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Wich Cavaille-Coll to buy?

Existing and forthcoming Hauptwerk instruments, recommendations, ...
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Claude Oudet

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Re: Wich Cavaille-Coll to buy?

PostWed Aug 26, 2009 3:03 am

I bought Caen, not yet Metz which does not sound to me (from the demos) as a convincing CC. I will decide after hearing a concert at Metz. It does not mean that I will not find interest in Metz per se.
I would like to shear a remark about the relative sound level of some stops at Caen. With the earphones to avoid the influence of the room, the Montre 8 of the great is very shy as compared for example to the Gambe 8 which is strange. The Cromorne is nearly inexistant. Same remarks can be made for other stops. Are these relative acoustic levels the real ones ? Is there an HW customer living close to Caen who could answer or put the question to the organist ?
Fortunately HW allows to make adjustments. I brought the Montre 8 closer to CC's style and to the amplitude of the other 8' stops, the amplitude of the Cromorne and its brightness have been raised. More work had to be made on the Pedal and the Positif, including the equilibrium of bass and treble (I did use the teachings of some CDs). I started the organ on a pure CC (Jesuit chapel in Lyon) and heard many other CCs. Cavaillé's voicers brought so much care to the voicing that it is strange to have to make such adjustments. Am I alone to do so ?
I made only some minor additional adjustments with the loudspeakers. Now I am fully happy with this romantic organ. But when shall we be able to buy a sample set of St Sebastian ?
The extensions have no interest at all for me, including the reed 32.
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Claude Oudet

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Re: Wich Cavaille-Coll to buy?

PostWed Aug 26, 2009 7:10 am

I forgot to mention that I am using Caen wet version, 16 or 24 bits, on a Mac Pro 16 Go.
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Opus138

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Re: Wich Cavaille-Coll to buy?

PostThu Sep 03, 2009 3:56 pm

Hello Claude,

Yes, I share a few of your remarks and I too raised the volume of the Montre 8. I wonder, however, whether you mind to tell me how to bring the Montre closer to the CC character. I feel, the Montre is a bit cold, I would prefer it a bit milder, broader, or warme

Thanks for your reaction.

Simon Heijkoop
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Claude Oudet

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Re: Wich Cavaille-Coll to buy?

PostFri Sep 04, 2009 8:06 am

Hello Simon,

I have increased only a little the brightness of the Montre 8 which, added to the increased volume, gives a more convincing timbre. Probably the romantic organists did not use much the Montre 8 alone, and we cannot expect, from the stability of the wind of a CC and the adjustments of the mouth of the pipes, a sound as warm as that of most Principals of the previous centuries (unless artificially brought with HW).
I have increased much more the brightness of the Cromorne, while staying normally away from that of most French Cromornes of the XVIIIth century.
I will still try to know more about the actual relative volume of some stops at Caen and that of its sample set. But anyway we can enjoy Franck's music and perhaps still complain about the cords he wrote for his large hands, that most of us don't have !
Regards,

Claude
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Antoni Scott

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Re: Wich Cavaille-Coll to buy?

PostWed Dec 09, 2009 5:45 am

This post maybe a little off topic, but I seem to be reading from Hauptwerk owners that there is much altering of the stops. I find this interesting. The original thread "Which Cavaille-Coll to buy?" , started a long list of responses about which organ is possibly better. Comparisons of different CC organs have even evoked responses from the Samplers, themselves.

I have both the Metz and the Caen. The sizes of these two organs are hardly much different. Which Cavaille-Coll to buy suggests that one is asking which one is possibly better than the other ? I have commented in an earlier post that I have no preference as both have advantages and disadvantages.

But the point of this discussion for me, is that NEITHER organ is a exact sample of the original. Even the OAM ( which I do not own) Duroquet/CC has an added 32' in the pedal, not part of the original specification. I am not suggesting that any of these samples has been degraded by the inclusion of more stops than the original.
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