Organ at St. Patrick's removed for restoration

The powerful, uplifting music that pulsates from 9,000 pipes of St. Patrick's Cathedral's organs is temporarily silenced pending completion of the 130-year-old cathedral's restoration.

Work crews began dismantling the organs' pipes from the cathedral's rear balcony Wednesday, leaving only one organ console near the cathedral's main altar to provide music for Masses and wedding ceremonies.

The pipes were loaded onto a tractor trailer parked on Fifth Avenue before leaving for the Peragallo Pipe Organ Co. in Paterson, N.J. There, the pipes will be washed and tuned and stored until the cathedral's restoration is completed in about two years.

"This is a dynamic, acoustical instrument with pipes that are 32 feet in length to the size of a pencil eraser," said John Peragallo III, whose great-grandfather founded the company in 1918.

The removal of the wooden gallery organ will allow for the cleaning and restoration of the stained-glass Rose Window behind the organ.

Made in 1930 and fully restored in 1993, Peragallo said the organ "was made to last forever." Peragallo's grandfather tuned and maintained the cathedral's organ after it was first installed.

"It's going to be missed," said organist Jennifer Pascual, director of music at St. Patrick's. "The music will sound a lot softer and it won't be as majestic and grand," she said.

"This organ is one of the busiest pipe organs in New York City," she said. At a minimum, the organ is played four to five times a day for Mass; seven days a week, she said. "This doesn't even include weddings and special ceremonies."

Black nets and scaffolding were already visible inside the church, where hard-hat crews started to clean the stone and stained-glass windows. The restoration project also will re-point the church's 330-foot spires that are made of stone and lead glass.

The $177-million two-year project will at one point have the church completely covered in nets; and its pews will all be removed to be restored in the last phase of the project.

"I love that organ. The music is so beautiful and uplifting," said Marie Pelosi of the Bronx, who works at Bloomingdale's and visits the cathedral often. "It's a special organ and I will miss it."