-Orgue losing its enclosure; • GO: new Salicional replacing the Clarinette; • GO Clarinette moved to Positif, replacing Voix Humaine (not reinstalled). 1998/2012 Restoration by Dargassies, including: • new transmission; • electro-pneumatic key action machines; • new stop motor replacements; • increased Récit wind pressure; • partial revoicing (foundation stops). The stoplist was preserved. Pipework is mixed: • Grand Orgue and expressive Positif: Merklin material; • GO Salicional 8': Cavaillé-Coll Pleyel (1935); • Récit expressif: Cavaillé-Coll Pleyel pipes (1935).

Construction of the church took several years (the cornerstone was blessed on October 15, 1924) and it was inaugurated on March 9, 1947, by Cardinal Emmanuel Suhard. Designed by Émile Brunet, it's built of concrete clad in brick. The Art Deco-inspired decoration (stained glass, mosaics, sculptures, ironwork) is typical of the 1930s and 1940s. The mosaics are by Auguste Labouret. The main altar and pulpit have been lost. The apse stained glass (1930, on the mysteries of the Rosary) and side aisle windows (sacraments and instruments of the Passion) are by Louis Barillet. The reliefs come from Henri Bouchard and Auguste Cornu, and the ironwork from Raymond Subes. In 2011, it was listed as "20th Century Heritage."