Organ concerts in the cavaillé-coll organs

Show, festival (concert, dance, theatre)

Attend a series of free organ concerts at saint-denis cathedral basilica!

  • Sunday 22 March at 5pm, Sunday 3 May at 5pm, Sunday 28 June at 5pm, Friday 7 August at 8.30pm, Sunday 20 September at 5.30pm, Sunday 4 October at 5pm and Sunday 8 November at 5pm.

  • Free admission for all, no need to book.

  • All audiences

  • basilique@monuments-nationaux.fr or 06 12 28 76 60

Presentation

Once again this year, the Centre des monuments nationaux is offering a series of free organ concerts to (re)discover the exceptional organ in the Cathedral Basilica of Saint-Denis, a masterpiece by the famous organ builder Aristide Cavaillé-Coll. Renowned for the richness of its timbres and the majestic power of its sounds, this historic instrument offers a striking musical experience in the grandiose acoustics of the necropolis of the kings and queens of France.

These concerts, open to all, are a unique opportunity to hear this remarkable organ performed by talented organists in one of the finest jewels of Gothic architecture.

Concert programme

  • Sunday 22 March at 5pm: Lionel Avot, professor at the CRR in Lyon
  • Sunday 3 May at 5 pm: Baptiste-Florian Marle-Ouvrard, titular organist of the church of Saint-Eustache in Paris
  • Sunday 28 June at 5 pm: Domenico Severin , titular organist at Meaux Cathedral
  • Friday 7 August at 8.30pm: Quentin Guérillot, titular organist of the Cathedral Basilica of Saint-Denis
  • Sunday 20 September at 5.30pm: Frédéric Muñoz, titular organist at Saint-Guilhem-le-désert Abbey
  • Sunday 4 October at 5 pm: Frédéric Mayeur, titular organist of Dijon Cathedral
  • Sunday 8 November at 5 pm: Véronique Le Guen , titular organist at the church of Saint-Séverin in Paris

Artistic director: Quentin Guérillot, titular organist of the Great Organs of the Cathedral Basilica of Saint-Denis.

During the concerts, the programme is commented on and the image of the performer is shown on a screen.

The organ of the Cathedral Basilica of Saint-Denis

The neo-Gothic organ case was designed by the architect François Debret, who was responsible for restoring the abbey church in 1813. Cavaillé-Coll created this unprecedented instrument, inventing the pneumatic lever, the Machine Baker, which relieved the organist's workload by avoiding the hardness of the keyboards. He is the most emblematic organ builder of the 19th century. He revolutionised the profession and had over 500 organs built in Paris, the provinces and abroad. The instrument has 69 stops, 3 manuals and around 4,200 pipes.

In pictures

© Caroline Rose / Centre des monuments nationaux

Détail des Grandes-Orgues Cavaillé-Coll de la basilique cathédrale de Saint Denis représentant des anges musiciens

© Pascal Lemaitre / Centre des monuments nationaux

Clavier des Grandes-Orgues Cavaillé-Coll de la basilique cathédrale Saint-Denis

© Pascal Lemaître / Centre des monuments nationaux

© Pascal Lemaître / Centre des monuments nationaux

Who is Quentin Guérillot?

Born in Mulhouse, Quentin Guérillot studied at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Paris with great masters such as Michel Bouvard and Olivier Latry for organ, Olivier Baumont for harpsichord, Thierry Escaich and Pierre Pincemaille for writing and improvisation, and won 7 first prizes. A pupil of Vincent Warnier, he has also taken numerous master classes with Louis Robillard, Bernhard Haas, Andreas Staier and Christophe Rousset, and has worked on the Italian organ repertoire with the renowned organist and musicologist Andrea Macinanti.

Passionate about musicological sources and ancient treatises, he specialised as a conductor-continuist with Leonardo Garcia Alarcon at the HEM in Geneva.

In May 2018, aged just 25, he was appointed titular organist of the Grandes orgues Cavaillé-Coll at the Cathédrale-Basilique de Saint-Denis, succeeding his mentor Pierre Pincemaille. Since then, he has been artistic director of the Cathedral's organ concert season, and regularly performs as a soloist at the Saint-Denis Festival, notably with Khrystyna Sarksyan and David Guerrier. He also plays regularly under the direction of prestigious conductors such as Matthias Pintscher, Marko Letonja and Jukka-Pekka Saraste at the Philharmonie de Paris and the Théatre Antique d'Orange.

A concert performer renowned throughout Europe, he has dedicated his first CD, "L'orgue chambriste, du salon à la salle de concert", to the Initiale label, to unanimous critical acclaim (Choc de Classica).

In video