Olivier Latry compares listening to a large gallery pipe organ to visiting the Grand Canyon. “You can enjoy a movie of the Grand Canyon, just as you can enjoy a recording of a pipe organ,” says the Titular organist at the Cathedral at Notre-Dame in Paris, France, one of the world’s most acclaimed concert organists. “But until you go there, you don’t really know what it is.”

Latry will perform twice in Richmond on Oct. 30, officially dedicating the new 4,336-pipe gallery organ at Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Richmond. Both of the shows, at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., are sold out although there is a waiting list. Latry will also accompany the evening prayer (Vespers) on Oct. 29 at 7 p.m. Reservations for that are not required.

A professor at the Conservatoire de Paris, Latry has played pipe organs across the world, and will feature in Richmond a program of Bach (“Prelude and Fugue in G Major”) as well as selections from French composers such as Jean-François Dandrieu, Camille Saint-Saëns, and Alexandre Guilmant. A composer himself, he will also offer up an improvisation on the Cathedral’s new gallery organ.

Style Weekly recently caught up with Olivier Latry in Paris via Zoom video, as he (and his wife, fellow pipe organist Shin-Young Lee) prepared for the North American tour, which will also see stops in Boston, Portland, Montreal, and Quebec City.

Style Weekly: It’s good to hear that the Cathedral at Notre-Dame, where you are one of three organists, is reopening after the devastating fire in 2019. Was the pipe organ damaged?

Olivier Latry: Nothing happened to the organ, it was saved in the fire. It’s a miracle. But it had to be taken out just to refresh all of the elements and clean everything because there was a lot of lead everywhere. The organ came back last year and the voicing started last spring… I’ve played some of the instrument already.

Is there any way to compare Notre-Dame’s gargantuan pipe organ, at more than 8,000 pipes, with Sacred Heart’s new Opus 55?

It’s totally different. It’s like comparing two men or two women and saying which is the best or more beautiful. It is not possible.

Is it hard to play these instruments, since they are all so different?

That’s my job (laughs). It’s some kind of adventure. It’s like meeting new people each time and trying to see their character, their quality, and their difference. But it takes time. For example, to prepare for the concert, I need eight to 10 hours with the instrument. We have to choose all of the sounds we will use during the concert and that takes time because there are many possibilities.

You are currently on a North American tour. Do you play the same selections for all your stops, or is the Richmond program different?

They are all different. I talked with [the Cathedral staff] to make sure the program is right for the audience. We know the organ builder [Juget-Sinclair of Canada], the style and so we find the best [songs to suit]. Because all of the organs are so different, we can’t play the same program each time.

The Cathedral’s instrument was installed just a few months ago. Do you play new pipe organs often?

Quite often. It shows that the art of organ building is still alive.

The previous organ at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart was in serious disrepair and became hard to play. Do you encounter that a lot and how do you deal with it?

Yes. You have to note all of the differences in the instrument and, if you have problems, you have to get around them. I mean, it could be possible to play a concert and to not care about those problems but it would just sound horrible. The job of the organist is to make the organ sound as good as possible.

When people are listening to a grand pipe organ, what should they concentrate on?

Everything. The music first and the way the music is played, and then the sounds and the color that the organ can produce.

How important is the room itself in achieving the best sound?

Very important. An organ sings because of the room it’s in, so a big hall or church will make the organ come alive. It’s like when you hear a violin player, the sound is inside his violin. But when you are listening to the organ it’s like you are inside the organ. Just as the violin has a case, the church is the case for the organ.

Olivier Latry will perform two shows on Wednesday, Oct. 30 at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart. 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. These performances on the Opus 55 Pipe Organ are sold out. Latry will also perform evening prayer service at the Cathedral on Oct. 29 at 7 p.m. No reservation required and all are welcome. For more, go to richmondcathedral.org