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Concert Series

The Concert Series is the result of many years of sample set development. Created from from several hundred different recorded stops and many thousands of individual pipe recordings taken over the last two decades, stops have been chosen from the best examples available in each instrument.

Whilst the various models are ostensibly English Romantic in nature by design as a result of the source material, they also lean towards the American Classic style as developed by Skinner along with a few distinct nods in the direction of other European tonal schools.

Whilst there has been no specific aim to produce instruments that are by a distinct builder, a considerable amount of material by specific builders is included in the series. Like any pipe organ builder, my "house" style is an amalgamation of many different tonal schools. Because the source material is from many different builders the end results are a similar amalgamation of English voicing styles.

All of the instruments in the initial release are created using close recorded, dry samples. This provides the most flexible approach. Instruments can be used in larger spaces with existing room reverberation or can be enhanced by additional reverberation - either hardware or software based. The considerable developments with convolution reverberation over the last few years means that many end users run sophisticated acoustic modifying facilities already. The addition of in-built convolution reverberation for Hauptwerk V etc. extends this facility further.

Depending on demand and feedback as to what the most popular settings of convolution reverberation which suit the majority might be, the sets may also be released as wet versions.

Below are some of the major features of the new Concert Series:

10 DIFFERENT MODELS TO CHOOSE FROM

There are ten different specifications to choose from ranging from typical small church instruments up to those of concert hall or cathedral size.

SAMPLES SELECTED FROM OVER 20 PIPE ORGANS

Our thousands of stop samples have been recorded from over 20 UK pipe organs. Whilst each organ is unique, all of the instruments have a tonal character which is an unmistakably English sound.

EACH STOP INDEPENDENTLY GENERATED

Throughout the sets offered, there is no extension or duplexing and each stop is different from any other even though the name may be identical. Every note of each stop has been sampled several times and the best notes chosen. However, it is not always possible to use all of a stop for many reasons and where this is the case, "bad" notes have been replaced by the closest match. In some cases complete stops may have been created from two or more ranks to obtain the best result.

MINIMAL OR NO NOISE REDUCTION

Any form of NR will have a retrograde result when applied so where possible, we avoid the use of noise reduction. However, in the cases where some form of noise reduction is unavoidable, this is applied minimally through several stages in order to retain attack and release characteristics accurately.

CLOSE RECORDED DRY SAMPLES

With Over 30 years experience of sampling sound, experience has shown that for maximum realism, close up dry samples are essential. Since samples are recorded in the same way for each organ, they are consistent. Because there is no ambient building noise, it is possible to create new, natural sounding stops through filtering and pitch alteration. Samples act like individual pipes within a given space which allows stops or parts of stops to be mixed with real pipes in hybrid installations or to develop their sound in the space of the building as a real pipe organ would. Where convolution reverberation is used, the results are consistent throughout the instrument.

INDIVIDUAL MIXTURE STOPS

Our mixtures are made up of independent ranks which means that the composition and break points of the mixture stops can be designed from scratch. Individual note tuning or slight detuning for authenticity becomes possible. This is not possible with conventionally sampled mixtures.

CUSTOM DESIGNED ORGANS

Because of the unique way in which we record and process our stop samples, it is possible to create virtually any specification. From the many stops available, bespoke instruments can be created to fit in with existing consoles or with hybrid pipe / pipeless organs as well as mixtures with different compositions and ranks.

ECONOMICAL UPGRADES AND ALTERATIONS

Each set in the series uses the same source stop ranks so that the stops on the smallest model are the same as the equivalent stops on larger models. However, larger models have more stops and in each model there is are slight alterations to the overall balance of the stops (via the Organ Definition File). This means that customers who have purchased a certain size instrument can downgrade to a smaller instrument for practice or load a larger instrument in the series. When it comes to upgrading to a larger instrument, the upgrade path requires only the addition of the additional ranks of the larger model together with a larger ODF. Likewise, it is a relatively simple task to replace one stop with a different one or with a better example in the future. Therefore upgrading and alterations are very economical.

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Sample Sets

We have been involved with church organs for nearly five decades. Initially working with conventional pipe organs, we moved into the world of pipeless instruments during their rapid technological expansion in the last quarter of the twentieth century.

With over 30 years experience in creating sample sets for organs for other digital organ manufacturers and since 20003, for the Hauptwerk software platform, we are one of the longest established sample set producers.

In addition to our "off the shelf" sample sets of existing or composite instruments, we are also able to create custom instruments to suit individual requirements.

We have a library archive of many hundreds of stops to choose from sampled from instruments throughout the UK and elsewhere.

DISCOVERIES

This page has come into being as a result of some of my observations regarding YouTube in another earlier posting.

How often do we come across things which "open our eyes and ears" by accident or perhaps because someone has recommended something that we were previously unaware of. For me personally, during my lifetime, I have been introduced to many pieces of music etc. in passing which I would never have discovered if someone hadn't told me.

Therefore, the purpose of this page is to introduce visitors to all sorts of things that they might otherwise not have discovered. For the most part these "discoveries" are to do with music or performances of music but there may be some that are unrelated to music or organs in any way and are included because they are just interesting.

Of course, many who read my website pages will already be totally aware of some of the composers, pieces or performances that I intend to suggest but some will have a far wider knowledge of a particular composer or their pieces than I could ever hope to have. In other cases, my suggestions may be completely new. Some may have a note(s) attached, others not. Obviously, my leanings are towards the classical side and also towards the organ but I can be quite eclectic in my musical likes and dislikes so there will be other genres.

It is quite likely that as a result of this page, readers may suggest their own discoveries to me (via email), and some of these will be totally new to me. These may therefore warrant inclusion here.

One other aspect of this is that having been introduced to a composer or a performer, this may very well lead to the discovery of more of the works of a particular composer or performer by readers / listeners.

I will start the ball rolling with the following.............................

Jacob Collier: World O World:

I first discovered the remarkable Jacob Collier a year or so ago and was very impressed with his work. I can't say that I like everything he does but there are some things that he has done that are quite mind blowing. His 'a capella' multi-track singing certainly warranted the several Grammy awards that he has achieved but lately he has penned some highly original songs which are very pleasant. However, it is his World O World that is stunning in its emotional impact especially at the end. What an incredible choir and what an incredible sound.

Jacob Collier - World O World (Official Score Video)

Poulenc: Concerto for two pianos:

I have known this particular piece for many years along with his Concert Champetre, Aubade, Piano concerto (single) Organ Concerto and Les Biches to name just a few of his works. Obviously, I like Poulenc a lot however, this performance by the Jussen Brothers stands out particularly. The Jussen brothers are quite a phenomenon in themselves and it is worth listening to their other YouTube presentations. The whole concerto is very fine but I have chosen the second movement as being particularly excellent as an introduction.

Lucas & Arthur Jussen – Poulenc Concerto For Two Pianos | Second Movement (2017)

Just purely for fun, check out their Strauss Die Fledermaus encore as well.........

Rachmaninov: Piano concertos

The Rach. concertos are so very well known to almost everyone. Which one is anybody's favourite probably vies between No 2 and No. 3 with possibly No. 3 coming out on top. No 1 and No 4 tend to be performed rather less. There are of course that many performances and most of them are fairly excellent so it is difficult to single out individual performances.

I always liked the Earle Wild performances but thanks to YouTube, I have recently discovered several others. Sticking with Rach 3, I suppose the one that really comes out on top for me is the Alexander Gavrylyuk Proms performance conducted by Thomas Dausgaard. I find the Daniil Trifonov performance quite mesmerising because he is so completely manic and I quite like the Alexandеr Malofeev performance but it doesn't quite reach the emotional heights of the other two. However, what completely blows my mind is the SOLO performance (piano and orchestral transcription) by Christopher Falzone (very tragically no more) who has YouTube performances of both no 2 and No 3. There are a few others by other arrangers mostly Far Eastern performers but the Falzone performances take some beating.

Rachmaninoff-Falzone Concerto op. 30/3 (transcribed and performed by Christopher)

Hardware

We can supply everything that might be required for a pipeless organ installation from the basic console, amplification and speakers to the computers, software and audio interfaces needed.

The various components are sourced from a number of specialist established manufacturers and supply houses most of whom we have been involved with for many years.

In addition, we have a number of contacts who specialise in obtaining and converting former consoles for use with the Hauptwerk platform.

Contact Information

For further information, please email us at

E-mail:

charlesbraund@gmail.com

info@silveroctopus.co.uk

N.B. Some sample sets may not work with basic older versions of Hauptwerk or the entry level version of the new Hauptwerk V and above because these editions do not include some of the features that are necessary for our libraries to work fully on the Hauptwerk platform.

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Concert Series