Plein-Jeu à Saint-Séverin

 

HISTORY

 

In the Merovingian era, our church was still only the oratory of a cemetery located on the edge of one of the main roads of the city of Paris. Quickly, the chapel became a place of devotion to Saint Séverin, or more precisely, to two saints bearing the same name, a hermit and an abbot. In the 12th century, a new church was built and Saint-Séverin became the first parish on the left bank of the Seine, welcoming the first students of the Quartier Latin.​​

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The organs of Saint-Séverin, and mainly the great organ, are important witnesses to the evolution of this instrument in France, and in Paris in particular.

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The archives mention an organ in Saint-Séverin from the end of the 14th century, of which it was written that, despite its small size, its sound was so pleasant "that one thought one could hear the angels of paradise". The building of a new, larger instrument was decided in 1521. Installed in a "swallow's nest" in the choir, it was provided with painted shutters as was very often the case at that time. From a simple manual keyboard, it was then enlarged, and increased to two and then three keyboards. Throughout the 17th century, renowned names in organ building worked on its evolution: Valeran DE HEMAN (1626), the THIERRY dynasty (1645 and 1670) and then Jean DE JOYEUSE.

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At the beginning of the 18th century, the organ was very damaged. Under the tenure of Michel FORQUERAY, it was decided in 1745 to build a new organ, which would now be placed at the back of the nave (definitively masking the magnificent 15th century stained glass windows). In the sumptuous case built by François DUPRE (carpenter) and Jacques-François FICHON (master sculptor), the organ builder Claude FERRAND delivers an instrument with around thirty stops, some of which were taken from the previous instrument.

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During the troubles of the French Revolution, the organ of Saint-Séverin survives only thanks to the beauty of its case and the use of the church as a warehouse for gunpowder and saltpeter. After the desorder, the church was returned to worship in 1802 and François DALLERY the father restored the organ in 1807, and then 1825. In 1890, the sons of the English organ builder John ABBEY gave it a structure and a symphonic composition, which corresponded to the tastes of the time.

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After the Second World War, under the leadership of Cardinal SUHARD, Saint-Séverin regained its role as a parish of the student world. This began very rich years in the fields of culture, liturgy and education.

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In 1958, various projects to restore the organ were considered. Father Lucien AUMONT, close to Michel CHAPUIS, then consulted him, who enthusiastically defended an innovative project (not to say revolutionary, at that time): to restore the Rückpositif (emptied in 1890) and to rebuild the instrument according to a classical design corresponding to the large case, with a new mechanical console. Initiated in 1959, the work carried out by Alfred KERN on the plans of Philippe HARTMANN was completed in 1964 and inaugurated by Helmut WALCHA. Michel CHAPUIS having been appointed permanent, he then wished to reconnect with a team organization "par quartiers", according to a widespread practice during the Grand Siècle. With André ISOIR, Jacques MARICHAL, Francis CHAPELET then Jean BOYER, he developed a musical and artistic dynamic specific to Saint-Séverin, with numerous concerts organized during the 70s and 80s.

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On the liturgical level, the 60s and 70s were also particularly fruitful. Indeed, well before the instructions of the Vatican Council II were promulgated (especially Musicam Sacram in 1967), singing was established as a factor of unity in the parish community. Enriched by a new instrument and a formidable team of musicians and writers (priests and laypeople), the parish would acquire over the years a specific, sometimes experimental, very unifying repertoire (published in 2003 by Voix Nouvelles), in which the organ plays a very important role, both in the accompaniment and in the repertoire and improvisation.

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After 40 years of intensive use, the great organ was restored between 2009 and 2011 by the organ builders Quentin BLUMENROEDER (who has been responsible for its maintenance since then), Dominique THOMAS and Jean-Marie TRICOTEAUX and was inaugurated in November 2011 by the four titular organists Michel ALABAU, François ESPINASSE, Christophe MANTOUX and Nicolas BUCHER.

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STOPLIST