The organs of Paris
ORGANS OF PARIS © 2024 Vincent Hildebrandt HOME ALL ORGANS

The organ builders

of the 21th century

Aubertin Blumenröder Cattiaux Chevron Cogez Dargassies Fossaert Grenzing Lacorre Léon Muhleisen Pels-D’hondt Plet Quoirin Rieger Villard others

Organ building in the 21st century:

a fruitful development!

In the last decades of the twentieth century, nineteenth- century organ building was rediscovered, which for some time was widely disparaged. At the dawn of the 21st century, the 19th century symphonic organ was thus brought back into the spotlight, giving rise to a more scrupulous restoration policy, thus respecting the Venice Charter (1964). In recent years, the work carried out on Parisian organs can be summarized in four main groups: • Restorations aimed at returning to the original state or a previous state (more or less close to the original instrument). These restorations are part of the heritage conservation policy and in compliance with the Venice Charter. Let us mention here the exemplary restorations of the organs of Bécon les Bruyères (2015). • Restorations with modifications and/or enlargements. The nature of this work makes it possible to embellish existing instruments and sometimes to correct their defects while respecting the present workmanship and the legacy of the past. We can mention the work carried out on the organs of Notre-Dame D'Auteuil (2018), of Notre Dame de Paris (2014) and the Basilica Ste Clotilde (2005). • The creation of new organs. Although rare at the beginning of the twenty-first century, the capital has been able to equip itself with new instruments often financed by private funds, among which we can mention the Aubertin organ at the church of St Louis-en-l'ile (2004), the Rieger organ at the Philharmonie (2016), the Grenzing organ at the auditorium of Radio France (2016) and the Chevron organ of the Chapel Notre-Dame du Saint Sacrement (2017). • Maintenance and restorations. The latter are the most common due to pollution and the often intensive use of the capital's organs. However, the maintenance and restoration of the existing Parisian organs is severely hampered due to a lack of funds; most restorations in this era were privately funded (e.g. Sainte Clotilde, 2006). Numerous organ concerts and auditions testify to the enthusiasm of listeners for organ music. Since 2009, a Paris Organ Festival has been held every year. On the occasion of a new series of organ concerts, this festival intends to embody a simple idea: the organ is a resolutely modern instrument! Many parishes offer organ concerts throughout the year, sometimes weekly or monthly (Ste-CLotilde, St-Eustache, Notre-Dame, St-Sulpice) which allow to retain a music-loving and passionate audience. Parallel to the cultural activity of the organ, the organ continues to serve the liturgy. If in many Parisian parishes the liturgy has deteriorated considerably with the arrival of the Second Vatican Council, a number of large parishes such as the Basilica Ste-Clotilde, St-Severin, La Madeleine try to remain faithful to beautiful music and dignified liturgy. A number of parishes celebrating in the form of the extraordinary rite rightly preserve the Gregorian chant (Ste- Cecilia, St-Roch, St-Nicolas du Chardonnet).

After the revolution

19th - 20th - 21th century
The table shows the main organ builders of the 21th century (and last decades of the 20th century) and the numbers of organs they built or restored and/or renovated. This table shows the dominance of Dargassies, in particular in the last decades of the 20th century. In this era, there are 15 new organs to welcome, a sharp decline in relation to the numbers presented before on the 19th and 20th century, but still impressive when realising that this ‘market’ is well saturated after centuries of organ building activities in Paris.
Organs of Paris
ORGANS OF PARIS © 2024 Vincent Hildebrandt ALL ORGANS

After the revolution

19th - 20th - 21th century

Organ building in the 21st century:

a fruitful development!

In the last decades of the twentieth century, nineteenth- century organ building was rediscovered, which for some time was widely disparaged. At the dawn of the 21st century, the 19th century symphonic organ was thus brought back into the spotlight, giving rise to a more scrupulous restoration policy, thus respecting the Venice Charter (1964). In recent years, the work carried out on Parisian organs can be summarized in four main groups: • Restorations aimed at returning to the original state or a previous state (more or less close to the original instrument). These restorations are part of the heritage conservation policy and in compliance with the Venice Charter. Let us mention here the exemplary restorations of the organs of Bécon les Bruyères (2015). • Restorations with modifications and/or enlargements. The nature of this work makes it possible to embellish existing instruments and sometimes to correct their defects while respecting the present workmanship and the legacy of the past. We can mention the work carried out on the organs of Notre-Dame D'Auteuil (2018), of Notre Dame de Paris (2014) and the Basilica Ste Clotilde (2005). • The creation of new organs. Although rare at the beginning of the twenty-first century, the capital has been able to equip itself with new instruments often financed by private funds, among which we can mention the Aubertin organ at the church of St Louis-en-l'ile (2004), the Rieger organ at the Philharmonie (2016), the Grenzing organ at the auditorium of Radio France (2016) and the Chevron organ of the Chapel Notre-Dame du Saint Sacrement (2017). • Maintenance and restorations. The latter are the most common due to pollution and the often intensive use of the capital's organs. However, the maintenance and restoration of the existing Parisian organs is severely hampered due to a lack of funds; most restorations in this era were privately funded (e.g. Sainte Clotilde, 2006). Numerous organ concerts and auditions testify to the enthusiasm of listeners for organ music. Since 2009, a Paris Organ Festival has been held every year. On the occasion of a new series of organ concerts, this festival intends to embody a simple idea: the organ is a resolutely modern instrument! Many parishes offer organ concerts throughout the year, sometimes weekly or monthly (Ste-CLotilde, St-Eustache, Notre-Dame, St-Sulpice) which allow to retain a music-loving and passionate audience. Parallel to the cultural activity of the organ, the organ continues to serve the liturgy. If in many Parisian parishes the liturgy has deteriorated considerably with the arrival of the Second Vatican Council, a number of large parishes such as the Basilica Ste-Clotilde, St-Severin, La Madeleine try to remain faithful to beautiful music and dignified liturgy. A number of parishes celebrating in the form of the extraordinary rite rightly preserve the Gregorian chant (Ste- Cecilia, St-Roch, St-Nicolas du Chardonnet).

The organ builders of the 21th century

Aubertin Blumenröder Cattiaux Chevron Cogez Dargassies Fossaert Grenzing Lacorre Léon Muhleisen Pels-D’hondt Plet Quoirin Rieger Villard others
The table shows the main organ builders of the 21th century (and last decades of the 20th century) and the numbers of organs they built or restored and/or renovated. This table shows the dominance of Dargassies, in particular in the last decades of the 20th century. In this era, there are 15 new organs to welcome, a sharp decline in relation to the numbers presented before on the 19th and 20th century, but still impressive when realising that this ‘market’ is well saturated after centuries of organ building activities in Paris.