Dear all,
We are very excited to offer the first public demos for the Father Willis organ at Salisbury Cathedral.
Before you jump to click the MP3 links, please first turn in a circle 3x and say to yourself, "these are betas, these are betas, these are betas" !!
The demos are showing the instrument in a still somewhat early stage before final release. Currently the wind model is not ready (so all US users can now have an idea of what to expect without the wind model enabled) due to this you will not hear the normal wind fluctuations or wind sag, so it is somewhat straight forward.
Unfortunately, despite our hopes of having volume 1 ready by the end of 2009, that doesn't look like it is going to be possible, I do apologize for the slight delay for those of you who have anxiously been awaiting this sets release. But we do plan to have it available next month, so please don't lose all hope!
All samples were done in 32 bit 96kHz and will be converted to 24 bit 48kHz for the final release. Multiple releases for all ranks (short, medium, and long) were recorded, as well as separate long tremmed releases for the ranks recorded with tremulant (which gives a nice undulating effect during the release not possible with the normal long releases).
For us this has been the most ideal organ for recording due to many factors including the location of the cathedral (remote from outside noises) the seemingly non-existant blower which is encased in a concrete enclosure away from the organ, and the position of the organ cases. The demos below do feature some background noise as a separate sample, this is from normal ambience within the cathedral and some slight wind leakage.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Editions
We will have several editions of the Willis available when the entire project is completed. Extra special discounts will be available for those who order both the initial Wet Edition and then order the Surround Edition once available.
Wet Edition
To begin with we are offering the usual wet version similar to all of our other wet sets. This will be available in 3 separate volumes each volume building on the previous and volume 3 will be the complete instrument. This allows users to play with the beautiful full sound and original acoustics out of the box without the extra memory, configuration, and processor overheads created by surround versions.
Surround Edition
We will also have a surround edition available featuring the ability to customize the wet/surround balance ratio and overall presence of the instrument. This will be due out in 2010 and will be offered in 3 volumes similar to the Wet Edition specs.
Dry Edition
Lastly a dry version is planned for. More details will follow in the future for this version.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Original Sampled Tremulants (OST)
The Willis will feature original sampled tremulants first introduced by MDA for Hauptwerk in the Vox Humana stops of the Metz and the Hinsz.
The entire Solo division was recorded with and without tremulants activated, then every reed stop for all divisions on trem were sampled with this technique and lastly the Vox Angelica was also recorded in this way. With the OST method the results are nothing short of miraculous!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Beta Demos
We are fortunate to have the talent of Salisbury's organist, Daniel Cook, to perform the first beta demos for us.
Here they are:
Guilmant - Lift up your heads
Bach - In Dulci (from the Little Organ Book)
Bach - In Dulci Jubilo
Bairstow Evening Song (featuring the historic bell tower!)
Daniel Cook - Improvisation
I will post more demos here soon to show off the variety of stops even further for Volume 1.
Bravo Daniel!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Specification
The Organ of Salisbury Cathedral - Volume 1 - 28 Stops
Willis 1876, 1934, 1969, Harrison and Harrison 1976, 2006
Great Organ (unenclosed)
1. Double Open Diapason 16
2. Open Diapason No 1 8
3. Open Diapason No 2 8
4. Stopped Diapason 8
5. Claribel Flute 8
6. Principal No 1 4
7. Fifteenth 2
8. Mixture 15,17,19,22 IV
9. Trumpet 8
I Swell to Great 16’
II Swell to Great
III Swell to Great 4’
IV Choir to Great 16’
V Choir to Great
VI Choir to Great 4’
VII Solo to Great 16’
VIII Solo to Great
IX Solo to Great 4’
Swell Organ (enclosed)
10. Open Diapason 8
11. Viola da Gamba 8
12. Vox Angelica 8
13. Lieblich Gedackt 8
14. Octave 4
15. Super Octave 2
16. Mixture 17,19,22 III
17. Hautboy 8
X Tremolo
18. Contra Fagotto 16
19. Trompette 8
20. Clarion 4
XI Octave
XII Sub Octave
XIII Unison Off
XIV Solo to Swell
Choir Organ (unenclosed)
No Stops
XVI Octave
XVII Sub Octave
XVIII Unison Off
XIX Swell to Choir 16’
XX Swell to Choir
XXI Swell to Choir 4’
XXII Solo to Choir 16’
XXIII Solo to Choir
XXIV Solo to Choir 4’
XXV Great Reeds on Choir
Solo Organ (enclosed)
21. Flûte Harmonique 8
22. Flûte Harmonique 4
23. Clarinet 8
Tremulant
XXVIII Solo Octave
XXIX Solo Sub Octave
XXX Solo Unison Off
XXXI Great to Solo
XXXII Great Reeds on Solo
Pedal Organ (unenclosed)
24. Double Open Diapason 32
25. Open Bass 16
26. Open Diapason (from 1) 16
27. Bourdon 16
28. Octave 8
29. Ophicleide 16
XXXIII Solo to Pedal
XXXIV Solo to Pedal 4’
XXXV Swell to Pedal
XXXVI Swell to Pedal 4’
XXXVII Great to Pedal
XXXVIII Great to Pedal 4’
XXXIX Choir to Pedal
XXXX Choir to Pedal 4’
There will also be of course a variety of combination pistons, these will be finalized in the near future. We've decided to implement nearly all of the instrument's couplers for Volume 1 so that users are able to learn the configuration right away and not have to relearn a new scheme for each additional volume, we hope you agree with this idea! Therefore the Choir couplers are available despite there not being any Choir stops included for Volume 1. However those with 4 manuals may still use that extra manual via coupling to the Choir from other divisions. This should be a most useful feature we believe.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We hope you enjoy the demos, we look forward to bringing this wonderful organ to everyone very soon. Thanks to everyone for their support along the way and we would also like to thank Daniel Cook, David Halls and the other members at Salisbury who agreed to allow this venture to become a (virtual) reality!
We are very excited to offer the first public demos for the Father Willis organ at Salisbury Cathedral.
Before you jump to click the MP3 links, please first turn in a circle 3x and say to yourself, "these are betas, these are betas, these are betas" !!
The demos are showing the instrument in a still somewhat early stage before final release. Currently the wind model is not ready (so all US users can now have an idea of what to expect without the wind model enabled) due to this you will not hear the normal wind fluctuations or wind sag, so it is somewhat straight forward.
Unfortunately, despite our hopes of having volume 1 ready by the end of 2009, that doesn't look like it is going to be possible, I do apologize for the slight delay for those of you who have anxiously been awaiting this sets release. But we do plan to have it available next month, so please don't lose all hope!
All samples were done in 32 bit 96kHz and will be converted to 24 bit 48kHz for the final release. Multiple releases for all ranks (short, medium, and long) were recorded, as well as separate long tremmed releases for the ranks recorded with tremulant (which gives a nice undulating effect during the release not possible with the normal long releases).
For us this has been the most ideal organ for recording due to many factors including the location of the cathedral (remote from outside noises) the seemingly non-existant blower which is encased in a concrete enclosure away from the organ, and the position of the organ cases. The demos below do feature some background noise as a separate sample, this is from normal ambience within the cathedral and some slight wind leakage.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Editions
We will have several editions of the Willis available when the entire project is completed. Extra special discounts will be available for those who order both the initial Wet Edition and then order the Surround Edition once available.
Wet Edition
To begin with we are offering the usual wet version similar to all of our other wet sets. This will be available in 3 separate volumes each volume building on the previous and volume 3 will be the complete instrument. This allows users to play with the beautiful full sound and original acoustics out of the box without the extra memory, configuration, and processor overheads created by surround versions.
Surround Edition
We will also have a surround edition available featuring the ability to customize the wet/surround balance ratio and overall presence of the instrument. This will be due out in 2010 and will be offered in 3 volumes similar to the Wet Edition specs.
Dry Edition
Lastly a dry version is planned for. More details will follow in the future for this version.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Original Sampled Tremulants (OST)
The Willis will feature original sampled tremulants first introduced by MDA for Hauptwerk in the Vox Humana stops of the Metz and the Hinsz.
The entire Solo division was recorded with and without tremulants activated, then every reed stop for all divisions on trem were sampled with this technique and lastly the Vox Angelica was also recorded in this way. With the OST method the results are nothing short of miraculous!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Beta Demos
We are fortunate to have the talent of Salisbury's organist, Daniel Cook, to perform the first beta demos for us.
Here they are:
Guilmant - Lift up your heads
Bach - In Dulci (from the Little Organ Book)
Bach - In Dulci Jubilo
Bairstow Evening Song (featuring the historic bell tower!)
Daniel Cook - Improvisation
I will post more demos here soon to show off the variety of stops even further for Volume 1.
Bravo Daniel!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Specification
The Organ of Salisbury Cathedral - Volume 1 - 28 Stops
Willis 1876, 1934, 1969, Harrison and Harrison 1976, 2006
Great Organ (unenclosed)
1. Double Open Diapason 16
2. Open Diapason No 1 8
3. Open Diapason No 2 8
4. Stopped Diapason 8
5. Claribel Flute 8
6. Principal No 1 4
7. Fifteenth 2
8. Mixture 15,17,19,22 IV
9. Trumpet 8
I Swell to Great 16’
II Swell to Great
III Swell to Great 4’
IV Choir to Great 16’
V Choir to Great
VI Choir to Great 4’
VII Solo to Great 16’
VIII Solo to Great
IX Solo to Great 4’
Swell Organ (enclosed)
10. Open Diapason 8
11. Viola da Gamba 8
12. Vox Angelica 8
13. Lieblich Gedackt 8
14. Octave 4
15. Super Octave 2
16. Mixture 17,19,22 III
17. Hautboy 8
X Tremolo
18. Contra Fagotto 16
19. Trompette 8
20. Clarion 4
XI Octave
XII Sub Octave
XIII Unison Off
XIV Solo to Swell
Choir Organ (unenclosed)
No Stops
XVI Octave
XVII Sub Octave
XVIII Unison Off
XIX Swell to Choir 16’
XX Swell to Choir
XXI Swell to Choir 4’
XXII Solo to Choir 16’
XXIII Solo to Choir
XXIV Solo to Choir 4’
XXV Great Reeds on Choir
Solo Organ (enclosed)
21. Flûte Harmonique 8
22. Flûte Harmonique 4
23. Clarinet 8
Tremulant
XXVIII Solo Octave
XXIX Solo Sub Octave
XXX Solo Unison Off
XXXI Great to Solo
XXXII Great Reeds on Solo
Pedal Organ (unenclosed)
24. Double Open Diapason 32
25. Open Bass 16
26. Open Diapason (from 1) 16
27. Bourdon 16
28. Octave 8
29. Ophicleide 16
XXXIII Solo to Pedal
XXXIV Solo to Pedal 4’
XXXV Swell to Pedal
XXXVI Swell to Pedal 4’
XXXVII Great to Pedal
XXXVIII Great to Pedal 4’
XXXIX Choir to Pedal
XXXX Choir to Pedal 4’
There will also be of course a variety of combination pistons, these will be finalized in the near future. We've decided to implement nearly all of the instrument's couplers for Volume 1 so that users are able to learn the configuration right away and not have to relearn a new scheme for each additional volume, we hope you agree with this idea! Therefore the Choir couplers are available despite there not being any Choir stops included for Volume 1. However those with 4 manuals may still use that extra manual via coupling to the Choir from other divisions. This should be a most useful feature we believe.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We hope you enjoy the demos, we look forward to bringing this wonderful organ to everyone very soon. Thanks to everyone for their support along the way and we would also like to thank Daniel Cook, David Halls and the other members at Salisbury who agreed to allow this venture to become a (virtual) reality!
Brett Milan
Owner
MILAN DIGITAL AUDIO
Owner
MILAN DIGITAL AUDIO