The restoration of the main organ of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris advances into another phase of the work in the decontamination of the pipes.
Newsroom (29/03/2022 11:10, Gaudium Press) After miraculously escaping the fire that struck Notre-Dame, the main organ of the Paris Cathedral is being restored.
The restoration of the organ’s 8,000 pipes began last 22 March at the Cattiaux-Chevron workshop in the French region of Corrèze.
The work is planned so that the organ can be heard again at the reopening of the cathedral in 2024.
The cathedral’s large organ was preserved from the damage of the fire and also from the huge amount of water used by firefighters to control the fire.
The same cannot be said of the small organ in the upper choir, which suffered tremendous water damage and will have to be completely redone.
Thanks to the preservation of the main organ, the restoration work consists mainly in the decontamination and cleaning of the pipes.
Lead particles that were loosened by the fire have spread throughout the cathedral, falling into the more than 8,000 pipes of the organ.
Aristide Cavaille-Coll
Historic monument
With 8,000 pipes divided into 115 groups and 5 keyboards, the Notre-Dame organ is the largest musical instrument in France and one of the best known in the world.
Classified as a historic monument by the French Ministry of Culture, the great organ of Notre-Dame was rebuilt by Aristide Cavaillé-Coll in 1868.
Aristide Cavaillé-Coll was a talented organ builder of the 19th century, renowned not only for the instruments he built throughout France and Europe, but also for his technical inventions. (FM)
Compiled by Sandra Chisholm
