Thirty years ago, the city of Paris inaugurated the organ of the Saint-Pierre-de-Chaillot church, an instrument with 5,000 pipes entirely built in Plaisance-du-Gers by the Organ Manufacture, then winner of the competition international launched three years earlier. The audacity and ingenuity of Daniel Birouste, master organ builder, had far surpassed the reputation of the 18 European companies applying for his technical prowess: projecting half of the instrument into the void, i.e. 10 tonnes suspended above of the entrance.
And the musical event was significant since for 100 years, no new organ this large had been built in the capital. The week of concerts which followed the inauguration saw the greatest organists of the moment perform, making the front page of “Télérama”.
A true reference among artists adept at contemporary music and improvisation, Jean-Louis Florentz wrote “L’Enfant noir” there, Thierry Escaich recorded “Improvisations pour les temps liturgiques” there.
To properly celebrate the 30th anniversary of this organ, Samuel Liégeon, its titular organist for fifteen years, a regular at the Plaisance silent film festival, invited Jean-Pierre Leguay on January 4 for a recital demonstrating his art in the deployment of colors sound of the instrument. Among the many personalities from the world of culture who came to attend this concert, we can imagine the joy and emotion of Daniel Birouste and Bertrand Lazerme, meeting loyal friends for the occasion, such as academician Emmanuel Guibert.
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