D-day for the great organ of Notre-Dame de Paris. Fifteen months after the fire of April 15, 2019, the dismantling of the organ overlooking the nave will begin this Monday morning, according to the press release published on Saturday evening by the public establishment responsible for the conservation and restoration of Notre-Dame. . Miraculously spared by the flames, the instrument covered with lead dust, must be cleaned piece by piece.
Installed in the 13th century in the cathedral whose construction lasted more than 200 years, from 1163 to the middle of the 14th century, the great symphonic organ dates mainly from 1733. Knowing that it has been modified several times, the last time in 1868 by Aristide Cavaillé-Coll, a great 19th century organ builder. Its 8,000 pipes divided into 115 stops, make it the largest instrument in France in terms of number of stops.
It is covered with lead dust
“During the fire in April 2019, the organ was not affected by the flames. It received relatively little water during the firefighters' response but was covered with lead dust. Certain parts then suffered from the thermal variations undergone by the cathedral since the disaster, in particular during the heatwave of July 2019 ”, we reminded the management of the public establishment responsible for the restoration of Notre-Dame.
“The grace is that the great organ escaped the flames, unlike the one in Nantes which burned down in the fire of July 18. Ours is intact but it is dirty. It must therefore be dropped off for a major cleaning ”, observes Bishop Patrick Chauvet, rector of Notre-Dame de Paris, who celebrated mass this Sunday in a chapel in Pléneuf-Val-André (Côtes-d'Armor) where he is on holiday.
Dismantling, piece by piece, the 8000 pipes of the great organ is no easy task. To do this, a 30-meter scaffolding was installed all around in July. The work, which will last until the end of the year, will begin this Monday with the removal of the keyboard console before the dismantling of each of the 8,000 pipes. All the elements will be stored in four sealed containers. "A call for tenders will be published for the cleaning, restoration and reassembly of the instrument," said the statement from the public establishment. The clean-up and resettlement work will last until 2024.
The organ of the grand choir will also be cleaned
“By the end of 2020, the choir organ, which suffered much more from the disaster than the large organ, will also be removed for decontamination. Some of its 2,000 pipes will be reused for reconstruction, ”adds Laurent Prades, manager of the cathedral.
Outside, since June, the dismantling of the scaffolding which surrounded the spire at the time of the fire, continues. This titanic work, carried out by rope access technicians, should be completed at the end of September.
A reopening on April 16, 2024?
“Real work in the yard, the restoration of the great organ which is one of the cathedral's jewels, is particularly close to my heart. Our ambition is to restore the instrument to the operating condition it was in before the fire. Six months will be necessary for its agreement and harmonization. It was therefore essential to launch this operation as quickly as possible so that the great organ could resonate on April 16, 2024, ”said General Jean-Louis Georgelin, president of the public establishment responsible for the restoration of Notre-Dame.
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In accordance with the timetable for a five-year reconstruction set by Emmanuel Macron, General Georgelin made a commitment that a Te Deum (Editor's note: religious ceremony) would be celebrated at the cathedral on April 16, 2024 at half past eleven ...
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