st. sulpice organ - spectacular?
 

We are about to leave for our first trip to France and will be in Paris for one week. Has anyone been to St. Sulpice to hear the organ? We have heard that the Sunday morning performance is spectacular. Would you agree?

Hi S,

The organ at St. Sulpice is spectacular.

I was there on a Sat morning when they were having a confirmation ceremony.

The sound of the young voices floating abve the bass notes of the organ was quite beautiful.

((I))

There are a number of impressive pipe organs in Paris, not just at Saint Sulpice.

well, yes, it is a nice organ, but I wouldn't judge it as spectacular in comparison to so many others. I used to play the organ in church myself, and have heard a lot of them, so maybe that's why I don't consider it unique.

Where are the other pipe organs that are spectacular? Nothing like a good organ concert.

When you go to Saint-Sulpice, don't miss the paintings by Delacroix and the holy water font, a giant seashell with the base sculpted by Pigalle in the 18th Century, at the height of rocaille (French rococo).

Sebina,

We went on Sunday and it was spectacular. The Sunday service gets out around noon. If you line up at the door (at the back of the church next to the main entrance) at around noon - 12:30 the organist will let you in and let you sit with him while he plays for the next service - make sure you get in line early as there are quite a lot of people waiting. I recommend that you go to the service (starts at 10:30) so that you can listen to the organ from the church as well as from the organ loft. SeaUrchin, St. Eustache church has a famous 8000 pipe organ (St. Sulpice is about 7000 pipes). We heard them play the organ at Sacre Coeur and were impressed. I am sure you would be impressed with an organ recital at just about any church in Paris. Happy listening. Elaine

The largest instruments in Paris are that Cliquot/Boisseau in Notre Dame and also the Ven de Heuvel instrument in St. Eustache. Both can be very "spectacular" depending on who is at the manuals but am not sure about any concert opportunities.

sebinah,
I can't say that it's more spectacular than Notre Dame's, but I do have a friend who is a huge organ aficionado and former player who was in awe when hearing it during Sunday services and was moved to purchase several CDs.
For many reasons, I would include St. Sulpice services in your Paris agenda.

Sebina,

Okay, St. Eustache was increible! Also you can try Trinité and La Madeleine. We also went to Notre Dame and were very impressed. We have yet to hear the organ at St. Julien de Pauvre (sp?) and St. Chapelle. Will let you know how they are if we get time.

Elaine

The nice part about St. Sulpice is the after service concert. That allows you to hear much more of the organ's range etc...then a normal service would. To the best of my knowledge several of the other great organs discussed don't have that "standing" date so all you will hear is the service music unless you get lucky and find another concert.

Opps... reading my notes I see that there may not be a standing Sunday concert at St. Suplice we may have just gotten lucky on our Sunday?

My husband and I returned May 30th from a wonderful 8 days in Paris. One of the highlights was listening to the organ music at St. Sulpice last Sunday. We also attended a concert on Saturday evening. One does not necessarily have to attend the 10:30 mass in order go up to watch and listen to the organists. Rick Steve's book gives you pretty accurate information regarding the times to arrive if you cannot attend the service.
In our case we arrived at 12:15 entered through the front doors, and turned to the right (someone was just leaving and we grabbed the door and slipped up to the area the organ is situated). There are usually 2 organists, David Roth and Sophie Veronique Cauchefer-Choplin. You can stand beside the organists whilst they are playing, and even take their pictures. We had the pleasure of watching Sophie Veronique, and afterwards spoke briefly with her,and purchased her CD. This was truly a memorable experience for us.
There is also a fleamarket in the square of St. Sulpice on Sunday mornings.

The fame of St. Sulpice isn't its organ, but its <b>organists</b> like Widor and Dupre and its tradition.

And its part in Da Vinci Code. [Just joking ;) ]

And Rick Steves, who vividly endorses the organ at Saint Sulpice, and apparently is unaware that there are many excellent pipe organs in Paris.

...Not to forget the 1710 pipe organ at the Chateau de Versailles chapel.

Where are there other spectacular organs and concerts in Paris?

One of the most unique organs in the world, as noted already by others, is located at one of my favorite cathedrals in Paris-Saint Eustache, in Les Halles. They have free organ concerts every Sun. evening, and I must say, (and have said here before) it is one of the more enjoyable and impressive concerts you may attend in Paris, not the least because of the atmosphere of this cathedral.

And here are links where you can peruse the upcoming June organ concert schedule at St. Eustache, should you happen to be in Paris on or around these dates:

perso.orange.fr/argos.orgues/concerts.htm
perso.orange.fr/argos.orgues/evenemen.htm

I'd definitely advise working one of these into the Paris trip itinerary, if at all possible.


P.S. Yes, this is really me, and not my doppelganger/troll/wannabe. To say I've been through hell and back in the last few months (I'm still residing there, in fact) would indeed be quite the understatement.

I second the comments about St. Eustache. We went to Notre Dame and heard the organ (disappointing) and wandered over to St. Eustache. There was a special mass for the butchers and bakers. It is held in mid-November. The organ performance was breathtaking. And the church is one of my favorites.

Will let you know that we did go to St. Sulpice the last Sunday in May. Being right next to the (substitute) organist was awesome. This was 9 days after the movie &quot;Da Vince Code&quot; started. After the services, the priest said in both French and English that if anyone had questions about the church, please. (They are not happy about how the church was protrayed in the movie and are working to restore their &quot;reputation&quot;.

Hi Bill, glad that you got to St. Sulpice. Did you just line up at the door to wait for the organist as described above? What time did you arrive? We will be in Paris in September and this would be a great experience. Thanks for any info you can provide