Notre Dame day by day: what becomes of the cathedral organ
Miraculous from the fire of Notre-Dame de Paris, the great organ of the cathedral avoided the worst. Very enlarged by lead, it will be several months before it can be dismantled in order to consider a complete restoration, confides to Aleteia Olivier Latry, one of the three organists holding the cathedral.
He was one of the lucky ones of the Notre-Dame de Paris fire. The great organ of the cathedral, perched on its grandstand in front of the great western rose, escaped the flames but also the liters of water dumped by the firemen. Only inconvenience to note? The thick layer of lead that has come to dust the buffet, the pipes and all the mechanics.
Olivier Latry, one of the three organ owners for 33 years, came to the scene a month after the fire and saw the damage himself. "The organ is actually very dusted by lead but it has escaped the worst. It's a miracle that the heat didn't melt the pipes," he told Aleteia. But since then, the grandstand is no longer accessible because of the security work that continues throughout the cathedral. "The dust turns out not to be harmful to the pipes but nine months later it is necessary to check that no corrosion has appeared. We can't guarantee that the piping will remain intact. A construction meeting on the condition of the organ was held this week and samples will take place," he added.
As for its complete restoration, nothing is planned at the moment. "Nothing can be considered until the central scaffolding has been dismantled and the cathedral is not yet fully secure," he said. A wait that can last until the fall of 2020. This restoration, which is expected to take at least three or four years, will involve dismantling some of the pipes and restoring the rest on site. "The buffet, the biggest pipes and the big bellows will surely be restored on site," says Oliver Latry. "The rest will be completely dismantled and sent to the restoration shop," he adds. A complete dismantling that should allow the architect to deposit the great western rose and proceed to decontamination of the walls.
"It may be necessary to rebuild the choir organ in its entirety"
As for the choir organ, it had a more tragic fate than its big brother. Located close to the transept crossing, this organ, built in 1969 by Robert Boisseau, received an impressive amount of water. "We have not been able to see the damage directly because the area has been banned since the fire, but it may be necessary to rebuild it in its entirety," says Olivier Latry.
If the famous organ-making house Cattiaux has been in the habit of taking care of the maintenance of the great organ for many years, this exceptional project will probably require the launch of a tender. On the financing side, the Institut de France, chaired by Chancellor Xavier Darcos, himself an organist, has committed to finance the raising of the great organ and the complete restoration of the choir organ.
He was one of the lucky ones of the Notre-Dame de Paris fire. The great organ of the cathedral, perched on its grandstand in front of the great western rose, escaped the flames but also the liters of water dumped by the firemen. Only inconvenience to note? The thick layer of lead that has come to dust the buffet, the pipes and all the mechanics.
Olivier Latry, one of the three organ owners for 33 years, came to the scene a month after the fire and saw the damage himself. "The organ is actually very dusted by lead but it has escaped the worst. It's a miracle that the heat didn't melt the pipes," he told Aleteia. But since then, the grandstand is no longer accessible because of the security work that continues throughout the cathedral. "The dust turns out not to be harmful to the pipes but nine months later it is necessary to check that no corrosion has appeared. We can't guarantee that the piping will remain intact. A construction meeting on the condition of the organ was held this week and samples will take place," he added.
As for its complete restoration, nothing is planned at the moment. "Nothing can be considered until the central scaffolding has been dismantled and the cathedral is not yet fully secure," he said. A wait that can last until the fall of 2020. This restoration, which is expected to take at least three or four years, will involve dismantling some of the pipes and restoring the rest on site. "The buffet, the biggest pipes and the big bellows will surely be restored on site," says Oliver Latry. "The rest will be completely dismantled and sent to the restoration shop," he adds. A complete dismantling that should allow the architect to deposit the great western rose and proceed to decontamination of the walls.
"It may be necessary to rebuild the choir organ in its entirety"
As for the choir organ, it had a more tragic fate than its big brother. Located close to the transept crossing, this organ, built in 1969 by Robert Boisseau, received an impressive amount of water. "We have not been able to see the damage directly because the area has been banned since the fire, but it may be necessary to rebuild it in its entirety," says Olivier Latry.
If the famous organ-making house Cattiaux has been in the habit of taking care of the maintenance of the great organ for many years, this exceptional project will probably require the launch of a tender. On the financing side, the Institut de France, chaired by Chancellor Xavier Darcos, himself an organist, has committed to finance the raising of the great organ and the complete restoration of the choir organ.
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