The parish church of Our Lady of Loreto in Għajnsielem has signed an agreement with organ builders Noel Gallo and Michael Farley for the building of a pipe organ for its church.

The organ will incorporate historical pipework from famous British organ builder Henry Willis and when complete will be one of the most versatile organs in the Maltese Islands.

The instrument will contain 65 stops, four manuals and two detached consoles. The 22-ton instrument will be located in two chambers currently being built above the sacristies, which have, until now, been unfinished.

Measuring 75 square metres, with a height of eight metres, the organ will have two large openings on opposite sides of the chancel enclosed by two specially designed cases by Noel Gallo, an organ designer who has designed many organs and cases for leading organ builders in various parts of the world, from The Berlin Philharmonic Hall to Korea, China and Australia. 

The organ will be available for viewing from a specially-made walkthrough glass bridge above the pipework. This will give visitors a unique opportunity to view it from inside. 

Work will start immediately, with parts and pipes being delivered to the church in the coming months. While they cannot be installed into the chambers until they are complete, it is hoped that a small part of the instrument will be temporarily playable at ground level until it can be moved to the completed chambers.