Real " building site in the building site " of the restoration of Notre-Dame de Paris, the removal of its great organ, which will have to be cleaned piece by piece, will begin on Monday, announced Saturday the public establishment responsible for rebuilding the cathedral.
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A 30-meter scaffolding had been mounted all around, in July, to allow this smooth removal. Voice of the cathedral since 1733, the great symphonic organ of Notre-Dame de Paris has 8,000 pipes divided into 115 stops which make it the largest instrument in France (in terms of number of stops).
In the fire in April 2019, it was not affected by the flames, received relatively little water during the firefighters' response, but was covered with lead dust. Some parts then suffered from the thermal variations undergone by the cathedral since the fire, in particular during the heatwave of July 2019.
The organ will require a thorough cleaning and a restoration which will take place between 2021 and 2024. The work begins on Monday with the removal of the keyboard console and will continue with the dismantling of all 8,000 pipes until the end. of the year. All the dismantled elements will be stored in four waterproof containers. A call for tenders will be published for the cleaning, restoration and reassembly of the instrument.
" Our ambition, explained General Jean-Louis Georgelin, at the head of the Public Establishment, is to return the instrument to the operating state in which it was before the fire, and six months will be necessary for its agreement and its harmonization ”. " It was therefore essential, he added, to launch this operation as quickly as possible so that the great organ can resonate in mid-April 2024 ", during the " Te Deum " that he intends to organize in the cathedral, five years old. after the fire, in accordance with President Macron's wishes.
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While the dismantling of the scaffolding which surrounded the spire at the time of the fire began at the end of spring - a titanic job which should be completed in September - the preparatory work for the dismantling of the great organ has been conducted in parallel in a more discreet manner.