I am happy to release my new sampleset of the Marcussen-organ in the Willibrordi-Dom Wesel (Germany). It contains 56 stops on three manuals and pedal.
History
The Willibrordi Cathedral was built from 1498 to 1540 as a late Gothic basilica with 5 naves. The tower, built in 1487, was taken over from the previous Gothic building from 1424 to 1480. From 1883 to 1896, the building was renovated in accordance with the late Gothic taste of the time. During the Second World War, in which Wesel was almost completely destroyed, the Willibrordi Cathedral also suffered considerable damage. From 1948 it was rebuilt, whereby the neo-Gothic additions ofthe 19th century were largely removed. The reconstruction was completed with the erection of the choir loft in 1994, from which a carillon can be heard four times a day today.
A first organ can be traced back to 1418 from old account books. In 1528 a new organ was built above the sacristy. In 1645, Johann Bader built a new organ above today's north portal, which had 27 stops on three manuals and pedal. Parts of the case of the Bader organ were used by the Sauer company (Frankfurt/Oder) to build a new instrument in the west gallery. With its 80 stops, the organ was the largest in West Germany at that time. This size attracted Karl Straube to Wesel in 1897, where he took over as organist. But only 5 years later he became organist at the Thomaskirche and later Thomaskantor in Leipzig. Wesel owes several first performances of Reger's organ works, which were considered unplayable at the time, to hisfriendship with Max Reger.
The Sauer organ was completely destroyed in the bombing raids of 1945. It was not until 1964 that a new organ was built by the Walcker company from Ludwigsburg, which found its place in the choir room. It had 66 stops on four manuals and pedal. Because of the importance of Karl Straube, it was named after him. However, because of the neo-baroque specification, the sluggish action and the partly inferior material, demands for a reconstruction of the instrument were already made in the 1980s.
Finally, in 2000, the Danish company Marcussen built a new organ on the same site, in which many stops from the previous instrument were reused. Completion took place in 2001 with the installation of additional stops. The organ has 56 stops on three manuals and pedal and 4675 pipes. The façade was designed by the Bonn architect Ralph Schweizer.
In 2020, a lightning strike destroyed the organ setter. It was renewed by the Karl Schuke company (Berlin), and octave couplers were also installed.
Technical Details and Requirements
All samples were recorded four-channel with 24 bit/48 kHz, each tone with long, medium and short attack. A special denoising algorithm was then used to preserve the harmonics of the samples. The samples contain up to 6 loops.
All tremulant stops were also sampled chromatically.
In order to play the sampleset, your computer needs the following minimum RAM requirements:
16 Bit Stereo compressed 13 GB
16 Bit Surround compressed 26 GB
24 Bit Stereo compressed 25 GB
24 bit surround compressed 50 GB
The sample set is encrypted. You have to install the “iLok LicenseManager” on your computer to obtain a license from us. Then you can choose between having a permanent internet connection to keep the license alive or buying an iLok-dongle from a retailer. Onto this you can transfer the license and use Hauptwerk without an internet connection. In
Hauptwerk you also have to install the current “LicenseComponentPackage” which you can download from http://www.hauptwerk.com. It’s a rar-file which you install like an organ.
There are many demo recordings on Contrebombarde, when you type "Wesel" in the search box. Here is an example:
LINK
Paul Fey presents the instrument this evening on his YT-channel:
LINK
Here you can order the sampleset (HWV and higher). You can also get a demo license for the full organ (2,50 EUR) which is valid for 14 days. An encrypted, but license-free HW4-version is also available on request (no demo version available):
LINK
You can also order the sampleset from our resellers.
History
The Willibrordi Cathedral was built from 1498 to 1540 as a late Gothic basilica with 5 naves. The tower, built in 1487, was taken over from the previous Gothic building from 1424 to 1480. From 1883 to 1896, the building was renovated in accordance with the late Gothic taste of the time. During the Second World War, in which Wesel was almost completely destroyed, the Willibrordi Cathedral also suffered considerable damage. From 1948 it was rebuilt, whereby the neo-Gothic additions ofthe 19th century were largely removed. The reconstruction was completed with the erection of the choir loft in 1994, from which a carillon can be heard four times a day today.
A first organ can be traced back to 1418 from old account books. In 1528 a new organ was built above the sacristy. In 1645, Johann Bader built a new organ above today's north portal, which had 27 stops on three manuals and pedal. Parts of the case of the Bader organ were used by the Sauer company (Frankfurt/Oder) to build a new instrument in the west gallery. With its 80 stops, the organ was the largest in West Germany at that time. This size attracted Karl Straube to Wesel in 1897, where he took over as organist. But only 5 years later he became organist at the Thomaskirche and later Thomaskantor in Leipzig. Wesel owes several first performances of Reger's organ works, which were considered unplayable at the time, to hisfriendship with Max Reger.
The Sauer organ was completely destroyed in the bombing raids of 1945. It was not until 1964 that a new organ was built by the Walcker company from Ludwigsburg, which found its place in the choir room. It had 66 stops on four manuals and pedal. Because of the importance of Karl Straube, it was named after him. However, because of the neo-baroque specification, the sluggish action and the partly inferior material, demands for a reconstruction of the instrument were already made in the 1980s.
Finally, in 2000, the Danish company Marcussen built a new organ on the same site, in which many stops from the previous instrument were reused. Completion took place in 2001 with the installation of additional stops. The organ has 56 stops on three manuals and pedal and 4675 pipes. The façade was designed by the Bonn architect Ralph Schweizer.
In 2020, a lightning strike destroyed the organ setter. It was renewed by the Karl Schuke company (Berlin), and octave couplers were also installed.
Technical Details and Requirements
All samples were recorded four-channel with 24 bit/48 kHz, each tone with long, medium and short attack. A special denoising algorithm was then used to preserve the harmonics of the samples. The samples contain up to 6 loops.
All tremulant stops were also sampled chromatically.
In order to play the sampleset, your computer needs the following minimum RAM requirements:
16 Bit Stereo compressed 13 GB
16 Bit Surround compressed 26 GB
24 Bit Stereo compressed 25 GB
24 bit surround compressed 50 GB
The sample set is encrypted. You have to install the “iLok LicenseManager” on your computer to obtain a license from us. Then you can choose between having a permanent internet connection to keep the license alive or buying an iLok-dongle from a retailer. Onto this you can transfer the license and use Hauptwerk without an internet connection. In
Hauptwerk you also have to install the current “LicenseComponentPackage” which you can download from http://www.hauptwerk.com. It’s a rar-file which you install like an organ.
There are many demo recordings on Contrebombarde, when you type "Wesel" in the search box. Here is an example:
LINK
Paul Fey presents the instrument this evening on his YT-channel:
LINK
Here you can order the sampleset (HWV and higher). You can also get a demo license for the full organ (2,50 EUR) which is valid for 14 days. An encrypted, but license-free HW4-version is also available on request (no demo version available):
LINK
You can also order the sampleset from our resellers.