We are proud to announce our 2024 holiday sale, beginning Wednesday, Nov 27 and running through the end of the year. Use the code BF2024 at checkout to receive a discount of 22% on your purchases.
Winter Release
We’re also pleased to announce the upcoming (re)release of the 1966 Aeolian-Skinner op. 1458 at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Long Beach, California. This was one of the sets originally released by CLR, and we chose to withdraw it pending a complete redo of all of the noise reduction, using our vastly updated and improved techniques and quality control. We’re planning on having it released before the end of 2024.
The set was converted to V5 format when Hauptwerk switched to iLok, if you purchased a copy before the switch and then surrendered your old dongle/converted to v5, your old license should still be valid. We are offering an upgrade to the new version for $99. New customers can purchase for $199 ($175 during the introductory period)
Stoplist:
Note there are quite a few old Murray-Harris stops included, so it’s a bit more romantically inclined than your usual Aeolian-Skinner of that vintage.
2025 and Beyond
We’ve signed a contract to sample the iconic Rieger organ at Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Sampling is scheduled, and we hope to release the instrument in mid/late 2025. We’ve also just completed recording on a major long-term project, but you’ll have to wait a bit for more news on that, as we are finalizing some details. There will also likely be a couple of smaller projects released during 2025, among them the Blackinton Chapel organ from FUMC San Diego (sampled at the same time as the main organ in the Sanctuary)
We wish you all a wonderful and peaceful holiday season,
Evensong is proud to announce the release of the IV/110 Blackinton organ at First United Methodist Church in San Diego, California. This instrument is the “magnum opus” of San Diego builder Lyle Blackinton, including some pipework from the old Pilcher and a lot of new pipework set on Blackinton slider chests.
Head HERE to order and read more. Perpetual (USD259 intro price) and 2 week demo licenses (USD2.99) are available.
The church’s first pipe organ was a two-manual Hook and Hastings instrument dedicated on February 26, 1888, in the new Methodist Block three-story brick building located at the corner of 4th and Broadway in downtown San Diego.
When First Church moved in 1907 to a new building designed by Irving Gill and located at 9th and C streets, the Hook and Hastings instrument was enlarged by Murray Harris and installed in the 1500-seat auditorium.
In 1929, First Church dedicated a new 27-rank, three-manual Pilcher organ which included 1,877 pipes with harp and chimes. When the church moved to Mission Valley in 1964, the Pilcher organ was placed in storage.
In 1967, Dowling and Blackinton Organ Builders designed and installed a 12-rank, 855-pipe, instrument in the chancel. Four years later the former downtown organ was removed from storage, refurbished and
Gallery closeup
enlarged by L. W. Blackinton and Associates to 41 ranks, with 2,450 pipes, chimes and harp, and placed in the rear gallery of the church sanctuary.
Throughout the decade from 1975 to 1985, then-organist/composer in residence Daniel Burton led a movement to provide the church with an instrument worthy of the architecture of the sanctuary and in keeping with the church’s history of supporting great music. In 1985 a committee headed by Jerry Ryan began to implement this vision, and in 1986 a contract was signed with L. W. Blackinton & Associates to redesign and expand the instrument, provide slider chests throughout, a four-manual console and 54 new ranks. The completed instrument was dedicated on January 22, 1989, with a total of 107 ranks and 6,042 pipes.
In 2010 an 8′ Festival Trumpet was added, bringing the organ to 108 ranks and 6092 pipes in nine divisions. The specification includes three 32’ ranks, of which the Principal and the Bombarde are full length. The organ stands as San Diego County’s largest.
In 2021 the Chancel Positiv was reconfigured with new chests and with a new expression enclosure and shutters. A new 8’ Geigen Principal and 4’ Geigen Octave were also added to provide additional expressive resources for choral accompaniment, bringing the organ to 110 ranks.
Stoplist
San Diego, California
First United Methodist Church
L. W. Blackinton & Associates, 1987-1989
4 Manuals, 9 divisions, 110 Ranks, 6325 pipes
GREAT
Gallery
16' Gamba 61 pipes
8' Principal 61 "
8' Rohr Flute 61 "
4' Octave 61 "
2' Fifteenth 61 "
V Cornet 305 "
IV Mixture 244 "
IV-VII Scharff 370 "
16' Bombarde 61 "
8' Trompette 61 "
4' Clarion 61 "
8' Herald Trumpet 61 "
Chimes 20
Cymbelstern 8
GREAT
Chancel
8' Principal 61 pipes
8' Bourdon 61 "
8' Dolce 61 "
4' Octave 61 "
2' Fifteenth 61 "
IV Mixture 244 "
Tower Bells 15
POSITIF
Gallery
8' Quint Flute 61 pipes
8' Dulciana 61 "
4' Spindle Flute 61 "
2' Principal 61 "
11/3' Quinte 61 "
1' Octave 61 "
III Cymbel 183 "
8' Rohr Schalmei 61 "
POSITIF
Chancel
8' Geigen Principal61 pipes
8' Gedeckt 61 "
4' Geigen Otave 61 "
4' Spire Flute 61 "
2' Principal 61 "
III Zimbel 61 "
8' Cromorne 61 "
SWELL
Gallery (expressive)
16' Lieblich Gedeckt 61 pipes
8' Geigen Principal 61 "
8' Salicional 61 "
8' Voix Celeste 49 "
8' Gedeckt 61 "
4' Spitz Principal 61 "
4' Harmonic Flute 61 "
22/3' Nazard 61 "
2' Flute 61 "
III Mixture 183 "
16' Bassoon 61 "
8' Trompette 61 "
8' Oboe 12 "
4' Clarion 61 "
Tremulant
Swell to Swell 16 – U/O – 4
SWELL
Chancel (expressive)
16' Gedeckt 12 pipes
8' Gemshorn 61 "
8' Gemshorn Celeste 49 "
4' Wood Flute 61 "
22/3' Nazard 61 "
2' Flute 61 "
IV Fourniture 244 "
16' Bassoon 61 "
8' Trumpet 61 "
8' Fagotto 12 "
4' Clarion 12 "
Tremulant
Cymbelstern
CHOIR
Gallery (expressive)
8' Concert Flute 61 pipes
8' Flute Celeste 61 "
8' Erzaehler 61 "
8' Erzaehler Celeste 49 "
8' Aeoline 61 "
4' Flute d'Amour 61 "
22/3' Nasard 61 "
2' Flute 61 "
1 3/5' Tierce 61 "
8' Clarinet 61 "
8' Vox Humana 61 "
4' Celesta 49 bars
8' Herald Trumpet Gt
8' Festival Trumpet 61 pipes (Added in 2010)
Tremulant
Choir to Choir 16 – U/O – 4
PEDAL
Gallery
32' Contra Principal 32 pipes
32' Grand Bourdon 32 "
16' Principal 32 "
16' Bourdon 12 "
16' Violone 32 "
16' Gamba Gt
16' Lieblich Gedeckt Sw
8' Octave 32 "
8' Bourdon 12 "
8' Gedeckt Sw
51/3' Quint Bass 32 "
4' Choralbass 32 "
4' Flute Sw
22/3' Nazard 32 "
2' Twenty Second 32 "
IV Mixture 128 "
32' Contra Posaune 32 "
16' Posaune 12 "
16' Basson Sw
8' Trumpet 32 "
4' Clarion 12 "
PEDAL
Chancel
16' Principal 32 "
16' Bourdon 32 "
16' Gedeckt Sw
102/3' Quint Sw
8' Octave 32 "
8' Gedeckt 12 "
4' Choral Bass 32 "
2' Twenty Second 12 "
16' Fagotto Sw
8' Fagotto Sw
4' Fagotto Sw
INTERDIVISIONAL COUPLERS-
Great to Pedal
Swell to Pedal
Choir to Pedal
Positif to Pedal
Swell to Great 16'
Swell to Great 8'
Swell to Great 4'
Choir to Great 16'
Choir to Great 8'
Choir to Great 4'
Positif to Great 8'
Choir to Swell 16'
Choir to Swell 8'
Choir to Swell 4'
Choir to Positif 8'
Swell to Positif 8'
Great to Positif 8'
INDICATOR LIGHTS-
Crescendo Bar Graph
Tuttis I, II, and III
Gallery Organ Power
Chancel Organ Power
Usher Signal
Memory Level
Microphone Selector
Console: Solid Teak, Ebony Drawknobs
Four 61 note manuals, from top: Choir, Swell, Great, Positif
32-note concave, radiating pedal board
Expression pedals, left to right: Gallery Choir, Gallery Swell, Chancel Swell
ACCESSORIES:
Crescendo Pedal, standard and three programmable sequences
Reed Silencer: Drawknob and toe stud reversible, programmable
Great to Pedal reversible, toe stud
Gallery Cymbelstern toe stud reversible
Chancel Cymbelstern toe stud reversible
All Shades to Gallery Swell: Drawknob
Pulpit, Lectern, Roving, and Auxilliary microphone selectors and cancel
Adjustable Bench
Chancel Blowers and Console Power, Gallery Blower, Tower Bells Compressor
Music rack and Pedal board lights, automatic with console power
COMBINATION ACTION:
Eight memory levels
Ten General Pistons with Toe Stud duplicates
Ten Divisional Pistons for each manual division plus Cancels
Ten Pedal Toe Studs
Tuttis I, II, and III programmable Thumb Pistons and Toe Studs
General Cancel
The organ is offered in 2-channel stereo, 24 bit 48kHz. A bit of an explanation about this decision: The church is located right next to a busy highway, and even late at night it’s quite a noisy environment. We did record more remote channels, but when we did the noise reduction , we found that despite careful work, it did too much damage to the quality of the sounds. As a result, we decided to only use the more direct perspective, and lowered the price from $449 to $299 (introductory price is $259). One interesting aside – since the organ is in two locations, Chancel and Gallery, if you have rear speakers you can still split the organ and have a “surround” experience similar to the real thing.
20 years ago on June 10, 2004, I opened up pre-orders for the FBR Schantz for HW 1!
Honestly, I just wanted to try sampling and had a dream to (eventually) provide an eclectic 3m American Classic organ for HW that would fit under the 4gb memory limit.
I never really set out at first to make it a business – my initial goal was to make enough to buy a decent digital camera and have enough money to register for and attend the 2004 American Guild of Organists convention in Los Angeles. I did make that goal, and eventually exceeded it dramatically. I went on to update the FBR set for HW 2, and then in 2012 I released my second set, the Wangerin. 2016 saw the St. Philip Schantz, and then in late 2018, Charlie Raasch and I combined our catalogs.
Since then, Charlie and I have sampled and released 14 more sample sets and revised and re-released 3 of his original sets. We’re working on the IV/110 Blackinton organ from First United Methodist in San Diego, California for release this summer, and still committed to releasing even more quality and iconic American HW samplesets in the future.
In celebration of our 20 years, we are having an anniversary sale – celebrating 20 years with 20% off for 20 days (June 10-June30). Use the code 202020 at checkout to receive your discount.
We’re thrilled to announce that our University of Minnesota Northrop Hall IV/108 Aeolian Skinner is now available for sale! For a limited time, it is available for USD499. After January 15, the price reverts to the list price of USD549. Fully functional 2 week demos are available for USD3.*
The instrument is a significant one of Aeolian Skinner, built between 1933 and 1936. It was refurbished by Foley-Baker in 2016. The sample set incorporates two separate perspectives. Further details, demos and purchase instructions can be found HERE. Screens include a rendered console screen with working stop action, left and right photorealistic jambs (optimized for portrait), left and right simple screens (landscape and portrait), a unified simple screen, controls (perspective volume, pistons, tuning, pedal divide selector), and a programmable crescendo screen. A bit of trivia – there are nearly 60,000 separate audio files for this project!
Screenshots:
Demo Recordings:
* Please note that if you have previously purchased, evaluated, and had expire, a demo code for one of our instruments, you will not be able to have a new code work for the same instrument! So if you’ve previously ordered a demo code for a specific instrument from us, please don’t order a new one!
Stoplist
GREAT ORGAN SWELL ORGAN
16' Diapason 61 16' Bourdon 73
8' First Diapason 61 16' Gemshorn 73 c
8' Second Diapason 61 8' Geigen Diapaon 73
8' Third Diapason 61 a 8' Hohlflöte 73
8' Flute Harmonique 61 8' Rohrflöte 73
8' Gedeckt * 61 b 8' Flauto Dolce 73
8' Viola pf 8' Flute Celeste (TC) 61
8' Gemshorn 61 8' Salicional 73
5 1/3' Quint 61 a 8' Voix Celeste 73
4' Octave 61 8' Echo Gamba 73
4' Second Octave 61 a 8' Echo Celeste 73
4' Flute * 61 4' Octave Geigen 73
3 1/5' Tenth 61 a 4' Flute 73
2 2/3' Twelfth 61 4' Violina 73 c
2' Fifteenth 61 2 2/3' Twelfth 61 c
IV Harmonics 244 2' Fifteenth 61 c
VII Plein Jeu * 427 a V Dolce Cornet 305 c
16' Contra Tromba * 61 a V Chorus Mixture 305
8' Tromba * 61 16' Posaune 73
4' Octave Tromba * 61 a 8' French Trumpet 73 a
Chimes SO 8' Cornopean 73
8' Harp CH 8' Oboe 73
4' Celesta CH 8' Vox Humana 73
* enclosed 4' Clarion 73
Tremolo
CHOIR ORGAN Chimes SO
16' Contra Viola 73 8' Harp CH
8' Diapason 73 4' Celesta CH
8' Concert Flute 73
8' Cor de Nuit 73 c PEDAL ORGAN
8' Dulcet II 134 c 32' Double Open Diapason 12 c
8' Dulciana 73 32' Sub Bourdon 5
8' Unda Maris (TC) 61 16' Diapason 32
4' Flute 73 16' Metal Diapason 32 a
4' Gemshorn 73 c 16' Contre Basse 32
2 2/3' Nazard 61 16' Bourdon 32
2' Piccolo 61 16' Diapason GT
1 3/5' Tierce 61 16' Contra Gamba SO a
1 1/3' Larigot 61 16' Contra Viola CH
III Dulciana Mixture 183 16' Gemshorn SW c
16' Fagotto 73 c 16' Echo Lieblich SW
8' Trumpet 73 c 8' Octave 12
8' Orchestral Oboe 73 c 8' Cello 32
8' Clarinet 73 8' Gedeckt 12
Tremolo 8' Viole CH
8' Harp (tc) -- 8' Still Gedeckt SW
4' Celesta 5 1/3' Twelfth 7 c
4' Super Octave 24 c
SOLO ORGAN 4' Flute 5
16' Contra Gamba 73 b V Harmonics 160 c
8' Flauto Mirabilis 73 b 32' Bombarde 12 c
8' Gamba 73 b 32' Contra Fagotto 12 CH c
8' Gamba Celeste 73 b 16' Trombone 32
8' Aetherial Celeste II 146 b 16' Posaune SW
4' Orchestral Flute 73 b 16' Fagotto CH c
4' Octave Gamba 73 b 8' Tromba 12
III Cornet de Violes 183 b 4' Clarion 12
16' Corno di Bassetto 73 c Chimes SO
8' Tuba Mirabilis 73
8' English Horn 73 c
8' French Horn 73
4' Tuba Clarion 73 c
Tremolo
Chimes a added as Op. 892-A in 1933
8' Harp CH b added as Op. 892-B in 1934
4' Celesta CH c added as Op. 892-C in 1936
Holiday Specials!
Our holiday sale is still good until the end of 2023. We are offering a 15% discount on all sample sets – use the code BF2023 on checkout to get your discount.
* Please note that if you have previously purchased, evaluated, and had expire, a demo code for one of our instruments, you will not be able to have a new code work for the same instrument! So if you’ve previously ordered a demo code for a specific instrument from us, please don’t order a new one!
New Offerings
We’ve decided to redo the 1984 Schantz, going back to the raw files and revisiting the noise reduction, applying all of the new principles I’ve learned in the last few years – the result is a better picture of the instrument, as it is clearer and cleaner, as well more of the reverb has been preserved. The user interface has also been updated. The sound is very “present”, as we recorded about 15-20′ from the case using cardioid mics. There is a $29 upgrade price for existing users, new users can purchase for $99. Go HERE to see the order page.
A demo recording of Mendelssohn’s 4th sonata is here:
We’re also pleased to announce the upcoming (re)release of the 1966 Aeolian-Skinner op. 1458 at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Long Beach, California. This was one of the sets originally released by CLR, and we chose to withdraw it pending a complete redo of all of the noise reduction, using our vastly updated and improved techniques and quality control. We’re planning on having it released before the end of 2024.
