After falling silent eight years ago, one of the UK\u2019s largest \u2013 and loudest \u2013 concert hall instruments is bursting back into life.<\/p>\n
Standing 14 metres high and encompassing more than 5,000 pipes, Bristol\u2019s revered Britton organ<\/a> is making its comeback this weekend, revived and revitalised after a painstaking restoration.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s an amazing instrument,\u201d said Jed Hughes, the organist who has the job of keeping the instrument\u2019s manifold keys, stops and pedals moving ahead of its public return at the Bristol Beacon concert hall.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cAll organs have their own personalities. I\u2019d describe this one as majestic and proud. It is confident that it can say exactly what it wants and needs to say. The volume is amazing without deafening you. They\u2019ve brightened up the sound a bit and it fits the space perfectly.\u201d<\/p>\n Jed Hughes showcases the \u2018amazing\u2019 Britton organ. Photograph: Adrian Sherratt\/The Guardian<\/p>\n The instrument was built in 1955 by master organ builders Harrison & Harrison <\/a>after two of its predecessors were destroyed by fires in 1898 and 1945.<\/p>\n Created for civic rather than religious purposes, it was played at what was then known as the Colston Hall for more than 60 years, becoming a centrepiece of the city\u2019s musical heritage.<\/p>\n When a major refurbishment of the venue began in 2018, Harrison & Harrison was asked to restore the organ, one of the few of its kind still working.<\/p>\n Its staff carefully removed every pipe, valve and bellow, catalogued each of the many thousands of components and transported them almost 300 miles north to the company\u2019s workshop in Durham.<\/p>\n There, decades of grime and grit \u2013 plus nicotine staining \u2013 were scraped away and repairs made. Some of the work was heavy, some intricate \u2013 the largest pipe is 10 metres long, the smallest the size of a little finger.<\/p>\n More than 1,000 pneumatic motors were refitted with new leather and the console, which features four keyboards, was rebuilt and mounted on a frame, making it easier to move around. The hope is that rock bands as well as classical musicians will use it in their shows.<\/p>\n The revamped Bristol<\/a> Beacon reopened in November 2023 but it has taken until now to get the organ ready, which included \u201cvoicing it\u201d \u2013 making sure it precisely fits the venue\u2019s main space, the Beacon Hall, which holds about 2,000 people. It is loud but can also produce subtle string and woodwind sounds.<\/p>\n \u2018The volume is amazing without deafening you,\u2019 says Jed Hughes of the newly restored historic organ. Photograph: Adrian Sherratt\/The Guardian<\/p>\n