Pipewatch - Peterborough Cathedral

Pipewatch 2015-2017

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Pipewatch is a series of short videos, blogs and photo sequences that follow the story of the re-pitching of Peterborough Cathedral's organ from Old Philharmonic to Standard concert pitch.

Pipewatch 6: Meet the New Organ

Finally the organ re-pitch is completed and all the pipes have been returned. Former Director of Music Steven Grahl, Cathedral choristers and members of the congregation tell us how they like the sound of the organ in its new form.

Published April 2017

Pipewatch 5: Meet the Tuba Mirabilis

The organ re-pitch is nearly complete! In this episode the final rank of pipes is returned to Peterborough to be fitted and a new tuba mirabilis stop is added.

Published December 2016

Pipewatch 4: Meet the Pipes

This video follows Peterborough's organ pipes to Harrison and Harrison’s workshop in Durham, and talks to some of the craftsmen working on the re-pitch.

Published August 2016

Pipewatch 3: Meet the Organ Builders

The Head Voicer from Harrison and Harrison organ builders explains what he and his colleagues have been doing behind the scenes at Peterborough Cathedral – other than lowering 16 foot pipes to the ground for removal to their workshop in Durham. This is the third in our series of short videos following the story of re-pitching Peterborough Cathedral’s 5286-pipe Hill organ from Old Philharmonic to Standard concert pitch.

Published March 2016.

Pipewatch 2: Meet the Robot

This the second in a series of videos following the story of re-pitching Peterborough Cathedral's organ from Old Philharmonic to Standard pitch. This episode looks at the meticulous work involved in capturing the organ's original sound before a single pipe was removed. It was work that involved the creation of a specially designed robot!

Check out photographs of the robot further down this web page. Published November 2015.

Pipewatch 1: Meet the Organ

This video is the first in the series and takes a tour of some of the 5286 pipes that make up the Cathedral organ. The work on the organ re-pitch begins in July 2015 and is due for completion in late 2016. Find out more about the inspiration behind this ambitious project, the people who will make it happen, and the instrument at its heart. Includes interview with Grammy Award winning choral conductor, David Hill. First published July 2015.