Not a pipe dream: Notre Dame's organ to be 'revived'

Paris: Notre Dame s famed 8,000 pipe organ, known as the voice and soul of the beloved cathedral, will be revived after a five year absence in one o...

Paris: Notre Dame's famed 8,000-pipe organ, known as the voice and soul of the beloved cathedral, will be "revived" after a five-year absence in one of the highlights of this weekend's reopening ceremony at the landmark.

The vast organ escaped the worst of a devastating 2019 blaze that destroyed Notre Dame's roof and spire, but it suffered minor water damage and was left covered with ash and a film of poisonous lead dust.

Workers had to dismantle it to clean its five keyboards, winch down the pipes -- some of them are almost 10 metres (32 feet) long -- and replace internal leather components.

The entire ensemble was re-tuned at night over a six-month period ahead of the reopening ceremony on Saturday that will be attended by incoming US president Donald Trump, among other VIPs.

After symbolically knocking on the door and then entering the cathedral at the start of proceedings, Paris archbishop Laurent Ulrich will call on the instrument on eight occasions, commanding it to "wake up".