INTERVIEW
Built in 1619, with its 5,500 pipes, perched on its platform, the organ of the cathedral of Nantes was very damaged by the fire that ravaged the building, Saturday morning. Guest of Europe 1 Sunday, the last organist to have put himself on the keyboard of the instrument, Michel Boursier, testified to his sadness and called for the organ to be rebuilt.
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"Right now I should be at the keyboard to prepare the mass," sighs Michel Boursier on Sunday morning. He is the last to have played on this "characteristic sound" instrument. He remembers a sound that made "the whole volume of the cathedral" resonate. "It's great to play similar sounds in such a place."
"We have extremely skillful organ builders"
Asked about the possibility of reconstructing the instrument, the organist said he was entirely in favor of this idea. "We have organ builders in France and in Europe who are extremely skillful today and who are capable of making […] new instruments which are inspired by old techniques."
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It remains to be seen how long it will take to complete this "magnificent project". "It will depend on the funding," says Michel Boursier, continuing: "To build an organ of this size it takes several years to imagine a project." The State has already committed to participate in the restoration of the cathedral. The heritage foundation collected 14,500 euros.