Latest Updates on Progress...

06-01-2022

The long awaited Peterborough Cathedral concert pitch instrument update is complete, and the latest downloads include an additional organ definition to play it. The organ was re-pitched by Harrison and Harrison in 2015/16, and as well as being at concert pitch, this also included some tonal changes (addition of a 16' pedal extension to the 32' Open Diapason, a new Hill style Tuba Mirabilis, and addition of a Nazard and Sesquialtera on the choir). Additionally a few of the other reeds were improved during voicing in order to enhance their tone and consistency, and the project was widely regarded as a resounding success, with the current instrument sounding more splendid than ever. This latest Hauptwerk set update recreates the current state of the organ, using a combination of existing samples and new samples (a considerable number of ranks were completely resampled, and the sound of each pipe checked against the original pre-repitched recordings, in order to determine where new samples should be used to capture the current character of the instrument). Particularly, the entirely re-sampled Tuba and Tuba Mirabilis are sounding better than ever with the benefit of up to 7 different lengths of release sample to provide the ultimate in realism. The update also includes some fixes and improvements to the original sets. I will be contacting owners of the current Peterborough sets in the next few days to provide links to the update installation package, which is free to existing users.

In addition, There is a dry set which is under development and due to be released in the coming months. This version covers both the original "pre-repitch" version and the current concert pitch specification, and being recorded right up next to the pipes (with virtually no building acoustic), it is primarily intended for use in ambient spaces (churches or cathedrals), although there will be some original Peterborough Cathedral impulse responses included for use in dryer settings. I will post more information on this presently. In the meantime, may I wish you all a happy new year!

28-12-2021

I have finally had some time to finish off the final version of the Re-pitched Peterborough Instrument! It's a faithful reproduction of Peterborough Cathedral organ as it is today, at concert pitch, with some additional ranks (a new 16ft Open Diapason wood pedal (extension), and some additional choir mutations), and lovingly re-voiced by Harrison and Harrison to sound even more splendid than before. The Hauptwerk instrument includes a number of new ranks and some resampling of the original ranks where required to reflect the current voicing. There are also some bug fixes and improvements to the original instrument, and either instrument (current or original pitch) can be loaded and voiced separately following the update. The updated ODF's will be available shortly (as a free update to all existing owners of the Peterborough set), and I will email details of the links in the coming days. Many thanks for your saintly patience for this long awaited update, and I will post again here once the updated links are available!

27-06-2020

Apologies for the lack of updates, I have found myself rather busy in the light of the Covid lock down having to home school my lovely children, as well as juggling everything else! However, the dry version and the concert pitch (with current specification) instruments are in Beta testing, and whilst still requiring some work, are coming along very nicely! I am very grateful to Stephen Norton for his youtube demonstration of the Peterborough organ, which I can can recommend if you have not yet seen it. Also, during the Covid lockdowns, I have been very pleased to hear from a number of people who have been using the Peterborough organ to record virtual services for their churches. It has even been used for online services at Peterborough Cathedral, thanks to the kind efforts of of a few Peterborough sample set owners! More updates soon, and I hope that you are all staying safe.

09-12-2019

Hauptwerk V has been released! For those of you who choose to upgrade, the Peterborough Hill is now available for Hauptwerk V. If you choose to stay on version 4, and have already purchased a Hauptwerk 4 licence, then I will continue to support this for the forseeable future. Note that Hauptwerk plan to stop allowing version 4 licences to be sold from early next year, so if you wish to purchase the Peterborough set for Hauptwerk 4, then you will need to do so before then. I am also making great progress with the concert pitch instrument updated to the current specification. I plan to release the Wet stereo update to all existing Peterborough users in the first half of 2020. The multi-channel set is also under active development and I hope will be complete next year. More soon!

01-07-2019

The Stereo Organ is finished, and the installation packages are being uploaded to my website now, and will be available for purchase shortly. I would like to say a big thank you to all who have helped me test and fine tune the organ, and in particular to David Lamb and Christoph Schmitz who have gone out of their way and then some to help me finally release this great instrument. I hope that you all enjoy it and that the patient among you forgive me for the protracted wait! If you have not already done so, please take a look at the organ details, or download the Organ Manual pdf to find out more.

18-06-2019

I am putting together the final release version of the stereo set, and I'm now focussing on getting the website ready for release. I hope that it will now be available by the end of June. Have a look at the organ details and watch this space!

06-05-2019

Just a brief update: The Beta testing is proceeding well! I would like to offer my considerable thanks to those kind and talented individuals who are generously giving of their time to help me debug and improve the set. For those of you who haven’t done so already, I would recommend that you listen to some of David’s (agnus_dei) excellent recordings on www.contrebombarde.com using the Beta instrument. I am now working on documentation, and will be updating this website shortly with further information, including system Specifications and pricing. I am tentatively planning to be ready to release the set towards the end of June, and I hope that the long wait will have been worth it as we finally share the full glory of the exquisite Peterborough Cathedral Hill Organ!

21-02-2019

All of the audio samples are now complete and formatted with correct markers, loops, pitch info etc. I have some further adjustments to make to the organ definition in relation to the enclosures and the wind model. The next step is to get it all out for testing and to identify any issues which need addressing prior to release. The instrument is sounding fabulous, and I’m particularly pleased with the results of the processing to reconstruct the acoustic tails which were hidden below the noise floor. The advantage of doing this is that the set can be played without any ambient or blower noise (if required), which results in a great sense of clarity, particularly with the quieter ranks. I still don’t have a firm release date, but once I have feedback from beta testing, I should be able to clarify this! I cannot stress how much work has gone into the production of this virtual instrument, and I am very grateful for the patience and encouragement from all who have been in to