Versailles

Chateau

1 Place Léon Gambetta, 78000 Versailles

Cabinet de Mme Adelaïde

(Dauphin’s organ)

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E6 The so-called "Dauphin's organ" in Madame Adélaïde's large drawing room is said to have been made for a royal family member, but who exactly is still unclear. It was placed in this room to recall how Louis XV's kids loved music. The organ was likely one of three cabinet organs ordered from builder Nicolas Sommer in 1747 for the Dauphin, the Dauphine, and Madame Adélaïde. Back then, the instrument had two manuals, 8 stops, and a one-octave French pedalboard. After the Dauphin's death, the organ moved to Saint- Louis church in Versailles (now the cathedral). In 1771, King Louis XVI had it installed at the Petit Trianon for Marie-Antoinette of Austria. The priest at Saint-Sulpice in Paris bought the instrument to serve as a choir organ for Pope Pius VII's visit. It got repaired, with a missing stop replaced by a new reed, and the damaged console rebuilt. It was placed in the Virgin's chapel. In 1863, Cavaillé-Coll modified it and moved it to Saint- Sulpice's student chapel (then the catechism chapel). In 1896, Cavaillé-Coll replaced the manuals with the historic ones from the royal chapel's great organ at Versailles castle, after organist Charles-Marie Widor pushed for it. Widor paid to rebuild and install royal ornaments lost in the Revolution. In 1897, Cavaillé-Coll swapped the 8' Clarinet for a 2 2/3' Nazard. After that date, they fitted a new wind supply in the base of the case while adding a Cornet to the Swell—they removed the Oboe, cut down the 8' Flute to make it a 4', and added Quint, Fourth, and Tierce on the Oboe slide. They kept the all-wood 8' Bourdon, whose construction is similar to Daublaine & Callinet's style. In 1968, the organ was moved from Saint-Sulpice to the Dauphine's grand cabinet at Versailles castle. In 1980, Gonzalez restored the organ and moved it to Madame Adélaïde's grand salon. In 2024, a call went out for this organ's restoration. The windchests and action are by Cavaillé-Coll. The pipes come from Cavaillé-Coll and Danion-Gonzalez.