Instructions for a voyage of discovery to the organs of Valais

The idea is to propose an itinerary where "you can see and hear the organs", Raphaël Marclay told the Keystone-SDA news agency. He is the organist at the church of Bramois in the municipality of Sion, a member of the board of the "Orgue Bramois" association and one of the initiators of the project. There are more than 250 organs in Valais, although not all of them have been cataloged - "an extraordinary density of instruments and beautiful testimonies from almost 600 years of organ building," he enthused.

The guide to the twenty most important organs covers all districts of Valais: from Goms with its characteristic baroque instruments to the church of the Hospice on the Great St. Bernard, via Chandolin in the Val d'Anniviers, where the organ was built by an amateur, or Saint-Maurice, where the largest in the canton can be discovered, or the Basilica of Valère in Sion, where the oldest playable organ in the world can be found. This journey is preceded by a historical outline.

Only one photo from Blatten

The organ from Blatten in the Lötschental valley was also originally planned for the book, but was deleted after the organ from 1994 was destroyed along with the village in the landslide of May 28, 2025. Only one appropriately labeled photo is now included. "We have decided to keep the photo. Because the documentation was created for the protection of cultural assets," said cantonal monument conservator Maria Portmann. In the event of a disaster, this documentation is of crucial importance, as it makes it possible to "restore or even rebuild what has been lost or damaged", said Portmann about the "discreet work we do for the architectural heritage."

The book "The Valais organs: Streifzug durch ein lebendiges Kulturerbe" is available in printed form and as a multimedia version in German and French. It contains photographs, explanatory texts, a map and digital links to audio capsules via QR codes. It is the first book in the "Art and History Guide to Switzerland" series to be dedicated to a musical instrument.

The organ guide was written by organist Edmond Voeffray and historian Cyrille Fauchère and is published by the Society for Art History in Switzerland in collaboration with the Canton of Valais Department of Real Estate and Heritage and the "Orgue Bramois" association.

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