Benjamin Peter (on site), edited by Juline Garnier 1:41 p.m., March 23, 2022, modified at 1:45 p.m., March 23, 2022

Miraculously spared by the fire of April 15, 2019, the great organ of Notre-Dame de Paris is given a new lease of life.

In the Hérault, the Languedoc factory is one of the three companies commissioned for its restoration.

The organ benefits from a clean up.

REPORT

A jewel, thanks to which the notes of Johann Sebastian Bach ring out.

The organ of Notre-Dame de Paris was miraculously spared by the devastating fire that hit the cathedral on April 15, 2019. Thanks to donations received for the site, it has benefited from a meticulous restoration.

In the Languedoc factory, in Hérault, the craftsmen are carefully working to give it a new lease of life.

"Here I clean up, take the old school off with a scraper."

Christian repeats this gesture tirelessly.

Here, the restorers are in charge of the 19 windchests of the organ, blocks of oak located at the base of the pipes.

These ensure the correct distribution of air.

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"Above each hole, you have a pipe. It's a bit of a hunt for leaks that we do", explains the craftsman.

The instrument was not damaged by the fire, but it had to be dismantled to remove the lead dust.

The opportunity for Charles, the boss of the factory, to give it a little overhaul.

"The wear, the skin, the glues that crack... This does not come from the fire, it comes from time", he explains.

"As they had to be dismantled anyway, to be able to clean it all up. It would have been silly to restore them."

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Brice has worked here for 40 years.

Being able to renovate the largest organ in France is for him the culmination of his career.

"This will be the high point. I have decided to retire the day the bells of Notre-Dame will ring. It is an exceptional piece. When we finished the day's work, we said to ourselves that 'We're still lucky,' says the restaurateur.

This work on the windchests should last until September.

Then, they will go to Notre-Dame to work on the bellows which supply the instrument with air and which cannot be moved.

The mayor of Paris has given up imposing a fee on the construction site of the cathedral, i.e. a shortfall of around twenty million euros.

Notre Dame is expected to reopen to the public in 2024.