REPAIR & REFURBISHMENT
odds, the Notre Dame Cathedral pipe
organ in Paris survived the 2019 inferno,
which consumed the cathedral’s roof and
toppled its spire. But the blaze did coat
the instrument in toxic lead dust that
must now be painstakingly removed. The
mammoth task of dismantling, cleaning
and reassembling France’s largest musical
instrument is expected to last four years.
Within the pipe organ – and seemingly
una ected by the blaze – is the oil-free
air compressor supplied and installed in
2016 by the Gast Group, via its French
distributor Ener uid, as part of the
organ’s recent system modernisation.
compressor serves
as the air source
for the instrument’s
control system,
with the amount of
air supplied to the air
cylinders regulated according
to which sound is required from
the organ. For this type of control, a set
of pneumatic cylinders to regulate intake
has been installed above the Cavaillé-Coll
system to deliver a force of 200N on an
adjustable stroke of up to 6cms and with a
working pressure of 1.2bar.
INTO THE FUTURE
Does that mean that modern air
compressors will be used increasingly
in both restored and newly built pipe
organs? Unlikely, says Pat Murphy,
president/artistic director of US-based
pipe organ builders Patrick J Murphy &
Associates. “Everything comes at a cost,
and in the case of Notre Dame Cathedral,
being the pride of the country, little
expense would have been spared when
that particular work was carried out.
Ordinarily, you can’t a ord that kind of
investment.”
Cost aside, would modern air
compressors serve a pipe organ equally
well or better than a ‘blower’ – the
electrically powered turbine that supplies
the wind enabling the pipes to sound
– and start to become the solution
of choice? “First, you have to ask: will
the air compressor at Notre Dame
last 100 years? No one can say. But it’s
unlikely anyone will endorse that kind of
expenditure until we have seen a 50-year
non-failure rate.”
Anton Ivanov Photo /stock.adobe.com
This involved the pneumatic stop tie
machines being completely restored, and
a register system, motorised by highpressure
pneumatic actuators, supplied to
supersede the old ‘Cavaillé-Coll’ system
used since the organ was rst installed
in 1865. Aristide Cavaillé-Coll was widely
regarded as the most distinguished
French organ builder of the 19th century.
The Jun-Air OF1202-40MQ3
compressor was speci ed for the new
pneumatic system on account of its
combination of low operating noise
and supply of clean compressed air –
that is, free of oil, water and dust. The
38 www.operationsengineer.org.uk Winter 2021
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