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ORGANS OF PARIS © 2024 Vincent Hildebrandt HOME ALL ORGANS

Saint Nicolas

des Champs

254, rue Saint-Martin, 75003 Paris

Orgue de tribune OdC >

A3 Organs have existed in Saint-Nicolas-des-Champs since 1418. They were medieval plenum organs without stops bought from Bernard de Montigny, which we find in 1536 in need of repairs. 1571 Jacques Pigache built a new organ placed on the new gallery of 1564. It was a 15-stop instrument with a keyboard and an independent pedal. The case of this instrument is still partly present in the current large case. 1611 The organ was rebuilt by Paul Maillard. The side turrets and the base of the present organ date back to this construction. 1632 The organ was again rebuilt by Crépin Carlier. A Positif case was added and the great organ was enlarged While there were only 48 notes, winchests have 51 grooves as a provision for split sharps to differenciate between D shap and E flat in the three highest octaves. At that time, the instrument had 34 stops on three manuals and pedalboard. 1688 Antoine Vincent added two keyboards, including an Echo keyboard. Several changes in the stop list were made and the voicing of the reed stops was renewed. 1732 Louis-Alexandre Clicquot, a parishioner of St Nicolas, carried out a complete restoration of the instrument. The keyboards were moved to D 5 and the split sharps were removed. At the Positif, the 8' Human Voice was replaced by an 8' Trumpet, a new 5-stop windchest was installed at the Récit, and the Echo keyboard was removed. 1762-1777 A new organ was commissioned from François-Henri Clicquot. He did not complete his work until 1777. The 1611 case has been preserved, but it was moved forward and enlarged by the two side platforms. Construction of a new back Positive case. New windchests, with the exception of the 1732 Récit windchest. All the pipes was renewed, all made of pewter (except the wooden ones, of course) with the exception of a part of Vincent's Echo Flute made of cloth This new instrument has 42 stops over 5 manuals and an independent pedal, 50-note manuals (from c to d5, without the first c sharp, a large windchest in four sections of 100 grooves and 20 offset toeboards for the Grand-Orgue and the Bombarde. There are 10 bellows to supply wind with winkers and whose extraordinary bombardes have a ‘frightening’ brightness. 1825 Pierre François Dallery replaced the Doublettes with Dessus de Flûte 8 and removed the Pleins-Jeux in favour of a reorganization of the reed choirs of the Positif and the Grand-Orgue; he also adds a Dessus de Flute to the Récit on the side of the windchest. 1835 Restoration of Clicquot's ten bellows by Louis-Paul Dallery. 1854 Ducroquet carried out some enlargement work: addition of a German-style pedal an additional pedal windchest containing 6 stops removal of the 16', 8' and 4' Flute from the Clicquot Pedal replacement of the pipes of the turrets of the main case (pre- Clicquot). new wind tunnel 1871 Joseph Merklin replaced the wedge-shaped bellows with a wind tunnel consisting of two tanks with parallel tables. Replacement of keyboards, damaged during the Franco-Prussian conflict. 1927-1930 The instrument was almost unplayable after a long period of abandonment and a major restoration was carried out by Victor Gonzalez in 1930. The work included replacing the console, setting up a Récit with a "neo-classical" composition, reinstating the Pleins- Jeux, adding various stops and Barker machines for the 3 tirasses, and pneumatically operated stops. 1955-1980 The organ was kept in working order by Philippe Hartmann and then Didier Guiraud. Return of the Voix humaine to the GO, restoration of the reed choir, removal of the additional pneumatic windchests of the treble, disconnection of the 1930 Récit. Some pipes from the Voix céleste (ex Gamba 4 from Ducroquet's Pedale) are installed in the choir organ. The Plein-Jeu III of the Positif is partially muted and recomposed to constitute a Larigot. 2008 Denis Lacorre carried out mechanical repairs, re-skinned the Barker GO machine and restored the air motors for the drawing of the stops as well as for the 16' Pedal Flute. The pipework of the Récit was partially deposited in conservation. The Gambe 4 of Pedale (Ducroquet), scattered in the Récit of the organ and in that of the choir organ, was restored to its original cope of Ducroquet's windchest, and the Plein-Jeu III of the Positif (1930) was restored to Victor Gonzalez's composition. 2018 Summer droughts and then harsh winters dealt a fatal blow to the main reservoirs of the wind tunnel, forcing the instrument into silence. The great organ is now silent, awaiting a complete restoration. All of the windchests date from before the revolution (F.H. Clicquot, Récit: L.A. Clicquot). 40 of the 58 stops are old. Mechanical transmission with Barker at the GO. This organ is probably the most authentic of all the organs dating from the Ancien Régime in Paris. Its piping is in relatively good condition, uncut and in its original place on the windchests. Site of the organ
The Church of Saint Nicolas des Champs was part of the former Abbey of Saint Martin des Champs. It was built after 1420 and enlarged in 1541. The church in its present form was built in 1615. The tower and parts of the nave still dates from the 15th century, the top portion of the tower dates from the 17th. Restauration in the 19th century. It is the only church in Paris which still has its retable: a work of the master Simon Vouet created in 1629.
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 Designed specifically for the Church of Saint- Nicolas-des-Champs, the great organ was masterfully rebuilt in 1773 by François-Henri Clicquot, parishioner of the church, from an existing organ. This instrument of exceptional dimensions (45 stops) is almost authentic given the amount of original components preserved. It is the most important of the classical era that has reached us in the capital and the first "5 keyboards" in the history of the organ. The pre-restoration study of the organ, carried out by Christian Lutz, a state consultant technician, presented to the National Commission of Historic Monuments on 11 June 2015, was approved. Based on the program established in this study, the work will consist of restoring the Clicquot state of the organ while retaining the contributions of 19th century organ factors, François Dallery around 1815 and Pierre Alexandre Ducroquet in 1854, the later elements being deposited. The restitution, or not, of an important part of the Grand Plein Jeu, will be studied during the complete dismantling of the instrument, in view of the detailed analysis of all the pipes. This work concerns the entire organ: the buffet with its sculpted decoration and statuary, the wind tunnel, the wind chests, the console, the transmissions and the pipes. Ancillary work is also needed: upgrading the organ's electrical installation, pre-restoration work on the vault of the building during the dismantling phase of the organ, possible restoration of the tribune. Expected work time: 36 months Call to Patronage: 2,250,000 euros, exclusive the costs associated with the project, which will be taken care of by the City of Paris. Source
Photo : Victor Weller
1571 - Jacques Pigache (1) 1611 - Paul Maillard (3) 1632 - Crespin Carlier (3) 1688 - Antoine Vincent (3) 1732 - L.A. Clicquot (5) 1776 - F.H. Clicquot (3) 1825 - P-F Dallery (6) 1835 - L-P Dallery (6) 1854 - Ducroquet (2) 1871 - Merklin (6) 1930 - Gonzalez (3a) 1955-1980 - Hartmann & Guiraud (6) 2008 - Denis Lacorre (6)

V/58 - traction mécanique

composition

Silent since 2018
Organiste titulaire Vincent Genvrin & François Ménissier Famlous organists in the past: Nicolas Gigault, Louis Braille et Michel Chapuis Concerts - Masses with organ: - Video François Ménissier Jean Boyer
The organs of Paris

Saint Nicolas

des Champs

254, rue Saint-Martin, 75003 Paris

Orgue de tribune OdC >

ORGANS OF PARIS © 2024 Vincent Hildebrandt ALL ORGANS
A3 Organs have existed in Saint-Nicolas-des-Champs since 1418. They were medieval plenum organs without stops bought from Bernard de Montigny, which we find in 1536 in need of repairs. 1571 Jacques Pigache built a new organ placed on the new gallery of 1564. It was a 15-stop instrument with a keyboard and an independent pedal. The case of this instrument is still partly present in the current large case. 1611 The organ was rebuilt by Paul Maillard. The side turrets and the base of the present organ date back to this construction. 1632 The organ was again rebuilt by Crépin Carlier. A Positif case was added and the great organ was enlarged While there were only 48 notes, winchests have 51 grooves as a provision for split sharps to differenciate between D shap and E flat in the three highest octaves. At that time, the instrument had 34 stops on three manuals and pedalboard. 1688 Antoine Vincent added two keyboards, including an Echo keyboard. Several changes in the stop list were made and the voicing of the reed stops was renewed. 1732 Louis-Alexandre Clicquot, a parishioner of St Nicolas, carried out a complete restoration of the instrument. The keyboards were moved to D 5 and the split sharps were removed. At the Positif, the 8' Human Voice was replaced by an 8' Trumpet, a new 5-stop windchest was installed at the Récit, and the Echo keyboard was removed. 1762-1777 A new organ was commissioned from François-Henri Clicquot. He did not complete his work until 1777. The 1611 case has been preserved, but it was moved forward and enlarged by the two side platforms. Construction of a new back Positive case. New windchests, with the exception of the 1732 Récit windchest. All the pipes was renewed, all made of pewter (except the wooden ones, of course) with the exception of a part of Vincent's Echo Flute made of cloth This new instrument has 42 stops over 5 manuals and an independent pedal, 50-note manuals (from c to d5, without the first c sharp, a large windchest in four sections of 100 grooves and 20 offset toeboards for the Grand-Orgue and the Bombarde. There are 10 bellows to supply wind with winkers and whose extraordinary bombardes have a ‘frightening’ brightness. 1825 Pierre François Dallery replaced the Doublettes with Dessus de Flûte 8 and removed the Pleins-Jeux in favour of a reorganization of the reed choirs of the Positif and the Grand- Orgue; he also adds a Dessus de Flute to the Récit on the side of the windchest. 1835 Restoration of Clicquot's ten bellows by Louis-Paul Dallery. 1854 Ducroquet carried out some enlargement work: addition of a German-style pedal an additional pedal windchest containing 6 stops removal of the 16', 8' and 4' Flute from the Clicquot Pedal replacement of the pipes of the turrets of the main case (pre-Clicquot). new wind tunnel 1871 Joseph Merklin replaced the wedge-shaped bellows with a wind tunnel consisting of two tanks with parallel tables. Replacement of keyboards, damaged during the Franco- Prussian conflict. 1927-1930 The instrument was almost unplayable after a long period of abandonment and a major restoration was carried out by Victor Gonzalez in 1930. The work included replacing the console, setting up a Récit with a "neo-classical" composition, reinstating the Pleins-Jeux, adding various stops and Barker machines for the 3 tirasses, and pneumatically operated stops. 1955-1980 The organ was kept in working order by Philippe Hartmann and then Didier Guiraud. Return of the Voix humaine to the GO, restoration of the reed choir, removal of the additional pneumatic windchests of the treble, disconnection of the 1930 Récit. Some pipes from the Voix céleste (ex Gamba 4 from Ducroquet's Pedale) are installed in the choir organ. The Plein- Jeu III of the Positif is partially muted and recomposed to constitute a Larigot. 2008 Denis Lacorre carried out mechanical repairs, re-skinned the Barker GO machine and restored the air motors for the drawing of the stops as well as for the 16' Pedal Flute. The pipework of the Récit was partially deposited in conservation. The Gambe 4 of Pedale (Ducroquet), scattered in the Récit of the organ and in that of the choir organ, was restored to its original cope of Ducroquet's windchest, and the Plein-Jeu III of the Positif (1930) was restored to Victor Gonzalez's composition. 2018 Summer droughts and then harsh winters dealt a fatal blow to the main reservoirs of the wind tunnel, forcing the instrument into silence. The great organ is now silent, awaiting a complete restoration. All of the windchests date from before the revolution (F.H. Clicquot, Récit: L.A. Clicquot). 40 of the 58 stops are old. Mechanical transmission with Barker at the GO. This organ is probably the most authentic of all the organs dating from the Ancien Régime in Paris. Its piping is in relatively good condition, uncut and in its original place on the windchests. Site of the organ
1571 - Jacques Pigache (1) 1611 - Paul Maillard (3) 1632 - Crespin Carlier (3) 1688 - Antoine Vincent (3) 1732 - L.A. Clicquot (5) 1776 - F.H. Clicquot (3) 1825 - P-F Dallery (6) 1835 - L-P Dallery (6) 1854 - Ducroquet (2) 1871 - Merklin (6) 1930 - Gonzalez (3a) 1955-1980 - Hartmann & Guiraud (6) 2008 - Denis Lacorre (6)

V/58 - traction mécanique

composition

Silent since 2018
Organiste titulaire Vincent Genvrin & François Ménissier Famlous organists in the past: Nicolas Gigault, Louis Braille et Michel Chapuis Concerts - Masses with organ: - Video François Ménissier Jean Boyer