Thuringian Organ Model and Prague Baroque v.2

I wish to make the announcement about two new sample sets from the Sonus Paradisi workshop. We have just released a Velesovo organ model, which is a modern instrument (built 2007) inspired by baroque Thuringian organs, especially by the work of Zacharias Hildebrandt. The intention of the organbuilder was to provide an instrument perfectly in accordance with J. S. Bach organ-demands. You may judge yourself if the result is up to his requirements. According to us, this instrument is unusually mild voiced and perfectly even. The church acoustics is not huge, which makes this sample set suitable as a study organ. There are wet and surround versions available.
The description and a lot of demo performance may be found at
http://www.sonusparadisi.cz/organs/vele ... tory.0.asp
http://www.sonusparadisi.cz/organs/velesovo/demos.0.asp

The other sample set newly released is the Prague Baroque v.2. It may be well argued that the first release of this organ model 2 years ago was somewhat premature. The releases behavior was not perfect and the extension reeds which were added to the original Prague Tyn Organ were not perfectly fit into the acoustics of the Prague church. This was improved a lot in the new version. Together with other improvements (like the support for double touch screens, a number of voicing corrections etc.), this sample set is now worth considering, since the organ belongs to the most precious historical instrument of the entire Czech Republic and of all the "South German Organ Type" region. The description and the demo performance may be found at:
http://www.sonusparadisi.cz/organs/prag ... tory.0.asp
http://www.sonusparadisi.cz/organs/prag ... emos.0.asp

The owners of the previous version of the sample set may benefit from very low cost upgrade.

Now (finally!), I am able to fully dedicate my time to the preparation of the release of the new St. Maximin sample set.

Thank you for your kind attention,

Jiri Zurek
(Sonus Paradisi)

THANK YOU !!! yes i confirm the 2 organs are very FANTASTIC !!!!

Nicely done Jiri!!
Personally, I am rather taken by the sound of the Velesovo organ. The surround option is very attractive. It has a very rich, thick sound - perhaps now we can build this type of Thuringen organ with a more convincing romantic leaning that the original builders alluded to in their historic instruments. Have any of the trems for this organ been sampled??

I was allerted that the download for the demo version of Velesovo does not work. Unfortunately, it is true. I will have to look tomorrow to the server to discover what causes the error. In the mean time, you could consider downloading the Prague Baroque demo which is of equal interest.

I was alerted that the download for the demo version of Velesovo does not work. Unfortunately, it is true. I will have to look tomorrow to the server to discover what causes the error. In the mean time, you could consider downloading the Prague Baroque demo which is of equal interest.

I'm so glad people are already trying to download Velesovo sampleset. The demos totally captivated me. If you can't play back Jiri's surround sound tracks, I recommend this one, a MIDI recording by what appears to be a live player.
http://www.contrebombarde.com/concerthall/music/3187
Having installed the sampleset, I now am creating my own MIDIfied demos.
http://www.virtuallybaroque.com/list5gbe.htm
One and a half concerts on this instrument can be streamed by pushing the red button with the black "1" (or 2 or 3) here:
http://www.virtuallybaroque.com/inco340.htm
MIDI files with actual combinations used is now available:
http://www.virtuallybaroque.com/velesovo.htm (does not include tracks in Concert 3, but is on sale for 10% off until Oct. 2.

James Pressler

The download for the Velesovo DEMO sample set should be now up and running. Hopefully, the server will stay stable during the days to come. Anyway, if you are not able to download the demo, feel free to ask for a DVD installation media instead. I would try to ship it to you for free.

I just downloaded the Thuringian Demo and yes, this is a very nice instrument. I especially like the acoustic setting -- a very rich reverb, but articulate playing still comes through nicely. This one goes on my short list of instruments to save up for!

Hi Jiri - I finally got around to installing the Velesovo demo (I've been pretty busy) and I'm in love! I've been looking for a good modern baroque organ to complement the Hinsz. I hope you've received my order, and am looking forward to the full organ.

Congratulations on a fine instrument
Steve

Just a minor comment on the dual stop jambs of the Velesovo organ: it would make sense to me to fill in the blanks in the pedal parts of the dual display and include all the pedal stops on both sides. The screens would look nicer and the organist wouldn't have to remember which pedal stop is where. And there's plenty of space there anyways.

I'm downloading the demo set now, I'm very curious about its sound.

I took the plunge and ordered this organ on the strength of the demo MP3s and without first trying the demo version of the organ. Two days ago the DVDs arrived in the mail, and my instincts have been thoroughly vindicated. To say that this is an outstanding instrument is an understatement - it has well and truly surpassed my expectations.

I would like to congratulate Jiri on the very high quality of the sampling. I would also like to congratulate the builders of the original instrument for producing such a comprehensive two-manual design. Of particular note are the HW flutes, especially the 4', the presence of an additional softer unison (Gemshorn) on the HW for accompaniment purposes, the excellent principal choruses, well contrasted and colourful principals and octaves on both manuals, a ravishing Cornet Decompose on the OW, and wonderful "gravitas" courtesy of flue and reed doubles on the HW plus a nice solid 32 flue on the pedal.

I am currently limited to one touch screen at present as my second one has malfunctioned and is in for repairs. The single-screen display is very easy to negotiate with nice large touch areas for the stops and pistons. I found myself feeling instantly at home with this organ both tonally and physically.

This instrument hits the spot for both practice and performance in the baroque repertoire. It's clear enough for use in serious practice, and there's plenty of variety, colour, clarity and appeal in the 8' and 4' stops with that purpose in mind. The acoustic is generous without being excessive, but certainly enough to allow a finished performance to come to life. Being a modern instrument it has no "distractions" in its sound - just nice clean accurate speech for every note. I personally find that while historic imperfections add character to an organ, they can become tedious in a practice environment.

If you haven't had a look at this organ yet, wait no more. It's a beauty!

Andrew Grahame

Andrew,
Are your remarks applicable to the Velesovo Organ?
Keith

Yes, Keith. My apologies for not making this clear.

Andrew

I have added several more demo pieces recorded with the Prague Baroque sample set v.2. It shows that this virtual organ is suitable for wide range of baroque organ music: the South German, such as Georg Muffat (performed by Martin Kondziella), the Central German, such as Johann Ludwig Krebs and even the North German, such as D. Buxtehude or N. Bruhns (performed by Bert Visser).
http://www.sonusparadisi.cz/organs/prag ... emos.0.asp
I hope that it also shows that with the version 2 of the sample set, we managed to make a perfect blend of the extended reed stops into the original acoustics of the Prague Tyn church, where the organ dwells.
And finally, it gives the idea of the type of a recording technique we used to capture the sound of this instrument: although wet recording with plenty of the natural reverberation of the large gothic church, we took relatively close-up position, so that the pipes sort of "spit into your face". This gives the sound similar to what organist hears when playing the real organ, but fortunately far more balanced than that. According to my findings, this is very helpful for practicing music, as no error or hesitation of the player is masked by the reverberation.

[micdev]

For those of you who didn't download the demo the Velesovo, take the time to do it (still have to download the Prague Baroque).

The demo version includes enough stops to build nice registrations and the sound is just wonderful. Yesterday I was practicing Franck's "Petit Offertoire" using just the Principal 8' from the Hauptwerk and in the higher range, the sound is almost like a Flûte Harmonique, really romantic. I can only imagine the complete organ.

Since it is a recently built instrument, the sound is uniform throughout the whole range; you can clearly hear the beautifull "shiff" from some of the stops. The surround version adds a lot of presence.

I can imagine the sound of the whole instrument... only a matter of time before I get it! In the meantime, the demo is well worth the download.

Great work Jiri
François

Today I received the full Velesovo organ and WOW!! The sound quality of all the stops is as good as I hoped for, but what I did not expect was how large the sound could be. It's a much bigger organ than I expected yet still very clear. I just ran through the Fantasia in C (BWV 562) with all the foundation stops on, and the Prelude in E (BWV 548) with everything blasting and it was thrilling even compared with the Hinsz.

Of course the quieter stops are fabulous but I knew that from the demo download. Downloading the demo is sort of like moving to the San Francisco Bay Area: I don't understand why everybody doesn't do it. The demo is a great little baroque organ. The full Velesovo is a great large baroque organ.

Thanks Jiri!
Steve