From Uzès, we drove to Nîmes, once
the Roman colony of Nemausus, which boasts some of the best-preserved Roman
structures outside of Rome itself, including a huge aqueduct (the spectacular
Pont du Gard), a well preserved Roman temple, and a large amphitheater, still used for community
events (including bull-fights). We visited the aqueduct first, which was
amazingly intact for a two-thousand-year old structure of that size. It crosses
the Gard River, and in antiquity, it carried water from Nîmes to Avignon. The
aqueduct was a tourist draw, but uncrowded, as were the other Roman structures we
visited. I recommend Nîmes as a destination for those interested in ancient
Roman artifacts who don’t like to hassle the crowds. The Roman temple, called
the “square house” of Nîmes, was built in 02– 05 AD when Augustus was emperor.
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| Pont du Gard, Nîmes |
The two churches (with organs)
we visited that day (Friday, May 14) in Nîmes were the Église
Saint-Paul and the Cathédrale Notre-Dame & Saint-Castor. Both had classic
Cavaille-Coll organs (19th century) which have been recently
restored, to good effect.
The organ in the Église Saint-Paul
was one of my favorites of the entire trip. The low, vibrating tones resonate through
the church and through the body, giving a reassuring sense of grandeur and protection,
as if the tones offered the power of a massive, surrounding shield. Even the higher,
lighter tones of the organ have a masculine sound.
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The Cathédrale Notre-Dame &
Saint-Castor was a Romanesque cathedral built in the 11th century,
partly destroyed during the religious wars (Reformation), and reconstructed
in the 17th century. It was embedded in a conglomerate of buildings
in the center of the city, with shops attached to its walls like accretions or parasites on the side of a whale. The
church was quite dark inside, and I couldn’t get a good, in-focus picture of
the organ. Moreover, the organ seemed to have a rather more tinny sound than some of
the others we’ve heard.
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Cathédrale Notre-Dame & Saint-Castor
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