On opening the small gnarled wooden door, we enter the part of the monastery which has been changed and rebuilt most often. The building goes back to the 11th century, though much of it dates from the 15th. In the 19th century it was lengthened and considerably remodeled.
Remarkably narrow and long, the church is made up of two succesive volumes:
Installing the great organ above the entrance door required closing the immense window which had once lit up the bottom of the nave. This alteration has nevertheless produced a rather striking effect: standing at the entrance, we note a constant progression of light as the eye moves forward; the choir, especially during the morning hours, is flooded with a luminosity which is all the more dramatic given the darkness of the nave.
The side chapels in the nave, deceivingly romanesque in style, were added and entirely decorated in the 19th century.
In the chapel of The Sacred Heart with stained glass by Albert Martine, designed by the celebrated post-Impressionist, Maurice Denis in 1934
 The Nativity |
 The Crucifixion |
 The Last Supper |
On the right hand side of the nave, some 30 feet from the entrance, stands a solid stone statue of Saint Peter, the patron saint of the monastery. He is vested in pontifical garments, crowned with the tiara, and holds in his hands two enormous keys, traditional symbols of his authority.
Though this work was made in the 15th century and originally was placed elsewhere, Dom Guéranger moved it here, prominently in view, in 1870 to commemorate the definition of the dogma of papal infallibility. A phrase that used to exist under a statue of Peter in Rome is engraved here in greek, latin and french:
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Above stained glass by Pauline Peugnier representing St. John the Evangelist, his quill in hand, writing at the dictation of Our Lady. An eagle can be seen behind him. It symbolizes John's contemplative vision.
The two non-figurative windows were designed by Jean Herbert-Stevens, adding to the romanesque atmosphere of the chapels.
Arriving at the transept one gets the first view of the sculptored groups, to the right and to the left, of what has long been called, "les saints de Solesmes". We do not know the identity of the sculptors since the archives of the monastery were destroyed during the Revolution. It seems nevertheless clear that outside donors helped finance these masterpieces, for their quality and size could not have been afforded by the small community then in existence. Even the names of the donors have been lost: all that remains is their splendid realisation.
