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The restoration of the instrument

Over its relatively short history, the instrument lived through four successive stages:

• original condition established by Jeanpierre in Saint-Jean-de-Port, 1856;
• state after transformation by Didier-Van Caster in Saint-Nicolas-de-Port, 1895;
• state after its transfer to Villerupt around 1905, probably by Didier-Van Caster;
• state after work done by Jacquot in 1929, which is very much its present state.

Technically, it would have been possible to return the organ to its original condition. Sufficient examples of work by Jeanpierre from the 1850s could have served to copy the lost parts in Villerupt.  But certain details of the specification would have remained hypothetical, and it would have had the major drawback of requiring the removal of good quality Didier-Van Caster material that merits conservation. While the voicing by Didier-Van Caster was entirely untouched, in as far as can be judged by inspecting the pipework without hearing the instrument, an attempted return to the voicing of Jeanpierre would have been somewhat adventurous.
This is why the return to the state of 1895 was accepted by the Commission nationale des Monuments historiques on April 7, 2005. However, a few exceptions with respect to the 1895-state were allowed:

• the conservation of the Récit Cornet added by Jacquot;
• the re-use of the bass pipes of the Montre 16 as a Flûte 16 on the Pédale.

The restoration principles here are those applicable to all historic organ restorations. Each decision must be based on an in-depth study of the instrument or other similar historic examples. All changes with regards to the CCTP (Cahier des Charges des Travaux Particuliers: Restoration programme), however small, must be submitted for approval to the Maître d’œuvre (Works leader) and noted in the site meeting reports before execution. As far as possible, all operations must remain reversible. Old parts are replaced with copies of the original only if their state of conservation is considered to be insufficient to guarantee reliable operation in the instrument. Only organic or hot glues should be used.
Christian Lutz (extract from the Restoration programme).
The Clairon 4 of doubtful authenticity was replaced during the restoration by a new Plein-jeu copied from one by Jeanpierre.

The restoration required 5025 hours. The organ now possesses 1191 speaking pipes, of which 90 are wooden, plus 30 sham pipes (previously employed by Jacquot as Montre 16).
The organ was inaugurated on September 2012 by Jean-Luc Perrot.

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