Saint-Merry

76, rue de la Verrerie, 75004 Paris

Gallery organ Choir organ >

St-Merry was built between 1510 and 1552 in the flamboyant Gothic style, replacing several earlier churches, the first of which was erected in the 7th century. In the 18th century, the interior was renovated to give the choir a more baroque look, in keeping with the liturgical style of the time. The bell tower houses the oldest bell in Paris, cast in 1331. The church follows the same layout as Notre-Dame Cathedral: the choir is almost as long as the nave, which earned it the nickname “Little Notre-Dame.” The stained glass windows in the nave date back to the 16th century.

E6 From the middle of the sixteenth century, the church had an instrument placed on a small gallery, at the end of the south cross. 1647 In 1647, faced with the dilapidation of the instrument, it was decided to build a new instrument on a large platform. The construction of the case was entrusted to Germain Pilon and the instrument was made by the organbuilders Jean and François De Héman, probably using parts of the earlier organ. During the construction of the instrument, initially in 8', it was transformed into a 16'. At that time, the instrument had 35 stops on three manuals and pedalboard. 1664 Etienne Enoch redid the bellows, softened the reeds, and added a 4' flute to the pedalboard. He equipped the instrument with a fourth half-manual for a Cornet on the Récit. 1669 Overhaul by François Ducastel and Pierre Baillon. The keyboards were increased to 50 notes, and an 8' Trumpet was added to the Récit. 1719/1736 Nicolas Collard did an overhaul, added a few stops, including a 4' Clairon to the Pedal and redid the wind tunnel. 1755 The sculptor Michelangelo Slodtz and his brother Sebastian- Antony, who had been entrusted with the embellishment of the church, enlarged the gallery and modified the Positif from behind. 1778-1782 François-Henri Clicquot rebuilt and enlarged the instrument. During the revolutionary period, the instrument escaped looting but suffered from the saltpeter stored in the church. In 1796, the organist Desprez had the case repaired. In 1799, shortly before his death, Claude-François Clicquot restored the organ. 1816 Pierre-François Dallery did an overhaul and restored the Pleins-Jeux that had disappeared. 1854-1857 The organ was rebuilt by Aristide Cavaillé-Coll who reused a large part of the old materials. 1917-1922 Electrification of the wind tunnel in 1917 and partial overhaul in 1922 by John Abbey. 1947 Victor Gonzalez was tasked with carrying out a "hybrid" restoration, adding new stops. He gave the organ a classical face while preserving the contributions of Cavaillé-Coll. Subsequently, the instrument was transformed many times by the Gonzalez House according to the evolution of the "neo-classical organ" movement. 1999-2000 Dargassies restored the Barker machine, the wind tunnel, added a new power supply and carried out restoration work on the piping. This work remained inadequate. In 2023, the organ went almost silent. A substantial part of the piping still dates from before the revolution. The windchests of the GO and the Positif are still from Clicquot. The 16' GO Montre tch and the 8' GO Trumpet date back to the 17th century. The majority of the principals, flutes and reeds are also by Clicquot.

In the plan to maintain the cultural heritage of the City of Paris, this organ is among the four prestigious and emblematic instruments, classified as Historic Monuments, requiring a fundamental restoration. Restoration issues Inside a beautiful 1651 buffet, the work of carpenter- sculptor Germain Pilon, several of the most famous organ builders succeeded the original creators, the De Heman Brothers, as early as the 17th century. From that time on, the organ was profoundly transformed by François-Henri Clicquot (1778-82), then by Aristide Cavaillé-Coll (1854-57) and Victor Gonzalez (1942-47). At each period, the organ is rebuilt under the influence of organists to make it fit to serve new music. Enriched with new stops, the instrument features 64 stops inside a buffet originally designed for 35, making it the densest organ in Paris but the most difficult to maintain. In the 1950s, it became the perfect example of the "neo-classical" organ, a springboard for renewed interest in organ music and for the emergence of a new musical aesthetic carried by composers such as Vierne, Tournemire, Dupré, Fleury, Duruflé, Langlais, Alain, Grunenwald, Litaize, Messiaen, all of whom played the organ. If everyone agrees on the point of de-densifying the instrument, the question has been asked as to which state to return it? The National Commission of Historic Monuments selected the scenario of the return to the state "Gonzalez" of 1947 out of the 8 restoration scenarios identified by Roland Galtier, technician- counsel of the State. The challenge is to sublimate the idea of 18th-century sounds in 1945, retaining new sounds that serve 20th-century composers. Operation Call to Patronage Programme: 2.060.000 euros, exclusive the costs associated with the project management, which will be borne by the City of Paris. Source

1651 - Jean et François De Héman (1) 1664 - Etienne Enchoch (2) 1669 - François Ducastel & Pierre Baillon (6) 1719/36 - Nicolas Collard (6) 1782 - François-Henri Clicquot (3) 1816 - Pierre-François Dallery (6) 1857 - Aristide Cavaillé-Coll (3a) 1917/22 - John Abbey (6) 1947 - Victor Gonzalez (3a) 2000 - Bernard Dargassies (6)