Dusting every 25 years

Chipped off façade pipes, brittle leather along the bellows, dirty wooden surfaces on the outside of the instrument – our huge ‘Sauer’ Cathedral organ is in urgent need of some TLC. From 15 January to 23 February extensive repair work has been scheduled for the organ. The total costs amount to approximately €100,000.

From 15 January, the entire organ will be surrounded by scaffolding and remain silent for a few weeks. Wood restorers worked to remove the dust during which time the outer wooden surfaces of the instrument were painted with thin shellac; all the wainscoting, doors, carvings and gilded parts were also cleaned. The last round of cleaning on this scale took place more than 25 years ago. At the same time, the specialist organ designer W. Sauer – based in Frankfurt / O. – changed the brittle leather found on the bellows.