Winchester Cathedral organ undergoes final step of restoration process

It is all done by ear, requiring very quiet conditions. A person known as the Voicer assesses each pipe and tests each one repeatedly to ensure that the speech and volume levels are correct.

Compared to regularly tuning the pipes, which alters the pitch, voicing is about guiding the musical output of each pipe. Adjustments are made to each one to ensure that each note is not louder or softer than its neighbours.

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Sub-organist Claudia Grinnell (Image: Michelle Monaghan)Each stop has a pipe for every note on the organ keyboard, and individual notes are, therefore, sounded repetitively at high and low frequencies. The voicing is done by Harrison & Harrison, the organ builders overseeing the restoration.

Claudia Grinnell, one of two sub-organists at the Cathedral, says that the voicing process is an exciting time because it only happens once in a generation; the last was in 1988.

She said: “It’s interesting to hear, and it’s the only time you will hear it as voicing is done every 40 years, and the process will take five weeks over twelve-hour days, so it’s very intensive.

“Harrison & Harrison, fingers crossed that they shouldn’t encounter any surprises. They will voice the organ to the building with the right acoustics and won’t sign off on the project, as it’s like having new shoes. You have to break them in first, so they break the organ in.”

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However, the process relies on visitors treating the building like a workshop at this time because some notes are more challenging to hear than others.

The Winchester Cathedral organ (Image: Michelle Monaghan)Although the restoration process has been a unique time at the Cathedral, Claudia says the team can’t wait to have the organ back.

She continued: “We have been using a digital organ, which is nowhere near as exciting to play, and you can tell the difference. When you play the real organ, the whole building shakes, and you feel the sound.”

The process started on Monday, September 25, so should finish early next month.

To celebrate the organ’s restoration, the Cathedral will hold a concert next year featuring French organist and composer Olivier Latry. It will be on Saturday, April 27 at 7pm with drinks from 6.30pm. Tickets are expected to go on sale soon.