The official inspection of the Romantic composer's heart was organised following warnings that the organ might have started to deteriorate.
When Chopin died in 1849 his body was buried in Paris but his heart was taken to Warsaw, as requested by the composer on his deathbed. The heart was sealed in what is believed to have been a jar of cognac and smuggled into the Polish city before being interred in a pillar at the Holy Cross Church (pictured above ).
A team of experts, including scientists, officials and the Archbishop of Warsaw, went to the church just before midnight on 14 April this year to remove the heart for an inspection.
Chopin's guide to Britain: 'crafty' locals and 'dreadful' weather
The 13 people present at the exhumation were sworn to secrecy and details of the unusual gathering were only released in September.
Tadeusz Dobosz, a forensic scientist present at the inspection, said: “The spirit of this night was very sublime.”
The team took hundreds of photographs, carried out an inspection of the composer’s heart and added hot wax to the jar’s seal to prevent further evaporation of the original preservative liquid. The Archbishop said prayers over the heart before it was returned to its resting place in the pillar.
Chopin experts have long been keen to carry out tests on the composer’s heart to try and find out whether he died of tuberculosis, as is generally believed. But the Polish church and government have been reluctant to give permission. This inspection was only sanctioned after a scientist warned that the alcohol containing the organ might have evaporated after all these years.
Read more at http://www.classicfm.com/composers/c...54OKuqsbTBY.99
.
http://www.classicfm.com/composers/c...xhumed-warsaw/
When Chopin died in 1849 his body was buried in Paris but his heart was taken to Warsaw, as requested by the composer on his deathbed. The heart was sealed in what is believed to have been a jar of cognac and smuggled into the Polish city before being interred in a pillar at the Holy Cross Church (pictured above ).
A team of experts, including scientists, officials and the Archbishop of Warsaw, went to the church just before midnight on 14 April this year to remove the heart for an inspection.
Chopin's guide to Britain: 'crafty' locals and 'dreadful' weather
The 13 people present at the exhumation were sworn to secrecy and details of the unusual gathering were only released in September.
Tadeusz Dobosz, a forensic scientist present at the inspection, said: “The spirit of this night was very sublime.”
The team took hundreds of photographs, carried out an inspection of the composer’s heart and added hot wax to the jar’s seal to prevent further evaporation of the original preservative liquid. The Archbishop said prayers over the heart before it was returned to its resting place in the pillar.
Chopin experts have long been keen to carry out tests on the composer’s heart to try and find out whether he died of tuberculosis, as is generally believed. But the Polish church and government have been reluctant to give permission. This inspection was only sanctioned after a scientist warned that the alcohol containing the organ might have evaporated after all these years.
Read more at http://www.classicfm.com/composers/c...54OKuqsbTBY.99
.
http://www.classicfm.com/composers/c...xhumed-warsaw/
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