Sacré-Coeur

35, rue du chevalier-de-la-Barre, 75018 Paris

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C1 Baron Albert de l'Espée, who already owned two large Cavaillé-Coll organs, ordered an organ for 100,000 francs to occupy a gigantic room in his 20,000 m2 Ilbarritz castle in the Basque Country (south of Biarritz). The huge organ hall was 22 meters long, 14 meters wide and 17 meters high. The organ built for this occasion by Cavaillé-Coll was a copy of his best concert organ located in the Albert Hall in Sheffield since 1873. The 1898 instrument featured 70 stops on four keyboards (61 notes) and a 32-note pedalboard. This organ of 70 stops was the third, in order of magnitude, in the production of Cavaillé- Coll after Saint-Sulpice (1862) and Notre-Dame (1868) and the largest private organ of France! The amphitheatrical console included the drawing of the double-acting stops and air motors drove the transmissions. The expression concerned three divisions out of 4, the range of 61 notes to the keyboards, chorus of reeds 16', 8', 4' in chamade at high pressure, to the Solo, hidden behind the buffet and three 32' to the pedal and three sets of undulating stops. In 1903, the baron wanting to sell his castle, sold his organ to Charles Mutin for an unknown price. The organ was unfinished at the time of the transfer since it remained to manufacture 14 reed stops, and perform the harmony of the organ. Mutin reassembled the organ in his workshops, where it was played by the most famous organists of the time - including Albert Schweitzer - and where he remained until 1913. The plan remained unchanged, but Mutin made some modifications to the Stoplist probably intended to make the organ less "orchestral", seeking in particular to remedy the poverty in mutations and Mixtures that characterized it, in the face of the abundance of foundations and reeds of 16' and 8'. The organ was transferred to the Sacré-Cœur in 1913 where it was housed in the case of the architect Lucien Magne. Mutin added several registers: • Grand-orgue : Doublette 2’, Nazard 2 2/ 3’ • Positif : Cromorne 8’ • Récit : Plein Jeu 5 rangs. He discards 11 stops replaced as follows: • Pedal: Quintaton 16' replaced by Quinte 2 2/3'; Bassons 8 and 4 replaced by Tierce 6 2/5 and Septième 4 4/7', which allows, with the Flutes 32,18,8,4 ' and the mutations to obtain a Cornet decomposed of 8 ranks of 32'. • Positive: Cor Anglais replaced by Bassoon • Récit: Viole d'amour 4', Clarinets 16 and 8 replaced by Diapason 8' and Clairon 4'. • Solo: Clarinet 16', Cromorne 8', Clairon 4' replaced by Viole de Gambe 8', Musette 8’ and large 8-rank Cornet. In chamade, the 8' Basson-Hautbois is replaced by the 16' Tuba Magna. The instrument was inaugurated by Marcel Dupré, Abel Decaux and CM Widor in October 1919. Several modifications took place in 1930-1931 by the Société Cavaillé-Coll: • addition of a Doublette 2 to the Pedal; • replacement of Basson 16 of the Récit by a Bombarde, of the Musette of the Solo by a Nasard. An overhaul took place in 1948 by Jean Perroux, who removed the three high ranks of the Cornet V of the Solo. In 1959, a restoration was undertaken by the Beuchet- Debierre house: • at the Grand-Orgue: transformation of the Flûte harmonique 4 into a Flûte douce, of Violin 8 into Salicet 4. • Positive: transformation of Salicional into Unda Maris, Octavin into Doublette; addition of a Cymbale IV ranks. • to the Swell: replacement of the Octavin by a Flageolet 2, addition of a Principal 4, recomposition of the Plein-jeu. • Solo: addition of a Bourdon 8 and a Tierce 1 3/5, removal of the Tremolo. On this occasion, the voicingof certain stops was modified (removal of many teeth) and the central part of the case was removed, made at the request of the clergy who wished to clear the glass roof placed at the back of the organ. As a result, the corresponding pipes of the Montre had to be moved and the expressive box of the Solo had to be separated into two parts. It is thanks to the intervention of Marcel Dupré that the organ was not electrified. In 1985, a restoration was carried out by Jean Renaud, who restored the symphonic character of the organ by removing the additions of 1959 in favor of stops which are more in line with the aesthetics of ACC. Thus, the Cymbale of the Positive was replaced by a progressive Cornet, the Basson 8 of Mutin was transformed into Basson 16, the Plein-Jeu of the Récit was recomposed (with resultant of 16), the Principal 4 was replaced by an Octave 4, the three high ranks of the Cornet of the Solo were restored and the expressive box of the Solo was reconstructed. In 2013, a restoration of the main wind tunnel, located in the attic of the basilica, was carried out by Muhleisen. In 2025–2027, a new restoration by Michel Jurine & Robert Frères : • general overhaul • partial revoicing • restoration of 11 reservoirs, part of the Barker machine bellows, note motors, and some mechanical components About 70% of the pipes are from Cavaillé-Coll. Stoplist 1898 -2025 Sources: facebook.com/aristidecavaillecoll Orgues de l'Ile-de-France orgues-et-vitraux.ch

Titular organist Claudine Barthel, Philippe Brandeis, Gabriel Marghieri. Famous organists in the past: Rolande Falcinelli, Daniel Roth, Naji Hakim. Concerts Only on Christmas Eve at 10 p.m. Parish website Masses with the choir organ Friday: 3 p.m.; Sunday: 11 a.m., 6 p.m., 10 p.m.; Vespers: 4 p.m. Videos Philippe Brandeis (2017) Naji Hakim & Marie-Bernadette Dufourcet (1986) Daniel Roth (1980) Site Sacré-Cœur Photos GO: Pierre Marteau Photos of the pipes: Victor Weller