Notre Dame de Laeken Small Edition released!

[ReinerS]

Dear all,

the voicing of the set is now finalised and, except for finishing the info material to be included in the set and to re-record the demos, it is ready for release. I have put the full product information on the website and the set can now be ordered.

The Small Eidtion is derived from the samples of the large Laeken organ. This set is a complete and well balanced instrument in its own right, comprising 28 stops on two manuals and pedals. It is built from those ranks of the original Laeken recordings that have been recorded separately (not in combination with others). Some additional ranks have been derived from this material to make the disposition complete. This sample set is available only for Hauptwerk 3 and above. Just as the full set it features three release sample layers (the original recorded release plus two layers created artificially for staccato and portato notes) resulting in a superb rendering of the cathedral accoustics.

Please note that the links to the trial edition and user manual do not work yet. Also the demos have not been updated after the final voicing, I will put up new demos in the next days.

This 28 stop 2-manual plus pedal romantic organ with impressive cathedral acoustics is available for just 75.00 Euros. If you do already own the large Laeken sample set, a special discount applies (and vice versa, if you purchase the Small Edition and later on the full version, you get the same discount).

Hope you enjoy this sample set!

Best regards
Reiner

[ReinerS]

Dear all,

the Notre-Dame de Laeken Small Edition is now available. You can download a fully functional free trial version (sound output is muted for a few seconds every minute) and try it out for yourself.

The demos have also been updated to reflect the sound of the final product. Thanks to the beta testers for their suggestions regarding voicing etc.

Enjoy!
Reiner

[kaspencer]

It's certainly a splendid organ Reiner, even though I have only the Small Edition.

One thing I have noticed, which may be a feature of my system: is it that the bottom F, E, and Eb pipes on the Bourdon 8' pedal rank have such a really strong chiff on the 5th, that it makes the F sound like a C, for example?

The pipes on the other ranks seem to sound the correct note, and wondered whether that was just a features of those pipes of the Bourdon 8' stop.

Many thanks,

Ken.

[ReinerS]

Hello Ken,

glad you like the organ!

Some of the Bourdon pipes indeed have a really strong component of the 5th on attack, which is actually not really uncommon. It is the actual sound of the pipe, there is nothing wrong with your system or the sample processing. The effect just happens to be very strong on the specific pipe (since there are 4samples/octave in this set, that then effects 3 notes).

Best regards

Reiner

[kaspencer]

Thanks Reiner, that's fine!

Just a note for anyone else considering this set: although this is a "small edition" it has a big sound! Especially with all the avilable stops pulled!

Ken.

[hans0166]

although this is a "small edition" it has a big sound!

not small at all:-)
having both Schyven organs now, not sure the "big" one will stay my prefered one...the small edition is certainly not less than his big brother;
great in sound, great in voices, great to play :)

[adri]

I have a CD of the complete organ, which is very nice indeed.

With all due respect, I am not totally convinced that you have captured the spirit and essence of the original instrument in the smaller clone.

E.g.,the specification seems somewhat peculiar:

1. On the G.O., a 8' Montre or at least a Gambe 8' is sorely missing.

2. To make the organ more useful, the G.O. could also have been enclosed.

3. A 16' coupler from G.O. to the Recit is being missed.

4. The Bombarde in the pedal is very uneven; some notes are much louder than the others.

5. The 4' Prestant on the G.O. could have been toned down a bit further; it's too prominent in relationship to the other stops. I certainly wouldn't want this stop repitched to 8'.

6.Playing tutti with fast passages and chords as a test, the organ starts to break up on my system (duo core, 2.6Mhz, 8GB RAM).


Suggestion: One could think of an organ like this as a typical French-Belgian romantic cathedral choir organ, as I witnessed in many cathedrals in Paris.

Hope you don't mind my "critical" comments.

[ReinerS]

Dear Adri,

I don't mind your critical comments at all. The specification is indeed somewhat "peculiar", but that is the best I could do (in my view) with the sample material that is available from the organ. It is quite clear that this Small Edition set does not have the same sound and spirit as the real organ, which has more than 40 ranks.

I agree with your point about the Montre 8' missing on the G.O., but there simply are no samples I could use for it. Other points, like a 16' coupler G.O. to Recit I don't agree with, but that's life. It will always be the case that someone will wish for something that it not implemented in a set.

So, if you feel it makes a nice Choir organ, that's fine. I'm perfectly happy with that.

Best regards
Reiner

[adri]

Suggestion: Add a Gambe to the G.O. it would truly make a big difference for musical usability.

Re: Choir organ: I was trying to suggest that the best approach -as I see it - to developing a sample set like this is to think of this kind of organ indeed as a typical French romantic choir organ, as found in French cathedrals.

Therefore: How about enclosing the G.O.? Cavaille-Coll did that a lot with his smaller organs, and I think for musical literature purposes, it would mean a great deal, because with such a small specification, you will couple manuals more often, and you want the option of dynamic range for both manuals at the same time. Think also about all the reed organ (harmonium) music you want to play on a small organ like this with these wonderful Clarinet and Musette reed stops. Dynamics are absolutely essential. Hence my request for an expressive G.O as well.

Danke!

[ReinerS]

Hello Adri,

I'll consider these options for a potential upgrade. However the Gambe would be borrowed from the Recit then, since only one such rank has been sampled.

Thanks for your suggestions
Reiner

[Gert]

Hi all,
I recorded my 20 standard examples for this sample set on:
http://www.pcorgan.com/SampleSets1874LaekenEN.html
Best regards,
Gert

[cvw]

Dear all,

the Notre-Dame de Laeken Small Edition is now available.
Reiner

I tested the product a little bit. It fits into my iMac, but the CPU has not enough horsepower (dual core, about 2 GHz) --- playing tutti in fast or in large chords breaks the system. If I cut the release tails and use convolution reverb this is no longer the case, of course.

What I noticed:

a) using the "15 inch" version after having loaded the standard one does not work, as the images in the cache have the wrong size. After deleting the cache it can of course be loaded.

b) I guess the samples underwent some heavy signal processing. The noise (some hissing as long as a pipe speaks) can be heard.

c) oddly, the swellbox shutter is connected with the Hauptwerk control for the "Pedal" swellbox. If it were connected with the "Swell division" control, I could use the organ without making adjustments.

d) Possibly the tremulant of the swell division is connected to a stop switch rather than the Hauptwerk "tremulant" function. At least, when I press the "tutti" button that my MIDI filter translates to "pulling all stops", the swell tremulant gets activated, which is not intended.

Fortunately the ODF is not encrypted, so everything can be fixed. However some of the "less esoteric" complaints are worth considering by PipeLoops.

C.v.W.

[bishfan]

This organ is spectacular! My computer, which can use some major upgrading, can actually load this entire sample set... which is unusual for my computer :? The only thing that perplexed me was the reason for having the Anch levers, but that was explained to me in a previous post.

Otherwise, it is a great organ and available at a great price. I'm very satisfied!