Saint-Eugène-

Sainte-Cécile

4 bis, rue Sainte-Cécile, 75009 Paris

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E6 In this church there was a choir organ bearing the inscription “Repaired by E. and J. Abbey, Versailles”. Its unusual feature was that it stood in the same gallery as the grand organ, on the right-hand side when facing the organ case, and slightly lower down. The instrument dates back to an earlier construction, probably contemporary with the building of the church. Indeed, the general appearance of the surviving elements suggests an instrument by Suret or Stoltz. The Abbey firm completely rebuilt the instrument at the beginning of the twentieth century, and it was inaugurated “like a grand organ” by Alexandre Guilmant on 25 January 1900 (see *Le Monde Musical* XII/2 [30 January 1900], p. 27). In 1993, the instrument was destroyed—perhaps ‘inspired’ by what had happened to the grand organ at the nearby Notre-Dame de la Lorette—and replaced by a new instrument built by François Delangue in a neo-Baroque style. It was installed in the old case, reusing some elements of the original organ. Source: La Flûte Harmonique, no. 65, 1993

Composition of the former choir organ Originally, the organ had a 54-note soundboard with eight stops and a double channel, together with a second soundboard with 37 notes and four stops. Later, a five-note extension soundboard was added, extending the compass of the Récit to 42 notes. (Both manual keyboards have 54 notes at the console.) The pedalboard has retained its compass of 25 notes. Here is the specification as it can be read at the console (the Récit stops are shown in italics): Grand-orgue Bourdon 8 Flûte harmonique Montre 8 Prestant 4 Doublette 2* Plein-jeu* Trompette 8 Clairon 4 Récit expressif Viole de Gambe Flûte octaviante Voix céleste Hautbois 8 [Appel] Soubasse [de Pédale] Tirasse G.O. Copula Expression Appel Anches G. O. Appel Bourd. 16 & Montre 8 Appel Prestant *The Plein-jeu stops seem to have replaced, at a later date, the Bourdon 16′—as indicated by the inscription on the mechanical drawstop for the Bourdon 16′ and Montre—and a Salicional 8′, respectively. Helbig curiously lists the Salicional in addition to the Doublette, giving a total of nine stops on the first manual.