Vertou parish to fund €37,000 overhaul of Louis Debierre organ

An 1890 Louis Debierre romantic pipe organ in Vertou will fall silent in January 2027 for a year-long overhaul costing €37,000, entirely funded by the parish after the town hall declined to pay. To launch the fundraising campaign, a free public concert featuring Bach, Rachmaninoff, and Ennio Morricone is scheduled for November 29 at 4 p.m.

Decades of Silence and a Partial Revival

The instrument inside the Saint-Martin-de-Vertou church suffered a major breakdown in the 2000s when air reservoirs leaked and rendered its pipes mute. Electrical and mechanical failures added to the damage. Because repairs were deemed too expensive at the time, the municipality—which owns the building and the instrument—purchased a second organ built by Ménoret.

The association of the Friends of the Organ stepped in during 2020 to undertake a partial restoration of the Debierre instrument, which features a wooden case and 894 nineteenth-century pipes. After twenty years of silence, the instrument resumed playing, though it remains fragile. The last overhaul of the instrument dated from 1973.

The upcoming intervention requires dismantling a large portion of the mechanism, including the pipes, woodwork, and bellows. A specialized organ builder from Le Mans will handle the complex project. Because the municipality refused to finance the work, the entire €37,000 expense falls to the parish, which encompasses the church towers of Château-Thébaud, La Haye-Fouassière, Saint-Fiacre-sur-Maine, and Vertou.

November Benefit Concert Combines Historic Organ with Diverse Instruments

The November 29 benefit concert will combine the historic organ with a tuba, trumpet, cornet, and choir. Donations can be dropped off at the presbytery or submitted online through the diocese website.

The Debierre instrument remains largely hidden from public view because its case is built directly into the rear wall of the chœur and partly recessed. In 1888, the church had to be expanded with a circular corridor connecting the two sacristies to accommodate the installation, requiring builders to pierce an apse wall.

When the second organ Ménoret arrived, many people told us ‘ah finally, a pipe organ!’ because they did not know the other existed, said François Livet, who has served as organist in Vertou for forty years and leads the Friends of the Organ. When I play on Sunday, I open the shutters of the case so the pipes are visible. People are astonished.

Before an electric blower was installed in 1916, operators had to sit in a small pit behind the instrument and push pedals similar to those on old sewing machines to supply wind pressure. Livet noted that the Debierre instrument features a detached console giving the organist a clear view of the congregation, producing a soft sound suited for liturgy. By contrast, the Ménoret organ was originally designed for a smaller church, requiring higher air pressure that prevents it from blending well with other instruments. While the Debierre organ undergoes its year-long shutdown starting in January 2027, the Ménoret instrument will temporarily handle liturgical duties, though the municipality may eventually remove it.

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