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from The Dominion Post....
Organ at Wellington Cathedral suffers ‘significant damage’ in quake
“It's a bit of a mess at the moment, to be honest.”
By MARTY SHARPE | 11:45PM - Monday, 14 November 2016
Damage to the organ at Wellington Cathedral following the November 14th earthquake.
— Photograph: Michael Stewart.
THE ORGAN at Wellington's Cathedral of St Paul has suffered significant damage in the earthquake.
Director of music Michael Stewart said that while the cathedral appeared to have made it through unscathed the organ, worth millions of dollars, had suffered “significant damage”.
“We've spent the morning here picking pipes up off the floor and rearranging things. Basically the earthquake shook a lot of the pipes off brackets which have crashed onto other pipes, so it's a bit of a mess at the moment to be honest,” Stewart said.
Two large pipes fell on to the chancel area, where the choir would normally sit, and another seven or eight pipes fell into organ chamber.
“The large pipes caused a lot of damage. We're very lucky that this did not occur at another time and that no-one was hurt,” he said.
Damage to the organ at Wellington Cathedral following the November 14th earthquake.
— Photograph: Michael Stewart.
The organ at Wellington Cathedral of St Paul, damaged in the earthquake shortly after
midnight on Monday, 14th November. — Photograph: Michael Stewart.
Damage to the organ at Wellington Cathedral following the November 14th earthquake.
— Photograph: Michael Stewart.
The organ, parts of which date from 1877, was rebuilt in 1981.
“It has withstood everything from then until now. It's too early to say how much it will cost to repair the organ. Some parts will be salvageable, other parts are completely destroyed, bent out of recognition,” Stewart said.
He said the organ would be out of action “for a good long time”, likely to be months.
The last piece played on the organ was Adagio for Strings by Samuel Barber, widely recognised as the music from the movie ‘Platoon’. It was played at about 6.20pm, at the end of the Sunday night's service.
The cathedral would be closed to the public on Monday while further investigations are carried out.
• Wellington Cathedral of St Paul — Organs
Related stories:
• Ghost city: Wellington residents abandon central city after 7.5 earthquake
• 7.5 magnitude earthquake: what you need to know in the Capital
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/86426124
Organ at Wellington Cathedral suffers ‘significant damage’ in quake
“It's a bit of a mess at the moment, to be honest.”
By MARTY SHARPE | 11:45PM - Monday, 14 November 2016
Damage to the organ at Wellington Cathedral following the November 14th earthquake.
— Photograph: Michael Stewart.
THE ORGAN at Wellington's Cathedral of St Paul has suffered significant damage in the earthquake.
Director of music Michael Stewart said that while the cathedral appeared to have made it through unscathed the organ, worth millions of dollars, had suffered “significant damage”.
“We've spent the morning here picking pipes up off the floor and rearranging things. Basically the earthquake shook a lot of the pipes off brackets which have crashed onto other pipes, so it's a bit of a mess at the moment to be honest,” Stewart said.
Two large pipes fell on to the chancel area, where the choir would normally sit, and another seven or eight pipes fell into organ chamber.
“The large pipes caused a lot of damage. We're very lucky that this did not occur at another time and that no-one was hurt,” he said.
Damage to the organ at Wellington Cathedral following the November 14th earthquake.
— Photograph: Michael Stewart.
The organ at Wellington Cathedral of St Paul, damaged in the earthquake shortly after
midnight on Monday, 14th November. — Photograph: Michael Stewart.
Damage to the organ at Wellington Cathedral following the November 14th earthquake.
— Photograph: Michael Stewart.
The organ, parts of which date from 1877, was rebuilt in 1981.
“It has withstood everything from then until now. It's too early to say how much it will cost to repair the organ. Some parts will be salvageable, other parts are completely destroyed, bent out of recognition,” Stewart said.
He said the organ would be out of action “for a good long time”, likely to be months.
The last piece played on the organ was Adagio for Strings by Samuel Barber, widely recognised as the music from the movie ‘Platoon’. It was played at about 6.20pm, at the end of the Sunday night's service.
The cathedral would be closed to the public on Monday while further investigations are carried out.
• Wellington Cathedral of St Paul — Organs
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Related stories:
• Ghost city: Wellington residents abandon central city after 7.5 earthquake
• 7.5 magnitude earthquake: what you need to know in the Capital
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/86426124
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