Untitled - Les chemins du Baroque

ThE chuRch Of SAInT-quIRIn, A fORMER pRIORY
Among the three organs by Jean-André
Silbermann in evidence in Lorraine, the one from
Saint-Quirin is the only one which has survived time.
Due to the fact that the Benedictin priory of Saint-
Quirin depended directly on the Alsatian abbey of
Marmoutier, where the famous instrument made by
André Silbermann (1710) is to be found, the abbey of
Marmoutier addressed his famous family of organ
builders from Strasbourg again when the church of
Saint-Quirin had to be equipped with an organ.
Ordered in 1745, the instrument was installed from
17th June to 16 July 1746 by Jean-André helped by
his brother Jean-Henri, well known in the 18th century
for his harpsichords and piano-forte.
With the priory having been closed even before
the Revolution, in 1779, and the church being left to
the parish, the organ escaped being sold as a national
heritage. While being kept undamaged in the
The beginning of the 80's found the Moselle
department in a very poor state - economically poor,
demographically weak, not much hope socially and
a very poor cultural life.
Its image was at its lowest threshold.
It was this observation that motivated the County
council to transform Moselle into a culturally rich
area mainly directed towards popular action.
Thus the first efforts were made as part of a longterm
wish to enhance the cultural heritage of
Moselle, be it big or small, protected or unprotected,
19th century, the 20th. century was less scrupulous or
maybe richer. In 1904 Franz Staudt replaced the furniture
and the Cymbal with a Viola da Gamba and a
vox coelestis and tuned the organ using the modern
diapason. In 1917, the pipes of the facade were taken
away by the German authorities. In 1942 a restoration
with the restitution of the plein-jeu which had
disappeared was ordered from Frédéric Haerpfer, but
the pedal was entirely renewed with a pneumatic
traction and the echo was completed by two octaves.
Despite this unfortunate damages, the Saint-Quirin
organ kept most of its original equipment. In 1969,
Alfred Kern, gave it back its initial composition
during restoration financed by the Lions club in
Sarrebourg, under the aegis of Jean-Marie Schmitt.
Only the pedal initially made up of 13 pitches, was
rebuilt with an extension of 25 pitches. The original
diapason, with one lower tone was reinstalled
WhAT cuLTuRE fOR MOSELLE ?
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religious or secular, rural or urban, built or movable.
All the domains which are related to Moselle's heritage
benefited or will benefit in the future from the
County council's aid.
The organs for example (there are more than
600 in Moselle) of all ages and all types have received
particular attention, the Regional Organ Agency
providing all its technical know-how for an ideal
restoration.
Moreover, activities such as music and theatrical
productions as well as dance are key areas for the
Moselle Region's cultural policy.