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IV/110 Blackinton Released

Hi Friends,

Console

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.

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Northrop Aeolian-Skinner IV/108 – Now Released!

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.

Also, our demo codes are $3 each*.  Try them all!

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.

 



The instrument is in the balcony, overlooking the modern sanctuary

Stoplist

Great

16    Pommer
8      Principal
8      Rohrflute
4      Octave
4      Spitzflute
2      Superoctave
IV     Fourniture
8      Trompete
8      State Trompete
8      Krummhorn (CH)

GT to GT 16, 4, Unison off

Pedal

32    Resultant
16    Principal
16    Subbass
16    Pommer (GT)
8     Octave
8     Bass Flute
8     Pommer (GT)
4     Choralbass
4     Nachthorn
IV    Mixture
32   Contra Fagot*
16   Posaune
16    Fagot
8     Posaune
8     Fagot
4     Posaune

Great to Pedal 8, 4
Swell to Pedal 8, 4
Choir to Pedal 8, 4

Swell

8      Bourdon
8      Viole
8      Voix Celeste
4      Prestant
4      Flute Harmonique
22/3  Nazard
2     Flute a Bec
III    Plein Jeu
16    Fagot
8      Trompete
8      Fagot
4     Clairon

Tremulant

SW to SW 16, 4, Unison off
SW to GT 16, 8, 4
SW to CH 16, 8, 4

Choir

8      Holzgedekt
8      Gemshorn
8      Gemshorn Celeste
4      Principal
4      Koppelflute
22/3  Nasat
2      Principal
13/5  Terz
11/3  Quinte
8      Krummhorn
8      State Trompete

Tremulant

CH to CH 16, 4 Unison off
CH to GT 16, 8, 4

*Stops that have been added using existing material (revoiced or borrowed)

Posted on

2022 Black Friday/Holiday Sale & New Release!

Welcome to the holiday season!  As part of the celebration, we are releasing a new instrument, and offering a holiday discount on many of our sample sets.

St. Luke’s McLean Steiner-Reck – III/60 (IV/76)

We’re pleased to announce the release of our newest sample set, the St. Luke’s Catholic Church Mclean Virginai Steiner-Reck.  The instrument is available for the introductory price of USD249.  Fully functional demo license (HW VII only) are available for the introductory price of USD 79 cents!

This instrument is a very versatile III/60 instrument that we’ve expanded to IV/76.  It is at St. Luke’s Catholic Church in McLean, VA.  It is in a live space, and is supplied with two perspectives.  New to this instrument is a programmable crescendo which we plan to include on all of our future instruments.

Details on the instrument can be found on our website.  We have a number of recordings available, on our YouTube channel, or on Contrabombarde under clrresources or giwro.

These demo recordings show the instrument capable of a wide range of literature:
Franck Fantasie in A
Raasch St. Anne Suite

IMPORTANT NOTE: This instrument is available with Hauptwerk VII ONLY.  Refunds of perpetual licenses will carry a USD30 restocking charge if you order and are unable to use the instrument on your V or VI system.  See below for our reasons for doing this.  Upgrades from V to VII and VI to VII are available on the Hauptwerk website.

20% off select instruments!

We are offering 20% off of our core instruments.  These instruments are all available for Hauptwerk V and later.

University of Redlands Casavant IV/73  (demo)
Pasadena Presbyterian Aeolian Skinner IV/111 (demo)
Immanuel Presbyterian Los Angeles 3 instrument set
1927 IV/62 EM Skinner (demo) | 1956 III/37 Schlicker | 1977 II/20 Hradetsky)
Saint Olaf Lively-Fulcher III/67 (demo)
First Lutheran Church Long Beach Zimmer III/47 (demo)
Concordia University Casavant III/59.  This workhorse practice instrument is $103 with the coupon code.
Holy Trinity Georgetown EM Skinner III/50.  Only a limited number of licenses for this instrument are available.

2 manual instruments (With the 20% coupon, these instruments are $39 each!)
Immanuel Presbyterian Hradetsky II/20
Concordia University Zhang Hall Goetz

To get your 20% discount, use coupon code BF2022, valid today through Dec 31, 2022EDIT – Code is not working properly, prices have been manually adjusted

Upcoming

We have been both fortunate and very busy in preparing a number of new instruments for presentation to the Hauptwerk community.  We have 3 other significant instruments completing recording.  We plan to release these next year.  One of the three instruments is a well preserved Wm. Johnson organ.  It is the biggest Johnson known to exist, and probably one of the biggest he built.  The Johnson reeds are something completely different, and we’re very excited about developing this sample set.  The organ is in a fantastic room, and we have multiple perspectives planned. Listen to an improv recorded during one of our sessions:

LISTEN HERE

We remember Fred Swann, Southern California and international organ icon, who recently passed away.  His life was such a contribution to the craft, and he touched so many people with his kindness and his excellence.

The Arboretum organ at Christ Cathedral was purchased and installed at Fred Swann’s urging after the Northridge earthquake in 1994 made the Christian Science church where it was originally installed unusable.  The arboretum organ unofficially carries Fred’s name.  We plan to release soon a complete redo of the Christ Cathedral Arboretum sample set. We have gone back to the original recordings and completely redone noise reduction, sample extraction, and sample processing.  We will also be redoing the user interface of the organ, adding

  • Variable Pedal Divide
  • Simple Screen
  • Variable Tuning
  • Multiple perspectives
  • Programmable Crescendo
  • GT/CH manual swap

Stay tuned to this newsletter, and subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up to date on new releases.  If you aren’t a subscriber to our newsletter, join through this signup form.

A word about encryption

There is an immense amount of work that goes into developing a sample set.  There are bad actors on the periphery of the Hauptwerk community who are satisfied to steal the hard work of sample set producers and sell the sets as their own.  Milan Digital Audio has been diligent since the release of HW V in improving the security of the sample sets that we create, protecting our intellectual property, and allowing us to properly gain the benefit of sales, as well as be able to return fees to the venues where these great instruments live.

These bad actors succeeded in exploiting a weakness in HW V/VI to again steal what was not theirs.  With HW VII, the encryption and protection has been again improved, and so for future instruments, we will be releasing using HW VII encryption.

Thank you for your support and interest.
The Evensong Music Team, Jonathan Orwig and Charlie Raasch

Posted on

St. Olaf RC 2001 III/67 Lively-Fulcher Released!

Facade

We are thrilled to announce the release of our newest major instrument, the III/67 Lively-Fulcher at St. Olaf Catholic Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota.  This French-inspired instrument is in an excellent acoustic.  The sample set is available with two perspectives,

We are offering this outstanding instrument for the introductory price of USD299.  Fully functional 2 week demos are available for USD 0.79 (79 cents!)*  These prices are only good through the end of 2021, at which time the prices will revert to USD349 for the perpetual license and USD5 for the demo license.

Information on the instrument and ordering instructions can be found here.  A sample recording of the instrument is here.  This recording is made with no added reverb, and with Direct and Ambient perspectives both at full volume.

GRAND ORGUE RÉCIT EXPRESSIF
16′ Montre 16′ Bourdon
8′ Montre 8′ Diapason
8′ Flûte à cheminée 8′ Viole de gambe
8′ Flûte harmonique 8′ Voix céleste
8′ Violoncelle 8′ Cor de nuit
4′ Prestant 4′ Prestant
4′ Flûte ouverte 4′ Flûte octaviante
2 2/3′ Quinte 2′ Octavin
2′ Doublette 2′ Plein Jeu IV
2′ Fourniture V 2 2/3′ Cornet II
8′ Trompette 16′ Basson
4′ Clarion 8′ Trompette harmonique
Tremulant 8′ Hautbois
Octaves graves 8′ Voix humaine
Récit sur G.O. 4′ Clairon harmonique
Positif sur G.O. Tremulant
Bombarde sur G. O. Octaves graves
POSITIF EXPRESSIF
BOMBARDE
8′ Montre 16′ Tuba magna
8′ Bourdon 8′ Tuba mirabilis
8′ Flûte douce 4′ Cor harmonique
8′ Flûte céleste 8′ Cornet (tg) V
4′ Prestant PEDALE
4′ Flûte conique 32′ Contrebasse
2 2/3′ Nazard 16′ Grosse flûte
2′ Doublette 16′ Montre (G.O.)
2′ Quarte de nazard 16′ Soubasse
1 3/5′ Tierce 16′ Bourdon (Réc)
1 1/3′ Larigot 8′ Montre
1′ Fourniture IV 8′ Flûte
8′ Trompette 8′ Bourdon
8′ Cromorne 4′ Prestant
Tremulant 4′ Flûte ouverte
Ocatves graves 2 2/3′ Fourniture IV
Récit sur Positif 32′ Contre bombarde
Bombarde sur Positif 16′ Bombarde
Positif unison off 16′ Basson (Réc.)
G.O. /Positif manual transfer 8′ Trompette
Chimes sur G.O. 4′ Clairon
Tower Bells sur Récit Tirasse GO
Cymbelstern Tirasse Pos. Expr.
Tirasse Bom.
Tirasse Réc.
The samples are offered in 48kHz/24bit resolution. The multiple releases have 2 or 3 levels: short, mid and long. Tremulants are sampled tremulants throughout the instrument.  Hauptwerk 5 and higher required (incl. HW6). The sample set is encrypted via the iLok system used in Hauptwerk.

The sample set is offered in  a 4-channel variant (Close-Ambient), both perspectives show the reverb very well and are very clear, the ambient sound is not quite as focused, but not at the expense of clarity. It would be possible in order to save memory to load only one perspective, and still get a very good impression of the room.  The reverb time is 3-4 seconds.

The UI includes portrait and landscape screens of left and right jambs as well as a portrait and landscape simple screen.  While the console screen shows 3 manuals, using the Hauptwerk OrganSettings/Keyboards… function, the Bombarde division can easily be assigned its own manual.

We hope that you enjoy our newest offering.  Thank you for your support!