A Gregorian Chant mass, as seen from the tribune
The pipes of Notre Dame
Olivier Latry, one of the world's premier organists and professor at the Paris Conservatory. Appointed as one of three titular organists at Notre Dame when he was only 23 years old.
Oliver Latry
Our group with Olivier Latry
Church of St. Christopher, Houdan: The 1734 organ by Louis-Alexandre Clicquot (c. 1680-1760). A rare survival that was restored in 1972 without substantial change to the instrument. It still retains its original 18th century pitch and tuning in the meantone temperament.
Chopin's grave at Père Lachaise Cemetery, Paris
Jazz at Le Baiser Salé, Paris
Gregorian chant book, written in neumes
Church of St. Christopher, Houdan: The church and quaint village of Houdan, situated an hour from Paris. Construction on the church began in 1517 and was financed largely by the local villagers themselves.
Church of St. Christopher, Houdan: The organ with its ancient pedalboard. Couperin wrote his "Mass for the Convents" for an organ precisely like this one, whose sound is delightfully unique.
Saint-Gervais: Construction on this church began during the Middle Ages but wasn't completed until the early 17th century. Located in the heart of Paris, not far from Notre Dame
Saint-Gervais: The organ still has some of the original pipes, dating back to its initial construction in 1601. The original hammered lead stops that remain give the organ its uniquely sweet and soft tone. Major reconstruction on the organ was done in the mid-18th century by Clicquot
Saint-Gervais: The only surviving five-manual French Classical organ
Saint-Gervais: The keyboard (completely original) has shorter and narrower keys, making wide stretches much easier, although the manual action makes the keys difficult to depress (more like the weight of piano keys)
Saint-Gervais: Playing for the masterclass with Aude Heurtematte, well-known in Europe as a great interpreter of Baroque music
Playing a piece from Francois Couperin's "Mass for the Convents" (1690). The Couperin family were the organists here for over 150 years. Simply amazing to play Couperin's works on his own instrument!
Saint-Sulpice, Paris: In this massive church, (where part of The DaVinci Code was actually filmed), the sounds of the organ reverberate magnificently. Being in the Tribune (organ loft), however, you must lean a bit over the railing and cup your hands over your ears in order to get the full effect of the awe-inspiring and overwhelming acoustics as they sound below.
Saint-Sulpice, Paris: "The most beautiful organ in the world" as it was called by the famous French composers and organists, Charles-Marie Widor and Marcel Dupré, who were both the organists here for over 100 years combined
Saint-Sulpice, Paris: Originally built by Clicquot in 1781 and later rebuilt by Cavaille-Coll during the 1860s in a style that combined both the classic tradition and the newer romantic style. The organ case and its colossal statues were built separately by a master cabinet-maker and sculptor according to the design of the architect Chalgrin
Saint-Sulpice, Paris: One of only three "100 stop" organs in Europe. Because of the extremely heavy mechanical action, it is also one of the most difficult to play--especially when all five manuals are coupled together!
Saint-Sulpice, Paris: Our group from left to right: Kyle Davis, Matthew Bartlett, Ilana Ofgang, Tracy Ellwanger, Stephen Roberts, Stephen Price, Leslie Tracey, and Daniel Roth.
Saint-Sulpice, Paris: Playing a chorale by Dupré for our masterclass with the great Daniel Roth, the titulaire of Saint-Sulpice, who is one of the leading organ virtuosos and teachers in France. Mr. Stephen Roberts, our esteemed organ professor from West Conn and organizer of the trip, looks on at my left.
Saint-Sulpice, Paris: Listening intently to Daniel Roth's advice.
Saint-Sulpice, Paris: Daniel Roth playing mass the following morning.
Saint-Sulpice, Paris: The original bellows that required several pumpers to provide enough wind for the organ. During a visit to Notre-Dame by Claude Johnson, the head of Rolls-Royce, the bellows pumpers stopped pumping twice while Dupré was playing and demanded money to continue. This experience prompted Johnson to donate Rolls-Royce turbines to both Notre-Dame and St-Sulpice, making the bellows and pumpers obsolete!
Musée des Augustins: An Ahrend organ that was built in 1981 in the North German style with its exquisitely ornamented case with painted wings. We attended an organ concert there by Jan Willem Jansen. It is housed in a former Gothic convent that was secularized during the French Revolution and has served as a museum ever since.
Basilica of Saint-Sernin: The Basilica stands on the site of the original church, built in the 5th century to house the relics of Saint Sernin. After a monastery was added in the 9th century, construction of the Basilica was begun in the 11th century, funded by the generous donations of pilgrims. It is the largest Romanesque building in all of France.
Basilica of Notre-Dame de la Daurade: Playing the three-manual, 42 stop organ built by Emile Poirier and Nicolas Lieberknecht in 1861.
St-Sernin: Bouvard is professor of organ at the conservatory in Toulouse and at the Conservatoire Nationale-Superieure in Paris.
St-Sernin: Michel Bouvard demonstrating the great three-manual, 54 stop Cavaille-Coll organ, built in 1888 and designed to be powerful enough to fill the huge, 110 meters long church.
Basilica of Notre-Dame de la Daurade: Jan Willem Jansen demonstrates the organ at the Basilica where he is titulaire. Jansen is also a professor at the Toulouse Conservatory.
St-Sernin: The magnificent Cavaille-Coll organ.
St-Jean-Baptiste-de-la-Salle, Paris: Demonstrating her phenomenal improvisation skills on the mechanical-action Merklin organ, built around 1880.
St-Jean-Baptiste-de-la-Salle, Paris: With Madame Sophie-Veronique, who is as lovely and personable as she is masterful on the organ!
St-Jean-Baptiste-de-la-Salle, Paris: Playing a chorale by Marcel Dupré (1886-1971) during a master-class with Sophie-Veronique Cauchefer-Choplin, the titulaire adjointe (co-organist) of Saint-Sulpice.
