Versailles

Cathédrale Saint-Louis

4 place Saint Louis, 78000 Versailles

Orgue de tribune OdC >

Saint Louis de Versailles was built between 1743 and 1754. The architect was Jacques Hardouin-Mansart de Sagonne (1711-1778), a grandson of the famous architect Jules Hardouin-Mansart. In 1764 Louis-François Trouard added the Chapelle de la Providence (now the Chapelle des Catéchismes) to the northern transept. In a graceful baroque style, it also preserves a lovely collection of period paintings. It served at first simply as the Saint Louis district parish. It became a cathedral in 1848.

E4 The organ was built by François-Henri Clicquot in 1759-1761 (45 stops and 4 manuals and a pedal with a 'grand ravalement'). 1829: Maintenance by Louis-Paul Dallery (addition of a Bombarde at the GO). 1840: Maintenance by John Abbey (new wind supply). 1863: Renovation by Aristide Cavaillé-Coll: • deletion of the fourth manual • addition of a Swell with 8 stops • replacement of several mutations and mixtures by 'symphonic' stops on the other manuals (a Gambe and an Unda Maris on the Positif, a Gambe and a Salicional on GO) • a Barker machine for the GO, several 'pédales de combinaisons' • extention of winchests from 50 to 54 notes for each manual • renovation of the wind supply applying various pressures. In the first half of the XXth century, works were carried out by Mutin, Bossier and Costa-Duval. In 1961, a restoration was performed by Beuchet-Debierre: • extension of manuals to 56 notes • installation of a new 30-note pedalboard, • repositioning of the swell pedal, using a toespoon, from the extreme right to the middle of the console. • GO: a poor Quinte, not from Clicquot nor from Cavaillé- Coll, was replaced by a new one, and a 4' Flûte replaced the second 4' Prestant (which was relocated on the Swell) • POS: Gambe and Unda Maris stops were replaced by a 4' Flûte douce and a 1 3/5' Tierce, and a 1 1/3' Larigot was added • an additional winchest was built for the Swell to house the following stops: 8' Principal, 4' Prestant, 2' Doublette, and Plein-Jeu. In 1987 a thorough restauration was carried out by Théo Haerpfer (Manufacture Lorraine de Grandes Orgues), restoring the creation of Cavaillé-Coll in 1863. In 2018-2025, the organ was renovated by Lacorre & Muhleisen. They reused a large part of the existing organ to achieve a sound palette that was more romantic than classical. In addition, all the mechanisms have been changed to bring them ‘up to date’. More info (in French)

Titular organist Jean-Pierre Millioud, Christian Ott, titulaires Anne-Isabelle de Parcevaux, Sacha Dhénin, Frédéric Morlot et Philip Mesnier, titulaires adjoints Parish website Video Christian Ott (avant la rénovation) Christian Ott (après la renovation

1761 - François-Henri Clicquot (1) 1829 - Louis-Paul Dallery (6) 1840 - John Abbey (6) 1863 - Aristide Cavaillé-Coll (2) 1901 - Charles Mutin (6) 1925 - Jules Bossier (6) 1948 - Costa Duval (6) 1960 - Beuchet-Debierre (5) 1989 - Théo Haerpfer (5) 2025 - Lacorre & Muhleisen (3)