An Organ with Two Keyboards
At the beginning of the 17th century, organist Jehan Titelouze and the Flemish organ style influenced Parisian organists. The medieval organ of Notre-Dame, with a single keyboard equipped with a blockwerk, became archaic. The Parisian organ evolved and modernized under the influence of organists and organ builders. The cathedral’s carpenters worked on the wooden structural parts.
In 1609, a significant upgrade added a new windchest and separate stops. This new keyboard included the three tonal colors of the organ: principals and full stops, flutes, reed stops, and a cornet top.
An Organ with Three Keyboards
Starting in 1618, Charles Racquet began to modernize the instrument. The work, entrusted to organ builder Valéran De Héman, lasted two years. He replaced 300 rusted pipes. Racquet added a series of stops to form a boucquin, complementing the medieval keyboard. Several stops were placed in the lower part of the organ. It became the first three-keyboard organ built in Paris: the first keyboard (Positif) had 14 separate stops, the second keyboard (Boucquin) had 7 separate stops, and the third keyboard (Grand Orgue) remained medieval with a full stop of VIII to XVIII ranks. The organ of Notre-Dame was then the most modern in the kingdom.
Jean Racquet succeeded his father in 1664. He initiated further modifications, creating a fourth keyboard, the Echo, and adding dedicated stops to the pedalboard. The work progressed slowly, and the canons grew impatient. Then, in 1691, Médéric Corneille commissioned Alexandre Thierry, the king’s organ builder and creator of the organs at Les Invalides and Saint-Eustache in Paris, to perform additional work. Thierry collaborated with Hippolyte Ducastel for the project.
An Organ with Five Keyboards
Upon taking office, Antoine Calvière secured the complete reconstruction of the instrument by the renowned organ builder François Thierry. The cathedral had undergone significant changes: the transformation of the choir, the addition of the Mays in the nave, and the replacement of the high window stained glass. A grand Louis XV-style case, likely painted white and gilded, was created in this context.
The work was completed in the summer of 1733, receiving praise from the greatest organists of the time. The organ now had five 50-note keyboards: the Positif with 13 stops, the Grand Orgue with 22 stops, the Bombarde, the Récit, and the Echo. The wind supply was provided by 12 bellows requiring four blowers. It was then considered the most complete French classical organ.
After fifty years without any major overhauls, organ builder François-Henri Clicquot performed a general expansion in 1783. He replaced the Positif case with a Louis XVI-style case with 14 stops. The Grand Orgue was expanded to the lateral walls, and many tin pipes were replaced. The three reed stops in the Pedal were rebuilt. The instrument was completed on May 5, 1788.
Spared by the Revolution
When the cathedral was converted into the Temple of Reason, the organ was threatened with destruction and suffered from neglect. In 1794, during a session of the Temporary Commission of the Arts, citizen Godinot requested that citizens Desprez, Séjan, Charpentier fils, and other known organists be allowed to play the organ. Desprez responded that: the mixture of stops produces various effects more beautiful than the others and forms an orchestra that can very well accompany our civic songs and express the sentiments of true republicans, as well as depict the thunder we reserve for tyrants.
A few months later, an order required the sale of organs in churches belonging to the Republic in the manner prescribed for the sale of national furniture. However, the Temporary Commission of the Arts classified the instrument as one of the organs to be preserved.
Under the Empire
François Lacodre, known as Blin, obtained an overhaul in 1812 carried out by Pierre-François Dallery. In 1833, his son, Louis-Paul Dallery, modified the classical organ. The keyboards were extended to 60 notes, the lower part was raised, and a new pumping bellows system was installed. The two small Récit and Echo keyboards were combined into one.
Eugène Sergent was appointed titular organist in 1847, just as restoration work on the cathedral began. Dust in the pipes, mechanical wear, and wind and rain entering through the windows under repair rendered the organ unusable. The organist was forced to abandon the keyboards. When Aristide Cavaillé-Coll examined the instrument at the request of architect Viollet-Le-Duc, he lamented the interventions made by Dallery while recognizing excellent parts worthy of preservation.
