Moritz Fassbender from German company Orgelbau Klais dismantles pipes from the Auckland Town Hall organ. Photo / Paul Estcourt
It's New Zealand's largest musical instrument, and it's about to get an extreme makeover of international proportions.
Almost all the Auckland Town Hall organ's 5000 pipes are being removed and many of them will be sent to Germany for restoration work.
The purpose of the restoration is to
return the organ to its original 1911 style and power.
The organ underwent "modernisation" in the 1970s, which diminished its power and resulted in its sound no longer reflecting the grand romantic style it had when it was built.
But such a huge makeover doesn't come cheap.
The project is costing $3.5 million - $3 million of which is being paid for by the Auckland City Council.
The Auckland Town Hall Organ Trust has been charged with raising the remaining $500,000, half of which it has already raised through its "Adopt-A-Pipe" fundraising scheme.
The dismantling of the mammoth organ began on January 4 and is expected to take three weeks.
Three members of German organ company Orgelbau Klais, the firm awarded the contract for the reconstruction by the Auckland City Council, and four people from the South Island Organ Company are removing the pipes - the largest of which is 5m long and weighs about 120kg.
Orgelbau Klais head Philipp Klais said the firm would re-use as many of the original pipes as possible to restore the organ to its original style, power and glory as a grand concert hall organ.
Auckland Town Hall Organ Trust chairman Stephen Hamilton said the restored organ's sound would be "much rounder, fuller and grunty with greater volume".
The gigantic organ is expected to be up and running again by the end of next year.
