Church Saint-Eustace (Paris)

A difficult construction

The Saint-Eustace church is a church whose origins go back to the rebirth. One finds in the church one of the two known specimens of the Disciples of Emmaüs of Rubens paints towards 1611.

Rene Benoist, cleaned Saint-Eustace in 1569, acquired such an influence on the parishioners, whom it was called the Pape of the Markets . In 1578, it made print a request in order to obtain helps for the completion of its church. Started in 1532, it could not have been finished, and Benoist itself had undertaken yet work in spite of the “ greater multitude of people than in no parish church of France and by adventure of Christendom ”. The letter undoubtedly obtained some amount of money, because one at that time built several pillars of the nave and several other windows.

The unfinished part (that one can see on the left part of the photograph - the tower stops brutally) was carried out between 1617 and 1624. The church, already large, would have probably reached a size and an impressive height if it had been finished.

A church of royal size

The building was regarded a long time as a royal church thanks to its proximity with the high place of monarchy, the Louvre.

Louis XIV was baptized there, Colbert, Scaramouche, Rameau inter alia were buried there; funerals of the mother of Mozart were organized there. Sully and Pomponne is married there.

Table Tobie and the angel (1575), of the painter Florentin Santi di Tito (1536-1603) are, circumference of the chorus, left side, in the third vault.

Large organ

With 8000 pipes, it is the largest organ of France, right in front of the instruments of Our-Lady-of-Paris (107 plays) and Saint-Sulpice (102 plays).

Since 1989, it is composed of:

5 keyboards of 61 notes and pedals of 32 notes
101 plays, 147 rows, 8000 pipes

St Eustace has an organ since XVIe century, but one has only very little information on his composition origin. The traditional organ of invoice of German Saint of Close him was then allotted (XVIIIe century?). Altered at the beginning of the XIXe century by the factors Daublaine and Callinet, it is destroyed by fire in 1844, little time after its inauguration. Rebuilt in 1854 by Barker (3 keyboards), again rebuilt after the Common then modified by the organist Joseph Bonnet in the Twenties and Thirties (the organ passes to 4 keyboards).

Large the organ of Saint-Eustace was rebuilt almost completely by the Dutch factor Van Den Heuvel in 1989, except for the dresser which is of origin and of some plays of which the large pipes of the Watch which go back to 1854. Large the organ of Saint-Eustace belongs to most prestigious world currently, mainly thanks to will have exceptional of its holder since 1963: Jean Guillou. They were the subject even of an exceptional visit of the Queen Elizabeth II of England, after their inauguration by Mr. Jacques Chirac, then Maire of Paris.

The organ, designed by Jean-Louis Coignet, expert of the Town of Paris, and Jean Guillou has two consoles: one, with motor traction with machines Barker, which is in platform and another, with electric traction, intended for the concerts, which is in the nave.

Among the rare characteristics of this instrument, one note:

great plein-jeu based on the 32 feet with the Large Organ,
harmonic series going until the ninth: in 32 feet with the Pedal (Théorbe: 4 4/7, 3 5/9), in 16 feet with the Large-Chorus, 8 feet with the Solo (Harmonic: 1 1/3, 1 1/7, 8/9), and until the seventh, in 8 feet, with the Positive ,
the Full Harmonic Play 2-8 of the Large-Chorus,
the Battery of sheers based on the 32 feet with the account,
the whole of Tubas 16,8,4, bent towards the nave, with the Large-Chorus,
five rows of chamades to the Solo, supplied with air with increasing pressures (6 different pressures).
One also notes, among the exceptional colors, the series of harmonic flutes (8, 4,2 2/3, 2,1 3/5, 1) to the Solo, which is an innovation of Jean Guillou already made by itself with great success into the organ of the Song of Bird in Brussels and Tonhalle in Zurich.

It is also Jean Guillou who had the idea to add Sesquialtera to the Large-Organ: this play brings many at the same time solistic possibilities and in combination with the mixtures.

The Against-Bombards 32 merit a particular mention. This play was not envisaged in the estimate, but, considering that existing Trombone 32 (with its rather modest under wood resonators) was not sufficient for an organ of this width, the brothers Van den Heuvel offered this Against-Bombards 32 at the town of Paris. The organ of Saint-Eustace is thus to be the only organ of France having three Jeux of sheer S of 32 feet.

Composition of the organ

Additional:

Couplings Account/Positive, Positif/GO, Récit/GO, GC/GO, Solo/GO, GC/GO viola, Solo/GO soprano, Solo/Account, Positive/Account, Solo/GC.
octaves serious GO, octaves serious Account, octaves serious GC, serious octaves Solo.
Drew Positive, GO, Récit into 8 ' and 4 ', GC into 8 ' and 4 ', Solo.
Trembling Positive, Account, Solo.
20 general combinations and 3 per sound plan, the whole multiplied by 32 memories. Pedal of crescendo with 2 programs: Orchestral Tutti and Crescendo.

Some holders of large the organ

Joseph Bonnet (1906-1944)
Andre Marchal (1945-1963)
Titular current: Jean Guillou

See too

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