Saint Nicolas

des Champs 1 - 2

254, rue Saint-Martin, 75003 Paris Orgue de tribune

1572 - Jacques Pigache

1632 - Paul Maillard, Crespin Carlier

1666 - Pierre Thierry, François Ducastel

1688 - Antoine Vincent

1732 - L.A. Clicquot

1776 - F.H. Clicquot

1825 - Dallery

1854 - Ducroquet

1930 - Gonzalez

2008 - Denis Lacorre

V/58 - mechanical traction - stoplist

The great organ is now mute, waiting for a complete restoration.

Photo GO: Jeroen de Haan The organ was built by Francois-Henri Clicquot, using the case of the Great-Organ of Carlier built in 1633 (using parts from 1572) and extending it laterally to house the pedal and the positif. Saint Nicolas is residing on the centre turret of the GO surrounded by angels-musicians. The organ survived the Revolution. In 1825, Pierre François Dallery replaced both 2’ by a second Flûte 8, added a Flûte 8 on the Récit and suppressed the Plein Jeu. In 1854, Ducroquet built a new wind-chest to accommodate six new stops for the pedal. In 1871, Merklin renewed the keyboards and the wind supply. A great restoration by Victor Gonzalez was completed in 1930. He added a Récit and pneumatic stop traction, but carefully respected all the ancient stops. He also reconstructed the Clicqout Plein Jeu, prestant and doublette of the GO. In 2008, provisional maintenance works were carried out by Denis Lacorre which made the organ playable again. Nowadays, the organ is in a bad condition and the Récit of Gonzalez is not playable at all. All wind-chests date from before the revolution (F.H. Clicquot, récit: L.A. Clicquot). 40 out of the 58 stops are old. Mechanical transmission with Barker at the GO. This organ is probably the most authentic of all organs from before the revolution in Paris. Its pipework is in a relatively good condition, not cut and on its orginal place on the windchest. It´s worth a thorough restauration! Site of the organ Jean Boyer at the organ of St Nicolas des Champs (1989)

Organiste titulaire Vincent Genvrin & François Ménissier Famous organists in the past: Nicolas Gigault, Louis Braille and Michel Chapuis. Concerts -

Masses with organ

Saturday 6.30 PM Sunday 11 AM Video François Ménissier (waiting for approval)

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 restore the Clicquot state of the organ while retaining the contributions of 19th century organ factors, François Dallery around 1815 and PierreAlexandre 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