Johan Deblieck, an organ builder from Lennik in Flemish Brabant, has been commissioned to build a small organ for Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris in time for its reopening at the end of 2024.
A disastrous fire engulfed the cathedral on 15 April 2019, causing worldwide grief. Although most of it was spared, damage was inflicted on two main organs by the water used to fight the fire.
The small 'positif' organ crafted by Deblieck for Notre-Dame will comprise just over 200 pipes. It will be 1.25 metres wide, 1.15 metres high, and 75 centimetres deep.
Positifs are small pipe organs built to be more or less mobile. This kind of instrument is commonly selected for performances of Bach’s ‘St. Matthew Passion.’
Opening his workshop in 1993, Deblieck has gradually become a global authority on positifs. In 2001, he was entrusted with constructing an organ for the Bach-Archiv, a cultural institution in Liepzig dedicated to the composer Johann Sebastian Bach.
