During 2015, Notre Dame de France, the French-speaking Roman Catholic Church in London, will celebrate its 150th anniversary with a programme showcasing its renowned organ and rich historical heritage.
“Notre Dame de France: 150 years in pictures”, an exhibition of photographs showing the history of the church, from its construction in 1865 to the present day, will be officially unveiled on March 12th, 2015. The original church was built in Leicester Square on the site of the Panorama, an ancestor of the cinema. It was destroyed during the Blitz and a new church built after the Second World War. Today’s church contains several works of art by modern French artists, notably a set of murals painted by Jean Cocteau.
To mark its anniversary year Notre Dame de France will host a special series of recitals on its renowned and uniquely French-toned organ. As a result of recent work carried out in 2010, the organ has unique features such as a pedal divide, allowing the organist to play separate and different sounds with each foot simultaneously, and an extraordinary array of mutation stops, allowing for modern repertoire to be played as required by composers. Four internationally renowned organists; Duncan Middleton, principal organist of Notre Dame de France, Sophie-Véronique Cauchefer-Choplin, deputy principal Organist of St.Sulpice, Paris, Loïc Maillé, principal organist of La Trinité, Paris, and Gerard Brooks, Director of Music at the Methodist Central Hall, Westminster will present four very different programmes with works ranging from baroque to modern, showing the organ’s enormous versatility and fine tones.
