Das Elsass - Land der Orgeln (360° - GEO Reportage)

No other region in France has more organs than Alsace; of the nearly 8,000 throughout the country, 1,250 are found in Alsace alone. The "queen of instruments" seems to connect heaven and earth with its powerful sounds. Building and restoring them has been an art for centuries. A film by Vincent Froehly © 2021, Licensed by MedienKontor / ARTE Subscribe to wocomoTRAVEL: https://goo.gl/tIk2Qc Follow us on Facebook:   / wocomo   Patrick Armand is an organ builder. He runs one of the most renowned and oldest organ builders, the Muhleisen company in Eschau, Alsace. The organ manufactory handles four different tasks: the maintenance and care of old organs, the construction of new organs, restoration, in which the instrument is completely disassembled and brought to the workshop in individual parts, and also the so-called cleaning, a "general overhaul," which is mainly carried out on-site. In addition to their musical qualifications—they are often organists themselves—organ builders also require complex craftsmanship skills; they must be able to work with wood, iron, metal alloys, and precious and ancient materials. The work on individual projects is complex and usually extends over several years. At the Muhleisen manufactory, a new organ is currently being planned for a church in Cologne; in Versailles, the team is cleaning an instrument; and in Amiens, northern France, the Merklin organ in Notre-Dame Church is currently undergoing a complete overhaul. Many specialists are needed, all of whom are making their own contribution to preserving the instruments of past centuries. “An organ never dies,” say organ builders, “it is meant to last forever” – and that is precisely why many still consider it the “queen of instruments.”