Pierre Thierry (1604–1665) was the founder of the Thierry dynasty of

organ builder Organ building is the profession of designing, building, restoring and maintaining pipe organs. The Organ builders , organ builder usually receives a commission to design an organ with a particular disposition of Organ stop, stops, Manual (mu ...

s of

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, France.

Biography

Thierry was born in Paris. He was the son of a cobbler. At the age of seventeen he became a servant of the organist Florent Bienvenu. He apprenticed with the best known organists at that time, first Valéran de Héman and then Crespin Carlier, with whom he became a partner for a while. He assisted Carlier at Saint-Nicolas-des-Champs between 1634 and 1635, when he branched out on his own. In 1636 he married Marguerite Leclerc, sister of the organist at the Grands Augustins church. She gave him a son in 1642 who was named Charles in honor of his godfather,

Charles Racquet Charles Racquet (1597–1664) was a French organist and composer, best known for his monumental organ ''Fantaisie''. He came from a large family of Parisian organists and himself was appointed organist of Notre Dame de Paris at an early age, in 16 ...

, the famous organist of Notre Dame de Paris. With the successive deaths or retirement of Crespin Carlier, Pierre Le Pescheur (1636) and Valéran de Héman (1641) Pierre Thierry became able to dominate the Parisian market. He worked in Paris at Notre Dame, Saint-Jean and Saint-Gervais, where he upgraded the organ in 1649 and again in 1661. His organ at Saint-Paul in Paris (1644-1646) combined the Flemish style that had become popular in northern France with the more modern French style. For almost forty years as a restorer, builder or expert, he fertilized organ building in Paris, earning the title of organ-builder to the king. He launched the organ-building careers of his sons Charles, Jean (who made pipes in their workshop), and especially Alexandre Thierry, the most gifted and best able to take over direction of the family firm after the death of their father. The dynasty would continue into a third generation with

François Thierry François Thierry (1677-1749) was the last representative, in the third generation, of an important family of French people, French organ builders based in Paris. He was the grandson of Pierre Thierry and the nephew of Alexandre Thierry. Biograp ...

, son of Jean.

Works

Works that have been identified as his include the organs at: * Saint-Jacques de la Boucherie, Paris * Notre Dame de Paris in 1636 and 1648 *

Saint-Germain l'Auxerrois The Church of Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois is a Roman Catholic church in the First Arrondissement of Paris, situated at 2 Place du Louvre, directly across from the Louvre Palace. It was named for Germanus of Auxerre, the Bishop of Auxerre (378-448) ...

in 1638 *

St-Martin-des-Champs Priory The Priory of Saint-Martin-des-Champs was an influential monastery established in what is now the city of Paris, France. Its surviving buildings are considered treasures of Medieval architecture in the city. History Foundations The oldest known ...

in 1642 *Paroisse royale Saint-Paul-des-Champs (destroyed in 1796) between 1644 and 1645 *Saint-Jacques-de-l’Hôpital-des-Pélerins *

Saint-Séverin, Paris The Church of Saint-Séverin (French: ''Église Saint-Séverin'') is a Roman Catholic church in the 5th arrondissement, or Latin Quarter, of Paris, on the lively tourist street Rue Saint-Séverin. It was constructed beginning in 1230, then, af ...

*Saint-Jean-en-Grève (destroyed in 1797) *Saint-Germain-le-Vieil (destroyed in the French Revolution) *

Saint-Nicholas-des-Champs, Paris The Church of Saint-Nicolas-des-Champs (''Église Saint-Nicolas-des-Champs'') is a Catholic church in Paris' Third arrondissement. Early parts of the church, including the west front, built 1420–1480, are in the Flamboyant Gothic style, while la ...

St-Gervais-et-St-Protais Saint-Gervais-Saint-Protais () is a Roman Catholic parish church located in the 4th arrondissement of Paris, on Place Saint-Gervais in the Marais district, east of City Hall (Hôtel de Ville). The current church was built between 1494 and 1657, ...

in 1649 and 1659 *Les Mathurins (destroyed in the Révolution) * Saint-André-des-Arts (destroyed in 1808) *

Saint-Sulpice, Paris , image = Paris Saint-Sulpice Fassade 4-5 A.jpg , image_size = , pushpin map = Paris , pushpin label position = , coordinates = , location = Place Saint-Sulpice 6th arrond ...

in 1662 * Pontoise Hôtel-Dieu (destroyed during the Second World War) in 1637, 1640, 1654 * Rouen Cathedral in 1657 in association with Pierre Desenclos His masterpiece was the organ at the

Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The conce ...

, undertaken between 1661 and 1664. He had to leave it to his sons, Jean and Alexandre, to finish this project.

References

Citations Sources * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thierry, Pierre 1604 births 1665 deaths French pipe organ builders