Chapelle des

missions étrangères

128, rue du Bac 75007 Paris

C1 The organ in the chapel is an ‘orgue-polyphone’, built by Louis Debierre. There are at least 4 polyphones in Paris (2 of which belong to private individuals) and at least as many in the suburbs). Info: Xavier Lebrun, facebook The other polyphone in Paris: crypt of the church of Saint Honoré d'Eylau Lire plus

1928- Louis Debierre (1)

I/6 - mechanical traction

composition (56 notes) Bourdon 16' (Dessus) Bourdon 8' ( Basse) Violoncelle 8' Dessus) Flûte octaviante 4' ( Basse/Dessus) Nasard 2' 2/3 (Basse/Dessus) The organ has a transposing keyboard (C to E, to the low and G to C, to the treble). The action of the mechanism is treading with pendulums and inverted laye, that of the stops is direct with balancers.

The construction of the Chapel of the Epiphany, more commonly known as the Church of the Foreign Missions, began in 1683 and was completed in 1697. It hosts many relics of young missionaries who died martyrs in Asia, which are kept for the devotion of the faithful in the crypt and the Hall of Martyrs. In the year 2000, the crypt and basement of the chapel were converted to present to visitors the relics and memories of the Martyrs of Asia. In 1851, Charles Gounod, appointed organist, composed the music for the Chant for the departure of the missionaries, then that of the Song for the anniversary of the Martyrs.

Masses with organ Sunday 10 AM Video An example of the sound of a Polyphone (Schoonhoven, Pays-Bas)

At the request of many parishes, which could not afford a pipe organ, Louis Debierre designed an instrument that resembled a large harmonium, but which in fact contained spectacular tricks and innovations. Thus, starting from the principle that in basses we never use joint notes, the lowest pipes can give 3 different notes, by an ingenious system of small bellows. This, of course, saves volume. Similarly, it halves the length of the bottom stops, by playing with the air pressure and the mouthpieces. Of course, the sound quality is not the same as a real 8-foot stop. The pipes of the trumpet are wonderfully angled to enter the cabinet. Debierre made about 500 of them, which are mainly found in Loire- Atlantique, but there were many installed in the former French colonies, with a special "tropicalized" treatment. (texte : Roger Martin)