Chapelle de l'hôpital

de la Salpêtrière 1 - 2

(Eglise Saint-Louis de la Salpêtrière)

47, boulevard de l'hôpital, 75013 Paris

The hospital ''Hôpital de la Pitié-Salpêtrière was founded on the site of a gunpowder factory by Louis XIV. Its chapel Saint Louis was built around 1675 and designed by Libéral Bruand, architect of Les Invalides. It was built on the model of a Greek cross and features an octagonal dome in the centre and four central chapels each capable of holding a congregation of some 1,000 people.

Organistes titulaires

Agnès Retailleau-Matry, Didier Matry, Michèle Guyard

Concerts

Regularly

Masses with organ (in the Chapelle St Vincent)

Saturday 3 PM; Sunday 9:30 AM Video Agnès Retailleau-Matry Photo of the case: Jeroen de Haan Photo of the chapel and the console : Vincent Hildebrandt

The chapel of the hospital Salpêtrière is built according to a Greek cross plan: four naves of equal length and in the corners, four chapels with cut sides. The main altar was located at the intersection of the arms of the cross, under the dome. This arrangement allowed each group of patients of the Salpêtrière to be isolated from the others during the services. The octagonal choir opens onto the four chapels through eight semicircular arcades. The chapel was built from 1669 under the direction of the liberal architect Bruand taking up a plan by Louis Le Vau. One of the corner chapels Chapelle Saint Vincent) is dedicated to worship, the other spaces are used for exhibitions.

A3 The initial builder is unknown, but an inscription on an old pipe indicates this organ was built by Briel, one of the co-workers of Deslandes in 1709. The organ is probably extended at the end of the 18th century. In 1861, a comprehensive reconstruction was carried out by Antoine Suret, adding a positive (which remained empty, built only to hide the new console) and a récit expressif. In 1977, Müller reconstructed and extended the organ in a French classical style, adding pipes to the positive and transforming récit expressif into a récit in French baroque style. 9 out of the 31 stops date from before the revolution and 7 from Suret. Brochure