Otherwise, it's been rather busy over the last week or so. My mate Ed came down from the misty land of Derbyshire for the Tewkesbury Medieval Festival. It's a re-enactment of the Battle of Tewkesbury in 1471 and up to 2000 "players" take part dressed in full medieval armour etc. It was the hottest day of the year so far and I imagine that there were some very hot "sardines" on the field. It was certainly worth going to see.

Otherwise there have been a few possible developments with reference to future projects some of which are rather exciting if they take place.

I have also been doing a few demos for the release of the 80 as below:-

ASZ Excert MP3 (Wet) Everyone knows the beginning of the piece but the rest is not so familiar to many. With something like 25 string parts and some outrageously complex scoring I couldn't resist doing it as a demo for the 80 stop String section.

Prelude in C MP3 (Wet) A very quirky little piece originally for piano that I decided to arrange for organ. The middle section is a bit odd but there are some nice melodic sequences in the rest.

A Minor Fugue BWV 543 MP3 (Wet) A Minor Fugue BWV 543 MP3 (Dry). One of the very best of JSB's fugues. It is considered to be pretty difficult but I find it rather easier than some of the others which I find very awkward.

7th. July 2010

I still haven't done the Pajarro or the Pileata Magna "toys" for the 80 stop because I have been working on one or two demos for the official release as well as doing some sorting out for the 100 stop. Otherwise the 80 is basically finished and should be released some time next week.

I did have a few problems finishing off the big reeds for the Solo which came from St. George's Liverpool and I had to tone them down a bit. The Trumpet is still slightly O.T.T. in terms of being rather brash in comparison to the others.

The first demo of the 80 stop is below. Neither the piece nor the composer are well known and the piece is rarely performed - partly on account of its' difficulty but mainly because of the physical requirements required to play it - ie: very long legs.

Having said that, it's really a superb piece with some wonderful moments though perhaps a bit ponderous in a couple of places on first listening. On subsequent listening, it improves greatly. It isn't a normal Toccata and particularly in the middle section, it is slightly reminiscent of the later "Star Wars" films.

I have recorded it very wet on normal reverb since it is the sort of piece that needs a huge acoustic.

Toccata MP3  Very Wet

25th June 2010

Since the Open Day weekend I have been going through the last few stops for the 80 Stop before the official release. What was shown at the Open Day was pretty much complete but the three major reeds for the Solo still needed to be gone through again - they were OK but not quite right. The Musette was interesting but I'm not sure whether to keep it in the specification or replace it with another mellower Oboe / Horn like stop. The Toys still have to be completed but they are very minor and only consist of one sample each. Finally the two 4' Strings have to be finished off and then the 80 will be ready for release.

Looking to the 100 stop, basically all that is required is 4 extra stops for each division most of which are pretty much complete though subject to some final regulation and voicing which means that Clinton Knight's organ in the USA will finally be complete and he can start re- engraving the odd stop for the finished instrument. His instrument will be slightly different from the 100 stop since it has 5 manuals and some of the divisions are slightly smaller or very much bigger than those of the 100 stop over 4 manuals.

14th. June 2010

Looking back on the weekend, as a whole it was a success despite the teething troubles etc. Hopefully, much has been learned by all the parties concerned and this sort of presentation will become easier and of greater rapidity as time passes.

Before helping Greg to remove the instrument into local storage, I attempted to make some sort of recording of it but with only about 3/4 of an hour to set up and remove microphones and recording equipment as well as playing it was a nigh on impossible task. I was not certainly not prepared for such a task and I hate having to record in a time pressured environment in the first place. This coupled to ambient noise from the busy road outside together with other noise from various sources resulted in little of value being achieved. Greg had to suffer an outside pneumatic drill when he tried to do it in the morning.

So for the moment, everything has gone into storage to await any future developments.

Of course, an event like this cannot  happen without the help of the church in which it is hosted. Our thanks must go to St.Oswald's Church and staff who were very accommodating and tolerant throughout the week, even to the extent of moving their usual Thursday service from the Lady chapel to the main church because it was filled with speakers etc.

Whilst on the subject, it would seem that any other church, hall etc. thinking of hiring a toaster (at great weekly cost) whilst their pipe organ is being built or restored would do better to request that an HW demo instrument is installed. The proviso being that open days and recitals are permitted along with possible sampling of the "to be" pipe organ in return ! This has already happened to a greater or lesser extent at Salisbury but needs to be pushed further.

12th. June 2010

Saturday dawned a better day with the arrival of David Butcher from Lavender Audio and visitors from as far afield as North Yorkshire, Leicestershire and Manchester. Everyone had more than enough opportunity to try out both Haverhill from David Butcher as well our own 80 stop.

A marginal amount of balance tweaking was required for Haverhill which included altering the speaker positions slightly but considering one set is absolutely dry and the other wet (though not overly so) it showed that both are pretty much playable out of the box without much messing about unlike many other sample sets.

In common with our own set, David's set exhibited exactly the same negligible "electronic" sound which bears out my comments below about having sufficient speakers in any installation.

The Haverhill sounded equally good in the church apart from being a wet Binns as opposed to a dry Father Willis and thus, a different sound, and was enjoyed by everyone who played it. David also set up his own system in the vestry where he had the first impressions available of a new set that he is working on to try. All that I can say is that when it is complete, people are going to kill for it ! I find  Haverhill to be a lovely instrument to play and very enjoyable but what is coming is absolutely superb and will surely become a standard by which all other facsimile / actual instruments will be judged.

David also enjoyed playing the 80 - which he incidentally played very well being an accomplished organist. He spoke highly of many aspects of it and even commented that some of my stops were very similar to his new project but without the reverberation.

In our several discussions together, it would seem that we both use pretty much the same software and are both striving after the same goals together with the same attention to detail. The only difference is that each of us is approaching a different market and standpoint. Both are equally valid approaches and neither conflicts with the other. Both have their problems and advantages, their plus points and minus points.

This was a first - probably worldwide for two theoretically opposing and competitor sample set producers to work together in harmony towards a common overall cause. It was a landmark that it happened and I firmly believe that there could be some very interesting developments in the future.

What he did tell me that was shocking is the sort of money the really desirable / famous instrument owners now demand for access to sample their instruments if indeed they allow it in the first place. Sooner or later the few but nonetheless vocal Hauptwerk users who complain about the price of sample sets (not taking into account the producers time spent creating the sets or the money invested in microphones and editing software etc.) are going to get a rude awakening. Too many expect everything (including HW itself) to be free or obtainable for a peanut price. They ought to thank their lucky stars that even the most expensive sets currently available are being offered at an absolute bargain price.

7th - 11th. June 2010

Much to and fro travel between Tewkesbury and Gloucester to the church during the week as the organ was set up for use in St. Oswald's Church. The console wasn't playable until the Wednesday due to problems with leads, sound cards, monitors and the fact that Greg Abrahams was still awaiting parts of the console to be delivered including the main touch screens and the wood for their cabinet housings.

Despite all of these minor annoyances, when it did get up and running finally, surprisingly little had to be done to the 80 stop in terms of tweaking except for increasing the Tuba Miabilis and decreasing the solo Fanfare 8'. There were some obvious inadequacies in the system - two speakers per 16 stop division is not really sufficient and there was some very slight evidence of boxiness and electronic sound on the largest plenums from some listening positions in the building. This would improve if even the upperwork alone was sent to an additional couple of channels in each division. This problem will always be the bane of any toaster or HW sample set no matter who produces it and has been covered particularly well by Colin Pykett in his writings. The smaller combinations short of full plenums sounded like a real pipe organ with no evidence of being form a counterfeit source.

Greg arrived for the recital at about 19.00 hrs with a couple of extra console parts to replace the temporary un-veneered MDF music desk etc. but sadly although the recessed touch screens for the console had arrived in the morning, he couldn't get them to work and had to use the existing free standing touch screens - one of which didn't react to touch.

The organ sounded good in the recital and was commented on by several people in the audience.

June 13th 2010

News about the weekend will follow ASAP

June 4th. 2010

The 18 stop Solo division of the 80 (82) stop is nearing completion and provides some excellent facilities additional to the 64 stop such as the String Division, Flute Celestes, more Solo reeds and a couple of percussion stops etc.

I visited the church earlier this week with Greg Abrahams to try some speaker locations and get an overall feel for the environment. The acoustics are quite pleasant at 3 secs. approximately and initial trials were favourable, albeit only in stereo through various different speaker set-ups and positions. The lower pitched stops came out particularly well and "moved the air" as hoped.  Even without fine tweaking for the building, the sound was pretty good and Greg was pleased with the result.

Next week, I will be paying several visits to the church in order to optimise the system for the best possible results given the fact that it is a temporary installation and hopefully it will be a fairly impressive sound for the concert and open day.

May 31st. 2010

Another end to another month which seems to have gone so quickly. Although I hoped to have had the 80 completed about a fortnight ago, circumstances prevented that. Apart from my father being taken off by air ambulance to hospital which necessitated a visit to my mother, I haven't had it all my way with the string section of the 80. However, I am now satisfied that with a little bit of tweaking here and there, that particular section is now pretty satisfactory. It's not quite Wanamaker but it is rather lush.

During the last week I also had the opportunity of visiting Greg at his home near Gloucester to see the 4 manual which will be used in his concert on the 11th. June. In addition to his 14 amp / speakers, he kindly visited "oop norf" to pick up my two gargantuan Tannoy's and the two 300 watt Behringers which should add considerably to the overall ensemble. He also got the opportunity to play Graham's local Conacher /Zimmermann from which some stops have been sampled and remarked that it was indeed, a truly fine organ. Such a pity it's languishing and decaying gradually.

So now, it's all go to finish the 80 in time for the concert and Open Day. This will include the matching of the 80 with the speakers and amps to the church building and acoustics which will no doubt require several visits. I'm not sure whether it will be a success or not but we can only try.

After that ? A rest ? Sadly not. I still have to finish the 100 for Clinton and complete the Trio 30 and 40 stop models. Then there is that Harmonium and the Unit series before grabbing a completely new bunch of samples for the WH series. One day, I may actually get back to playing and composing..............

Alternatively, I suppose a fresh direction would be to create a "named" organ for the train-spotters.  The famous organ in the Basque church of Santa Culo del Luminaria de Gaz built by Polla Cabeza should get them excited.

May 25th. 2010

The two Solo sections of the 80 stop Romantic are now progressing quite well after a bit of "umming and aahing" as to which of the string ranks worked best. It's been quite difficult since amongst the desired raspiness of the stops there were several instances of unpleasant harmonics which has had to be carefully eradicated without destroying the overall stringiness. However, the 16' is turning out quite well as are the VDO and Celeste. the 4' isn't too bad either. The original planned Quartane may be replaced by a 16' Celeste rank depending on the effect of the rest together. The Strings I and II are already complete since they were originally on the Choir and Swell where they were replaced by separate ranks.

As regards the other side the Vox needs going through as does the Musette. The flutes are already done having originally been on the Great where they were found to be a little too orchestral. They were replaced by new ones which blended better and weren't quite so hard. As regards the big reeds, I'm doing them again because i wasn't altogether happy with the results.

The Percussions are fine and all that has to be decided is at what pitch they play at and whether to add a Xylophone as well. I am still experimenting with the right sequence of bells for the Cymbelstern but the Pileata Magna is done (well, it wasn't that difficult). Finally the Pajarro has been resurected from my display cabinet and just needs to be recorded in the bathroom. I bought it some years ago in Yugoslavia (as it was) and it is not the conventional tin can and flue pipe cinema version but takes the form of a clay, bird shaped pot - basically a Helmholz resonator / Ocarina with modifications. It does however produce a superbly authentic sound typical of what might be found on the Southern German or Iberian instruments of the 17th and 18th centuries.

May 13th.2010

A nightmare day spent trying to fit 80 stops plus couplers etc. into the graphical representations of the instrument with something like 115 stops to arrange on the three different screens. It is now pretty much done and can be seen under the Romantic sample sets page. It would of course, be much easier to do it without staggered drawstops but it does look right. Unfortunately the 100 stop and if it is ever done, the 125 stop will have to have ugly straight lines of stops in order to fit.

I am committed to doing the 80 and 100 because of previous interest shown in the last couple of years as well as the need to do so for a couple of existing projects. However, I'm not sure whether I will ever bother with the 125 stop model since there will be so few people who can accommodate it or will be willing to afford it - we shall have to see.

May 12th.2010

Spent the day working on another demo and in the evening drove over to Chipping Campden for one of the festival concerts.

Now, whilst I obviously like the organ a great deal, it is very rarely that I go to organ recitals because for the most part, they are usually turgid affairs with perhaps one or two good pieces plus a load of sleep inducing non-events.

However, the opportunity to go to hear Thomas Trotter was something different and I was certainly not disappointed. I was prepared to be bored by the Schumann fugues which I had been warned were dull for the most part but even they were quite something else. After the Bach G minor Fantasia and Fugue, there followed a group of French dances and a modern piece by Ad Wammes called Miroir. The dances were pleasant apart from one rather repetitive one that didn't do a lot for me but the Miroir was a really brilliant piece, very jazzy and obviously rather difficult. This was followed by Best's Intro etc. on God save the Queen which was surprisigly good but not something that you would wish to or indeed have any good reason to play except very rarely.

The short interval was followed by the Schumann fugues on BACH. I reckon that if anyone does play them then they play No. 3 because it isn't too demanding. However, the two fast fugues especially No. 2 were unbelievable. One tends to think that pieces like the G and A minor Bach fugues along with a few others are difficult but they seem almost like the equivalent of a Grade 4 or 5 piece in comparison to the Schumann equivalently way over Grade 8. Gobsmacked would be an understatement. I had the score in front of me and he was playing almost faster than I could read it. in fact, I don't know how anyone can physically play a piece like this. The final pieces of the recital were Wagner transcriptions, the culmination being the Ride of the Valkyries - impressive, as always. The encore was the Gigue fugue.

One can now understand why someone like Thomas Trotter not only makes a fortune playing and can command the highest fees but is classed amongst the world's finest organists. No mistakes, no botched anything - a faultless performance. However, it is one thing to get all the notes right but another thing entirely to perform with such perfect musicality throughout. Unbelievable !

A very well attended concert with not a few organists present including Richard Seal formerly of Salisbury Cathedral.

May 9th.2010

Actually went out today and visited a lovely baroque church adjacent to a ruined stately home with an early Nicholson organ in it supposedly played on by Handel. Nothing really special there and in need of some work and tuning. Thence on to Ludlow for lunch and a quick visit to the parish church. Unfortunately, there was a wedding on at Leominster so we couldn't get in and finally we arrived for evensong and the target of the day.

Large four manual unspoiled Father Willis which we heard both in the service and demonstrated afterwards before we were allowed to play. The instrument is sadly in need of some restoration which is being carried out in this summer but there were some beautiful stops and the full choruses were quite thrilling. It's one of those instruments like St Bees that are legendary and one can see why. Unlike St Bees which just isn't possible, we shall have to see...............

Now for one of those little gems that are pretty much unknown. Simple, just a couple of flutes on the Great some Celestes and a couple of Pedal stops.

Javier de SanJose: Qui pascitur inter lilia (Wet) MP3

Javier de SanJose: Qui pascitur inter lilia (Dry) MP3

I first came across this piece many years ago in Palma, Majorca whilst I was on holiday. The rather hard to read photocopy of the music given to me by an old monk has taken some working out but I think it is a really charming little piece.

May 5th. 2010

On request from the HW forum:

Cook Fanfare Dry MP3

May 3rd 2010

Here's another demo - using the softer stops including both Celestes, 4 different solo reeds and the Great flutes.

Bonnet; Elves (Wet) MP3

Bonnet; Elves (Dry) MP3

May 2nd. 2010

Slightly late in getting the demo out but here it is:

Cook Fanfare MP3 (Wet) MP3

May 1st. 2010

Today sees the long awaited release of the new Romantic Series up to the 64 stop (the 80 and 100 stop versions will be released in the next two weeks).

Later today, I will be uploading a demo of the 64 stop and either today or tomorrow, further demos of both the 64 and 48. Since the stops are the same for all of the versions (just less of them) a pretty good idea can be got of what the lesser spec versions sound like. I will probably reserve the smaller versions for simpler demos of Bach or less romantically demanding pieces.

The last couple of days (apart from preparing the demo) have been spent trying to correlate swell pedals and pistons with my sequencer - something I haven't done before until now. Once i had worked out exactly what I needed to do, it was very easy but it took some working out (with a little help from Graham H's suggestions).

I'm really rather pleased with the latest demo - it's an exciting piece, it shows off some grand effects, it's light, it's got wonderful harmonies and some interesting rhythms and it's not too impossible to play.

See here later on..............

26th. April 2010

Yesterdays demo has been replaced with one having a little bit more reverberation in it. Having said that, I now notice an unpleasant buzz in places which may be caused by the reverb setting or may be caused by the MP3 conversion - I don't know. I'll try and find the source in the next couple of days.

25th. April 2010

Herewith the first demo of the 64 stop. I have added artificial reverb for this one but other demos will be dry.

Etude de Concert: Joseph Bonnet MP3

24th. April 2010

At last, the 64 is finished and thus, so are the other smaller Romantic Series libraries as soon as I finalise the CODM files for them. In the end, it's just a matter of subtraction which is a whole lot easier than addition.

Spent the whole day creating the 64 stop LH and RH jambs for those with split screens or those who rely on touch screens as opposed to conventional controls. That in itself took quite some time but now that I have the X Y figures as a template, the other smaller models will be much easier and less time consuming.

Couldn't for the life of me work out how to replace Martin's St Anne's blower noise with my own but sorted it eventually. I have prepared pneumatic key action noises, both on and off, but for the moment I have decided not to include them. If it becomes an issue, they will be offered as a free download. I also have a fair amount of tracker action drawstop noises but likewise have decided not to include them since the KA drawstop noises are sufficient.

All I have to do now is produce a few decent demos before the official announcement of the release sometime next week.

The 80 stop will be ready a couple of weeks later but the 100 is going to take a bit longer and the remains the problem of how to fit 100 stops plus couplers etc. onto the screen - it's probably not going to be very pretty but they should just about fit.

I know that there are a fair few who have been waiting for these new Romantic libraries and it's been a long wait but in the end, i think that they will find it was worth it.

17th. APRIL 2010

Created new separate rank Celeste and VDO 8' for Swell. The old double rank will transfer to the Solo as "Strings II Rks" Likewise, the double rank Violes Celestes on the Choir will be replaced by a separate rank Celeste and the existing stop will also move to the Solo as part of the string section of that division.

Otherwise, time was spent doing final checks on the stops with regards to balance etc.

12th. APRIL 2010

Decided it was time to rebuild the website at long last and it is now much simpler and navigable. No doubt over time, it will grow and end up being messy again but for the time being it's a big improvement.

The Romantic libraries with the exception of the 80 and 100 stop models should be completed and ready for final release during the next couple of weeks. The larger libraries will take a few weeks longer but at least the 80 should be ready in early May and has to be ready for a recital in June by Greg Abrahams.