The procedure of restoration of the choir organ
After the signing of the contract with the organ builders, the restoration of the instrument will begin in earnest. Detailed production plans need to be drawn up before the first board can be planed to become part of the instrument and the alloy cast for the organ plate from which the tinsmith will make the new pipe.
In our case, the organ will be inserted into an old early baroque choir organ case, which must be dimensionally adapted and merged into a harmonious whole. The organ case, the small choir and the space behind the organ case will be measured in detail and the dimensions will be transferred to the drawings. The organ builder will then draw up detailed plans showing the dimensions and exact position of each individual organ component. The plans are gradually worked on from the signing of the contract so that the production of the components can start according to them.
In the meantime, the old organ case will be repaired and all the parts removed in later rebuilding will be added to give it sufficient strength. In the front wall of the organ case, all the wooden elements will be restored according to the surviving traces to accommodate the new keyboards, pedalboard, register rods and music desk. After the carpentry restoration of the organ case will come the restoration of the organ case's colour finish and the rich carving and sculptural decoration, which will not be carried out by an organ builder but by a restorer with the appropriate specialisation. The surface of the organ case and ornaments will be carefully cleaned and any minor damage repaired. The final retouching will be carried out after the machine has been installed in the organ case, as this usually involves minor damage due to seating of parts.
The organ parts are made simultaneously in several workshops, because several organ builders - specialists in the manufacture of pipes, air pipes, mechanics, bellows or keyboards - are involved in the work, and several thousand parts have to be made, from which the organ is finally assembled. According to the timetable, production will continue until the spring months of 2025.
Finished organ parts are gradually assembled in the assembly hall, seated on the internal structure and connected to each other to verify their perfect function and, if necessary, to make minor adjustments immediately in the workshop without having to improvise during the subsequent assembly of the organ on the choir.
After testing and verification at the workshop, the instrument will be disassembled, the parts will be carefully packed and then transported to Prague, where they will be assembled and wired in a few weeks in the early summer of 2025, and the pipes will sound for the first time in the church.
The last but crucial part of the restoration of the instrument will come - the final intonation of the pipes, in which all the previous work and effort will come to fruition. This part is the most important from an artistic point of view and it will take many weeks of time and work by the intoner before all the pipes and registers acquire their optimum character in the acoustics of Strahov Cathedral. The final intonation will take place in the summer and autumn of 2025.
Milestones of the organ restoration
Workshop Waltershausen
Orgelbau Waltershausen GmbH is a workshop specialising in the construction, restoration, repair and maintenance of pipe organs of all designs.
A team of specialist organ builders initially focused on the restoration of the unique organ area in Thuringia. The company's extensive knowledge of the historical organ building of instruments of this provenance has been reflected in the construction of the new organs. Its field of activity extended beyond its central German homeland, especially into neighbouring Hesse and other neighbouring states.
The company has spacious workshops and assembly halls, a workshop for metal pipes and an intonation room. It is equipped with everything necessary for the restoration and construction of organs of all sizes, including the production of pipes. The production is purely manual, all orders are prepared and realised to measure, there is no mass production or fixed types.
During thirty years of practice, the company has restored dozens of instruments. Among their representative works are:
- Instrument for the Catholic Church Herz-Jesu-Kirche in Weimar, 2011 (3 manuals, 58 indexes). This organ was commissioned by the Franz Liszt School of Music in Weimar as a large concert and practice organ.
- Reconstruction of the 1696 Oehninger organ in Worbis (former Franciscan monastery and pilgrimage site), 2012 (3 manuals, 36 indexes).
- Reconstruction of the Kellner-Weise organ from 1736 in the Evangelical church in Gröfenroda, 2003 - 2005; (2 manuals, 26 indexes).
These organs were the reference instruments offered by the Waltershausen company as a representative sample of their work to the selected "organ gallery" of Strahov Monastery. A visit to these sites became the basis for the decision to work with Waltershausen on the restoration of the choir organ at Strahov.
More information about the company at: https://orgelbau-waltershausen.de
