When Archbishop Bernard Langley blessed our organ he used a prayer which was accompanied by an improvisation on the organ:

“Awake, O sacred instrument, intone the praises of God, our Creator and Father! You will celebrate Jesus our Lord, dead and risen for us, sing of the Holy Spirit whose breath animates our lives, carry our songs and our supplications to Mary, the Mother of Jesus, fill the assembly of your people with gratitude to Christ, sustain the prayers of believers, and proclaim the glory of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.”

Several people have asked me where it came from. The answer is that it is an old prayer, originally used in France. I found this version of it on display in the church of St Aignan, Chartres (which has a stunning polychrome interior), when Annette and I visited it last summer on  our holiday. I decided that we should use it for the blessing and tracked down the full version. The translation is mine!

The name of the organ builder is misspelt – the church has a Merklin that was installed in 1897, and it has been kept in good repair. Merklin was the main rival to Cavaille-Coll in France – between them I would estimate that they built over 90% of the organs in French cathedrals and large churches.