Church of St. Ouen, Rouen

Saint-Ouen Abbey Church
Saint-Owen Abbey Church[1]
Abbatiale Saint-Ouen
The Abbey Church as seen from the Great Clock
Saint-Ouen Abbey Church Location of Saint-Ouen
49°26′33″N 1°05′59″E / 49.44250°N 1.09972°ECoordinates: 49°26′33″N 1°05′59″E / 49.44250°N 1.09972°E
Location	City Hall Square, Rouen, Normandy
Country	France
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Website	rouen.catholique.fr
History
Founded	750[2]
Dedication	Saint-Ouen
Dedicated	17 October 1126
Relics held	Saint-Ouen
Architecture
Status	Abbey Church
Functional status	Defunct
Heritage designation	Classée Monument Historique
Designated	1840[3]
Architectural type	Religious
Style	Gothic and Flamboyant architecture
Groundbreaking	1318
Completed	1537
Specifications
Number of towers	3
Bells	3 bells : "Saint-Ouen", 4 tons (1701); "Marie", 3 tons (1651); "Julie Marcelle", 2135kg (1887)[4]
Administration
Archdiocese	Rouen
Clergy
Archbishop	Dominique Lebrun
Laity
Organist/Director of music	Marie-Andrée Morisset-Balier[5]
Organist(s)	Jean-Baptiste Monnot[6]
Building details
General information
Location	Rouen, Normandy
Height
Antenna spire	82m

Saint-Ouen Abbey Church, also referred in English as Saint-Owen Abbey Church^[7] (French: Abbatiale Saint-Ouen), is a large Gothic Roman Catholic church in Rouen, Normandy, France, famous for both its architecture and its large, unaltered Cavaillé-Coll organ, which Charles-Marie Widor described as "a Michelangelo of an organ". Built on a similar scale to nearby Rouen Cathedral, it is, along with church of Saint Maclou, one of the principal Gothic monuments of Rouen.

Plan.

The Abbey

At the transept crossing

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.^[8]

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.

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Organ

Interior with 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.

Notes

1. "Example of the use of this spelling".
2. "French article about the church and its bells".
3. "Official website, edited by the French Ministry of Culture, referencing listed buildings".
4. "French article about the church and its bells".
5. "Article on the nomination of new assistant organist (in French)".
6. "Article on the nomination of new assistant organist (in French)".
7. "Example of the use of this spelling".
8. Wikisource:Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Abbey of Saint-Ouen

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. http://www.jstor.org/stable/767144

External links

• Gallery of St. Ouen de Rouen in Flickr
• Description of the church and organ