Crématorium du

Père-Lachaise

Salle de la Coupole

16, rue du Repos, 75020 Paris

E3 The Salle de la Coupole houses an organ built by Cavaillé- Coll-Pleyel in 1936, based on a design drawn up by the organist Marcel Dupré. The instrument is made up of two chambers located high up in the left and right lateral apses. Only the shutters (swell louvers) of the two expression boxes, visible on the façade, blend into the wall through their color (see photo). In 1979, the organ builder Jacques Barberis carried out a complete overhaul and improved the voicing. In 1991, at the request of its Titular organist, the organ was further improved by the builder Bernard Dargassies. Several stops were modified or reworked at that time. The organ has two manuals and pedalboard, fully electric action, and a console hidden at the back of the right apse. It has 21 stops, of which 17 are real. No pipework is visible; instead, there are two expression boxes on either side of the choir — the Grand Orgue on the left and the Récit on the right (console side). (Translation of a French text by Thierry Correard).

The Salle de la Coupole of the Père-Lachaise crematorium, built at the end of the 19th century, is listed as a Historic Monument. This entirely secular complex consists of a hall (with a dome) that can serve as a ceremonial space, along with four wings forming the columbarium where funeral urns are placed. The building housing the ceremony hall is in Neo- Byzantine style. Its nave has a square plan and is topped by a large dome forming a cupola, pierced by eight arched openings. Beautiful non-figurative stained-glass windows diffuse a soft, calming light. The hall includes three raised apses — one central and two lateral. A mosaic covers the central apse, depicting an imaginary landscape beneath a starry sky. (Translation of a French text by Thierry Correard).