Saint-Ouen Abbey Church, also referred in English as Saint-Owen Abbey Church (French: Abbatiale Saint-Ouen), is a large Gothic Roman Catholic church in Rouen, Normandy, France. The abbey is famous for both its architecture and its large, unaltered Cavaillé-Coll organ, which has once been described as "a Michelangelo of an organ" by Charles-Marie Widor. Built on a similar scale to nearby Rouen Cathedral, it is, along with the Church of Saint-Maclou, one of the principal Gothic monuments of Rouen.
The Abbey
The church was originally built as the abbey church of Saint
Ouen for the Benedictine Order, beginning in 1318 and interrupted
by the Hundred Years' War and sacked and badly damaged during the
Harelle. It was completed in the 15th century in the Flamboyant
style.
The foundation of St. Ouen's Abbey has been variously credited,
among others, to Clothair I and to St. Clothilda, but evidence is
scanty. It was dedicated at first to St. Peter when the body of St.
Ouen, Archbishop of Rouen (d. 678), was buried there; the name of
St. Peter and St. Ouen became common and finally St. Ouen only. The
history of the abbey, on record from the 1000, is unremarkable; a
list of abbots is in Gallia Christiana XI, 140. In 1660 the
monastery was united to the Congregation of St. Maur, and when
suppressed, in 1794, the community numbered twenty-four. The abbey
building itself was vacated by the time of the French Revolution
and was subsequently occupied by the Town Hall of Rouen.
Architecture
The church is 137 m in length under 33 m high vaults.
The central crossing is surmounted by an unusual lantern-style
tower similar to that at Ely Cathedral in England. The tower was
completed in the Flamboyant style. The well-preserved stained glass
of the nave dates to the 15th and 16th centuries, and features
jewel tones among panels of clear and frosted white glass. These
materials allow more light to filter into the nave, creating a
brighter interior than is typical of Gothic churches. Despite the
use of Flamboyant tracery in the aisles, triforium, and clerestory,
the nave maintains a conservative appearance through the use of
compound piers, trumpet bases, and capitals which helps maintain
harmony throughout the edifice. The west façade was never completed
during the Middle Ages. It was constructed between 1846 and 1851 in
a Neo-Gothic style that bears little resemblance to the original
Late Gothic designs.
Organ
The church contains a large four-manual pipe organ built in 1890
by Aristide Cavaillé-Coll. This instrument is considered to be one
of the most important organs in France, and is notable for its
unusually powerful 32' Contre Bombarde. The organ stands unaltered
and thus is one of the few of the master's works to speak with its
original voice.
| I Positif |
| Montre |
8' |
| Bourdon |
8' |
| Gambe |
8' |
| Unda maris |
8' |
| Flûte douce |
4' |
| Dulciane |
4' |
| Doublette |
2' |
| Plein-jeu V |
1' |
| Cor anglais |
16' |
| Trompette |
8' |
| Cromorne |
8' |
| Clairon |
4' |
|
| II Grand-Orgue |
| Montre |
16' |
| Violon-basse |
16' |
| Bourdon |
16' |
| Montre |
8' |
| Diapason |
8' |
| Bourdon |
8' |
| Salicional |
8' |
| Flûte harmonique |
8' |
| Prestant |
4' |
| Trompette en chamade |
8' |
| Clairon en chamade |
4' |
|
| III Récit expressif |
| Quintaton |
16' |
| Corno dolce |
16' |
| Diapason |
8' |
| Flûte traversière |
8' |
| Cor de nuit |
8' |
| Voix éolienne |
8' |
| Viole de gambe |
8' |
| Voix céleste |
8' |
| Flûte octaviante |
4' |
| Viole d'amour |
4' |
| Quinte |
2 2/3' |
| Octavin |
2' |
| Carillon I-III |
1' |
| Cornet V |
8' |
| Tuba magna |
16' |
| Trompette harmonique |
8' |
| Basson-Hautbois |
8' |
| Clarinette |
8' |
| Voix Humaine |
8' |
| Clairon harmonique |
4' |
|
| Tremolo |
|
| IV Bombarde |
| Grosse Flûte |
8' |
| Flûte |
4' |
| Doublette |
2' |
| Fourniture V |
2 2/3' |
| Cornet V |
16' |
| Bombarde |
16' |
| Basson |
16' |
| Trompette |
8' |
| Clairon |
4' |
|
| Pédale |
| Soubasse |
32' |
| Contre-basse |
16' |
| Soubasse |
16' |
| Basse |
8' |
| Violoncelle |
8' |
| Bourdon |
8' |
| Flûte |
4' |
| Contre-bombarde |
32' |
| Bombarde |
16' |
| Basson |
16' |
| Trompette |
8' |
| Clairon |
4' |
|
- Couplers: Tirasse G.O., Tirasse Pos., Tirasse Réc., Appel G.O.,
Pos./G.O., Réc./G.O., Bomb./G.O., Pos./Réc., Bomb./Réc., Oct. gr.
G.O., Oct. gr. Réc./G.O., Oct. gr. Réc., Oct. aiguë Réc., Anches
Péd., Anches G.O., Anches Pos., Anches Réc., Anches Bomb., Trémolo
Réc., Expression Réc.
Bibliography
- Davis, Michael T. and Linda Elaine Neagley. "Mechanics and
Meaning in the Plan Designs of Saint-Urbain, Troyes and Saint-Ouen,
Rouen," Gesta 39 (2000): 161-182. https://www.jstor.org/stable/767144
External
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