Extending the Organ

Learn more about extension work that was interrupted by the major earthquakes that affected the Christchurch Town Hall Organ, and other general earthquake information from the greater Canterbury region.

Enlarging the pipe organ - between earthquakes

Thanks to a very generous bequest from the estate of Frank Partridge, the organ was finally able to be extended, updated and finished. Work began in December 2010. Aftershocks from the September 4th quake continued to roll on through but the workmen, Dominik Mätzler (the same Dominik who helped install the organ in 1997) and Kaspar Eiler worked on regardless.
After that, things got a whole lot more complicated. . .

December 2010 - Work begins

January 2011

January - work continues between aftershocks

The progress made by just two men is staggering - windchests are already in place, the swell boxes on either side of the existing swell box just await their pipes, and the console has been dismantled and the pistons are being re-wired. And much more besides. Dominik and Kaspar have also had to contend with the earthquake aftershocks; moments after I had taken this photo before scaling the dizzy heights of the swell to join Kaspar, a shallow magnitude 4 centred close to the town hall hit with a thump.

Early February 2011

From one terror (dentist) to another: straddling the boardwalks up in the Swell and alongside the new enlosures awaiting their pipes. Kaspar and Dominik shinny up these like monkeys but I ascend with one nervous trembling hand after the other, clutching each rung, bit by bit. The manuals now have the new piston layout, and work bounces along happily.

Nearing the end of the first stage. As Dominik and Kaspar prepare to leave, to be replaced by the voicers, things are falling (well, not literally, we hope) into place. The new console, simplified and upgraded with a slide-out drawer for the sequencer, looks very sleek and 21st centuryish

19th February 2011

Last days: Voicer Gerhard Pohl and Marianne Kort of Rieger had just a few more days of work to go before the 6.3 aftershock on February 22nd struck Christchurch and once again, the town hall was out-of-bounds. We are still unable to check on the organ so these pictures taken on Saturday, Feb 19th were the last taken before the organ was inaccessible for eight more years.

Starting again 2018

Gerhard Pohl and Franz Roth, intrepid voicers and tuners of Rieger, have arrived to take over from the first team and complete this protracted task. They must voice and tune every one of the 4307 pipes in the organ. The organ is back to looking almost normal now. The slideshow below also shows some of the surrounding Victoria Square and work being done around the town hall complex. The analogy with a beehive is apt - it is