Voxcoelestis is derived from French voix céleste = heavenly voice. It is an organ stop consisting of either one or two ranks of pipes slightly out of tune. The term celeste refers to a rank of pipes detuned slightly so as to produce a beating effect (interference) when combined with a normally tuned rank. This beating effect is thought to sound heavenly.
Voix celeste is also used to refer to a compound stop of two or more ranks in which at the ranks are detuned relative to each other. It is designed to be used in conjunction with a stop of similar tonal quality of its own like Salicional. When both stops are played together an undulant, warm sounding string effect is generated.
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