Breath-taking St. Chapelle

My favorite architecture has always been Gothic and St. Chapelle is an amazing example of rayonnant gothic architecture. When I stayed in Italy as grad student and later as professor, I visited many churches. There's no denying how impressive the scale of St. Peter's in Rome is. In addition,  many Italian churches are impressive with their art holdings only from Bernini, Bellini, Michelangelo and Caravaggio.

 I really enjoy all of Ross King's books and I've read Brunelleschi's Dome four or five times now- the first time in Florence in 2002. Its great anecdote of all of the inventions that had to take place to be able to complete the Duomo. One of the knock that Italians have always had with Gothic architecture is that the structural elements (flying buttresses) are visible whereas with the Duomo the structure is inside the walls of the dome, between roof and ceiling, invisible to the viewer. I personally like the aesthetic of the buttress myself as it compliments the dynamic and amount of the details found on the finials, bar tracery, etc. The real payoff for me though is the interior. The nave is so narrow resulting in a huge vertical thrust, and due to the buttressing the walls are nearly non-existent. The walls actually appear like bar tracery rather than structural walls. There is so much glass and its is completely stunning.

St. Chapelle was commissioned by King Louis IX as his private chapel and as part of his collection was the relic of the Crown of Thorns. Apparently, the relic is no longer kept there. It is kept in Notre Dame. While much of the church underwent restoration in the 19th century after being damage during the French Revolution, two thirds of the stained glass is original, making it one of the most precious examples in Europe.

Several nights ago I had the pleasure of returning to St. Chapelle for a performance by Orchestre les Solistes Francais. I love them. They had a guest soprano, the amazing Mme. Marie-Pierre Wattiez, for a number of pieces, including two pieces by Bach (Jesu, The Joy of Man's Desiring and Ave Maria) that they closed the performance with. I had goosebumps on my neck and welled-up with tears as I was overcome with the space and music.