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Saint-Sulpice (Paris)
Encyclopedia
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, on the east side of the Place Saint-Sulpice
Place Saint-Sulpice
The large public space at the Place Saint Sulpice, which is dominated on its eastern side by the church of Saint-Sulpice, was built in 1754 as a tranquil garden in the Latin Quarter of the 6th arrondissement of Paris.-Attractions of the square:...
, in the Luxembourg Quarter of the VIe arrondissement
VIe arrondissement
The 6th arrondissement of Paris is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. It includes world famous educational institutions such as the École des Beaux-Arts de Paris and the Académie française, the seat of the French Senate as well as a concentration of some of Paris most...
. At 113 metres long, 58 metres in width and 34 metres tall, it is only slightly smaller than Notre-Dame
Notre Dame de Paris
Notre Dame de Paris , also known as Notre Dame Cathedral, is a Gothic, Roman Catholic cathedral on the eastern half of the Île de la Cité in the fourth arrondissement of Paris, France. It is the cathedral of the Catholic Archdiocese of Paris: that is, it is the church that contains the cathedra of...
and thus the second largest church in the city. It is dedicated to Sulpitius the Pious
Sulpitius the Pious
Distinguish from Sulpitius I, Bishop of Bourges, called Sulpitius Severus, often wrongly identified with Sulpicius Severus, the historian of St. Martin of Tours.Sulpitius the Pious or the Débonnaire was a 7th century bishop of Bourges...
. During the 18th century, an elaborate gnomon
Gnomon
The gnomon is the part of a sundial that casts the shadow. Gnomon is an ancient Greek word meaning "indicator", "one who discerns," or "that which reveals."It has come to be used for a variety of purposes in mathematics and other fields....
, the Gnomon of Saint-Sulpice
Gnomon of Saint-Sulpice
The Gnomon of Saint-Sulpice is an astronomical measurement device located in the Church of Saint-Sulpice in Paris, France. It is a gnomon, a device designed to cast a shadow on the ground in order to determine the position of the sun in the sky...
, was constructed in the church.
History
The present church is the second building on the site, erected over a RomanesqueRomanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
church originally constructed during the 13th century. Additions were made over the centuries, up to 1631. The new building was founded in 1646 by parish priest Jean-Jacques Olier
Jean-Jacques Olier
-Early life:At Lyon, where his father had become administrator of justice, he made a thorough classical course under the Jesuits ; he was encouraged to become a priest by St. Francis de Sales, who predicted his sanctity and great services to the Ccatholic Church. He studied philosophy at the...
(1608–1657) who had established the Society of Saint-Sulpice
Society of Saint-Sulpice
The Society of Saint-Sulpice is a Catholic Society of Apostolic Life named for Eglise Saint-Sulpice, Paris, in turn named for St. Sulpitius the Pious. Typically, priests become members of the Society of St. Sulpice only after ordination and some years of pastoral work. Uniquely, Sulpicians retain...
, a clerical congregation
Congregation (catholic)
The term "congregation" has three usages specific to the Roman Catholic Church. One concerns the Roman Curia, the other two concern religious institutes.- Roman Curia :...
, and a seminary attached to the church.
Work continued for about 140 years: The church was mostly completed in 1732; the chancel is the work of Christophe Gamard, Louis Le Vau
Louis Le Vau
Louis Le Vau was a French Classical architect who worked for Louis XIV of France. He was born and died in Paris.He was responsible, with André Le Nôtre and Charles Le Brun, for the redesign of the château of Vaux-le-Vicomte. His later works included the Palace of Versailles and his collaboration...
and Daniel Gittard, but the work was completed by Gilles-Marie Oppenord, a student of François Mansart
François Mansart
François Mansart was a French architect credited with introducing classicism into Baroque architecture of France...
, in 1714-1745.
Giovanni Niccolo Servandoni
Jean-Nicolas Servan, also known as Giovanni Niccolò Servando or Servandoni was a French decorator, architect, scene-painter and trompe-l'œil specialist.He was the son of a carriage-builder at Lyon....
in which a double Ionic colonnade, Ionic order
Ionic order
The Ionic order forms one of the three orders or organizational systems of classical architecture, the other two canonic orders being the Doric and the Corinthian...
over Roman Doric
Doric order
The Doric order was one of the three orders or organizational systems of ancient Greek or classical architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian.-History:...
with loggia
Loggia
Loggia is the name given to an architectural feature, originally of Minoan design. They are often a gallery or corridor at ground level, sometimes higher, on the facade of a building and open to the air on one side, where it is supported by columns or pierced openings in the wall...
s behind them unify the bases of the corner towers with the façade; this fully classicising statement was made at the height of the Rococo
Rococo
Rococo , also referred to as "Late Baroque", is an 18th-century style which developed as Baroque artists gave up their symmetry and became increasingly ornate, florid, and playful...
. Its revolutionary character was recognised two decades later by the architect and teacher Jacques-François Blondel
Jacques-François Blondel
Jacques-François Blondel was a French architect. He was the grandson of François Blondel , whose course of architecture had appeared in four volumes in 1683 -Biography:...
, who illustrated the elevation of the façade in his Architecture française, remarking, "The entire merit of this building lies in the architecture itself... and its greatness of scale, which opens a practically new road for our French architects." It has been modified by Jean Chalgrin
Jean Chalgrin
Jean-François-Thérèse Chalgrin was a French architect, best known for his design for the Arc de Triomphe, Paris.-Biography:...
and others. Large arched windows fill the vast interior with natural light. The result is a simple two-storey west front with three tiers of elegant columns. The overall harmony of the building is, some say, only marred by the mismatched two towers; one, to the neoclassical
Neoclassicism
Neoclassicism is the name given to Western movements in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that draw inspiration from the "classical" art and culture of Ancient Greece or Ancient Rome...
design of Jean François Chalgrin
Jean Chalgrin
Jean-François-Thérèse Chalgrin was a French architect, best known for his design for the Arc de Triomphe, Paris.-Biography:...
, was added shortly before the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
but its matching tower was never begun, and the former tower remains.
At either side of the front door are two enormous shells given to King Francis I
Francis I of France
Francis I was King of France from 1515 until his death. During his reign, huge cultural changes took place in France and he has been called France's original Renaissance monarch...
by the Venetian Republic. The two shells rest on rock-like bases, sculpted by Jean-Baptiste Pigalle
Jean-Baptiste Pigalle
Jean-Baptiste Pigalle was a French sculptor.He was born in Paris, the seventh child of a carpenter. Although he failed to obtain the Grand Prix, after a severe struggle he entered the Académie Royale and became one of the most popular sculptors of his day.His earlier work, such as Child with Cage ...
.
Eugène Delacroix
Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix was a French Romantic artist regarded from the outset of his career as the leader of the French Romantic school...
, that adorn the walls of the side chapel. The most famous of these are Jacob Wrestling with the Angel
Jacob Wrestling with the Angel
Jacob Wrestling with the Angel is a biblical story commonly depicted in art. The story appears in chapter 32 of Genesis, and chapter 12 of the Book of Hosea...
and Heliodorus Driven from the Temple. Jules Massenet
Jules Massenet
Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet was a French composer best known for his operas. His compositions were very popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and he ranks as one of the greatest melodists of his era. Soon after his death, Massenet's style went out of fashion, and many of his operas...
set an act of Manon
Manon
Manon is an opéra comique in five acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Philippe Gille, based on the 1731 novel L’histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut by the Abbé Prévost...
at fashionable Saint-Sulpice.
Another point of interest dating from the time of Saint-Sulpice serving as a Temple of Victory is a printed sign over the center door of the main entrance. One can still barely make out the printed words ‘’Le Peuple Francais Reconnoit L’Etre Suprême Et L’Immortalité de L’Âme’’, The people of France recognize the supreme being and the immortality of the soul. Further questions of interest are the fate of the frieze that this must have replaced, the persons responsible for placing this manifesto and the reasons that it has been left in place.
The Marquis de Sade
Marquis de Sade
Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade was a French aristocrat, revolutionary politician, philosopher, and writer famous for his libertine sexuality and lifestyle...
and Charles Baudelaire
Charles Baudelaire
Charles Baudelaire was a French poet who produced notable work as an essayist, art critic, and pioneering translator of Edgar Allan Poe. His most famous work, Les Fleurs du mal expresses the changing nature of beauty in modern, industrializing Paris during the nineteenth century...
were baptized in Saint-Sulpice (1740 and 1821, respectively), and the church also saw the marriage of Victor Hugo
Victor Hugo
Victor-Marie Hugo was a Frenchpoet, playwright, novelist, essayist, visual artist, statesman, human rights activist and exponent of the Romantic movement in France....
to Adèle Foucher (1822). Louise Élisabeth de Bourbon and Louise Élisabeth d'Orléans, grand daughters of Louis XIV and Madame de Montespan are buried in the church. Louise de Lorraine
Louise de Lorraine
Louise of Lorraine was a French noblewoman and member of the House of Lorraine. She married into the House of La Tour d'Auvergne and was Duchess of Bouillon.-Biography:...
, duchesse de Bouillon was buried here in 1788, wife of Charles Godefroy de La Tour d'Auvergne
Charles Godefroy de La Tour d'Auvergne
Charles Godefroy de La Tour d'Auvergne was a French nobleman and member of the powerful House of La Tour d'Auvergne.-Biography:...
.
The Great Organ
Aristide Cavaillé-Coll
Aristide Cavaillé-Coll was a French organ builder. He is considered by many to be the greatest organ builder of the 19th century because he combined both science and art to make his instruments...
reconstructed and improved the existing organ
Organ (music)
The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
built by François-Henri Clicquot
François-Henri Clicquot
François-Henri Clicquot was a French organ builder and was the grandson of Robert Clicquot and son of Louis-Alexandre Cliquot, who were also noted organ builders. The Clicquot firm installed the first noteworthy organ in the cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris...
. The case was designed by Jean-François-Thérèse Chalgrin and built by Monsieur Joudot.
Though using many materials from Clicquot's French Classical organ, it is considered to be Cavaillé-Coll's magnum opus, featuring 102 speaking stops, and is perhaps the most impressive instrument of the romantic French symphonic-organ era.
Its organists have also been renowned, starting with Nicolas Séjan in the 18th century, and continuing with Charles-Marie Widor
Charles-Marie Widor
Charles-Marie Jean Albert Widor was a French organist, composer and teacher.-Life:Widor was born in Lyon, to a family of organ builders, and initially studied music there with his father, François-Charles Widor, titular organist of Saint-François-de-Sales from 1838 to 1889...
(organist 1870-1933) and Marcel Dupré
Marcel Dupré
Marcel Dupré , was a French organist, pianist, composer, and pedagogue.-Biography:Marcel Dupré was born in Rouen . Born into a musical family, he was a child prodigy. His father Albert Dupré was organist in Rouen and a friend of Aristide Cavaillé-Coll, who built an organ in the family house when...
(organist 1934-1971), both great organists and composers of organ music. Thus for over a century (1870–1971), Saint-Sulpice employed only two organists, and much credit is due to these two individuals for preserving the instrument and protecting it from the ravages of changes in taste and fashion which resulted in the destruction of many of Cavaillé-Coll's other masterpieces. The current organists are titulaire Daniel Roth
Daniel Roth (organist)
Daniel François Roth , is a French organist, composer, and pedagogue.-Biography:Roth began his musical training at the conservatory in his home town, Mulhouse with Professeur Joseph Victor Meyer...
(since 1985) and assistant titulaire Sophie-Véronique Cauchefer-Choplin.
This impressive instrument is perhaps the summit of Cavaillé-Coll's craftmanship and genius. The sound and musical effects achieved in this instrument are almost unparalleled. Widor's compositional efforts for the organ were intended to produce orchestral and symphonic timbres, reaching the limits of the instrument's range. Albert Schweitzer, his student and collaborator-- despite initiating an "Orgelbewegung," or organ reform movement, which deplored many nineteenth-century developments-- called this organ the most beautiful in the world. More recently, Stephen Bicknell concurred, pointing out that the full ensemble of many large organs is dominated by a few powerful stops; but at S. Sulpice many ranks, each of moderate power, contribute to a sound of dazzling complexity. With five manuals— keyboards— and boasting two 32-foot stops, organists at St. Sulpice have an incredibly rich palette of sounds at their disposal.
Aside from a re-arrangement of the manual keyboards c. 1900, the installation of an electric blower and the addition of two Pedal stops upon Widor's retirement in 1934 (Principal 16' and Principal 8' donated by Societe Cavaille-Coll), the organ is maintained today almost exactly as Cavaillé-Coll left it.
In Saint-Sulpice sunday organ recitals are held on a regular basis (Auditions du Dimanche, following the High Mass, usually from 11:30 till 12:05 clock, during the subsequent mas, a visit of the organ loft possible).
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List of organists
- Nicolas Pescheur ???? - 1603
- Vincent Coppeau
- Guillaume-Gabriel NiversGuillaume-Gabriel NiversGuillaume-Gabriel Nivers was a French organist, composer and theorist. His first livre d'orgue is the earliest surviving collection with traditional French organ school forms...
1640 - 1714 - Louis-Nicolas ClérambaultLouis-Nicolas ClérambaultLouis-Nicolas Clérambault was a French musician, best known as an organist and composer. He was born and died in Paris.-Biography:...
1714 - 1749 - César-François Clérambault 1749 - 1761
- Evrard-Dominique Clérambault 1761 - 1772
- Claude-Étienne Luce 1772 - 1783
- Nicolas Séjan 1783 - 1819
- Louis-Nicolas Séjan 1819-1849
- Georges Schmitt 1849-1863
- Louis James Alfred Lefébure-WélyLouis James Alfred Lefébure-WelyLouis James Alfred Lefébure-Wely was a French organist and composer.-Short Biography:Lefébure-Wely played a major role in the development of the French symphonic organ style and was a close friend of the organ builder Aristide Cavaillé-Coll, inaugurating many new Cavaillé-Coll organs.He began to...
1863 - 1869 - Charles-Marie WidorCharles-Marie WidorCharles-Marie Jean Albert Widor was a French organist, composer and teacher.-Life:Widor was born in Lyon, to a family of organ builders, and initially studied music there with his father, François-Charles Widor, titular organist of Saint-François-de-Sales from 1838 to 1889...
1870 - 1933 - Marcel DupréMarcel DupréMarcel Dupré , was a French organist, pianist, composer, and pedagogue.-Biography:Marcel Dupré was born in Rouen . Born into a musical family, he was a child prodigy. His father Albert Dupré was organist in Rouen and a friend of Aristide Cavaillé-Coll, who built an organ in the family house when...
1934 - 1971 - Jean-Jacques GrunenwaldJean-Jacques GrunenwaldJean-Jacques Grunenwald , was a French organist, composer, architect, and pedagogue.-Life and work:Jean-Jacques Grunenwald was born in 1911 in Cran-Gevrier, Haute-Savoie. He studied at the Paris Conservatory, where he received first prizes in organ and composition...
1973 - 1982 - Daniel RothDaniel Roth (organist)Daniel François Roth , is a French organist, composer, and pedagogue.-Biography:Roth began his musical training at the conservatory in his home town, Mulhouse with Professeur Joseph Victor Meyer...
1985 - current
The Choir Organ
The church is also home to a fine choir organ."Built by Daublaine and Callinet in 1844, the Choir organ of St. Sulpice was restored and enlarged by Cavaillé-Coll in 1857 to provide the church with a strong instrument capable of accompanying the large ceremonies of the Seminary. It was again restored in 1903 by Mutin and has been preserved in that condition to the present day." - JAV Recordings
This organ allowed C.M. Widor to compose his Mass for two organs and two choirs. Combining the Great Organ with the Choir Organ, he created a beautiful example of antiphony.
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The gnomon
Jean-Baptiste Languet de Gergy
Jean-Baptiste Languet de Gergy was parish priest at Eglise Saint-Sulpice in Paris from 1714 to 1748. He was the initiator of the construction of the Gnomon of Saint-Sulpice. Languet de Gergy initially wished to establish the exact astrological time in order to ring the bells at the most...
, then priest of Saint-Sulpice, requested the construction of a gnomon
Gnomon
The gnomon is the part of a sundial that casts the shadow. Gnomon is an ancient Greek word meaning "indicator", "one who discerns," or "that which reveals."It has come to be used for a variety of purposes in mathematics and other fields....
in the church as part of its new construction, to help him determine the time of the equinoxes and hence of Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
. A meridian line of brass was inlaid across the floor and ascending a white marble obelisk, nearly eleven metres high, at the top of which is a sphere surmounted by a cross. The obelisk is dated 1743.
In the south transept window a small opening with a lens was set up, so that a ray of sunlight shines onto the brass line. At noon on the winter solstice (21 December), the ray of light touches the brass line on the obelisk. At noon on the equinoxes (21 March and 21 September), the ray touches an oval plate of copper in the floor near the altar.
Constructed by the English clock-maker and astronomer Henry Sully
Henry Sully
Henry Sully was an English clockmaker. He lived for many years in France.-Marine clock:He invented a marine clock to determine longitude accurately, a sophisticated pendulum clock. He presented a first Montre de la Mer in 1716 to the French Académie des Sciences. He was the first to develop...
, the gnomon was also used for various scientific measurements: This rational use may have protected Saint-Sulpice from being destroyed during the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
.