Japanese organ builder 'honoured' to restore voice of Notre Dame

(FILES) Japanese organ builder Itaru Sekiguchi, currently working on the harmonisation of the Cathedral organ, poses during a photo session in front the Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral in Paris, on October 24, 2024. At the age of 10, an “infernal noise” changed Itaru Sekiguchi's life. The great organ of Notre-Dame de Paris had just resounded in front of him and, forty years later, occupies the days and nights of this Japanese lover of French culture. (Photo by BERTRAND GUAY/ AFP)

Itaru Sekiguchi first heard the Great Organ of the Paris Notre Dame cathedral when he was 10. The "infernal sound" changed his life forever.

"It was a bit of a culture shock," he said.