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Saint-Ouen Abbey, Rouen

Coordinates: 49°26′33″N 1°05′59″E / 49.44250°N 1.09972°E / 49.44250; 1.09972
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Saint-Ouen Abbey Church
Saint-Owen Abbey Church[1][2][3]
Abbatiale Saint-Ouen
The Abbey Church
as seen from the Great Clock
Saint-Ouen Abbey Church is located in France
Saint-Ouen Abbey Church
Saint-Ouen Abbey Church
Location of Saint-Ouen
49°26′33″N 1°05′59″E / 49.44250°N 1.09972°E / 49.44250; 1.09972
LocationCity Hall Square, Rouen, Normandy
CountryFrance
DenominationRoman Catholic
Websiterouen.catholique.fr
History
StatusAbbey Church
Founded750[4]
DedicationSaint-Ouen
Dedicated17 October 1126
Relics heldSaint-Ouen
Architecture
Functional statusDefunct
Heritage designationClassée Monument Historique
Designated1840[5]
Architectural typechurch
StyleGothic, Flamboyant
Groundbreaking1318
Completed1537
Specifications
Number of towers3
Bells3 bells : "Saint-Ouen", 4 tons (1701); "Marie", 3 tons (1651); "Julie Marcelle", 2135kg (1887)[6]
Administration
ArchdioceseRouen
Clergy
ArchbishopDominique Lebrun
Laity
Organist/Director of musicMarie-Andrée Morisset-Balier[7]
Organist(s)Jean-Baptiste Monnot[8]
Building details
Map
General information
LocationRouen, Normandy
Height
Antenna spire82m

Saint-Ouen Abbey Church, also referred in English as Saint-Owen Abbey Church[9][10][11] (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.

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.[12]

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.

  • Architectural Details

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

Bibliography

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Église Saint-Ouen de Rouen.
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