Shirokuma Releases GigaStudio Pipe Organ Samples

Feb 3, 2004 12:00 PM

           
 

Shirokuma has released Notre Dame de Budapest Pipe Organ Samples (aka NDB) for Tascam GigaStudio. The sample library was created from the pipe organs of two Hungarian cathedrals: the Notre Dame de Buda (The Church of the Blessed Virgin, commonly known as Matthias-Church), which is the biggest organ in Hungary with a 99-stop Rieger-Kloss organ; and the Notre Dame de Kispest (Church of Our Lady, Kispest), which has a 38-stop Varga organ.

Every sample in the library is 30 to 40 seconds long, without a loop: pedal notes are 1 minute long. The company adds that all the organ artifacts, such as the valves of the pipes and the windchest activity, can be heard together with the natural reverb of the cathedrals. Shirokuma also claims to have recorded every important combination and stop that would be useful in performing the majority of pipe-organ literature. The User's Guide that accompanies the library contains detailed registration information and usage recommendations.

On average, every second note was sampled in 35 combinations and stops. The original recordings were done at a resolution of 32-bit, 96 kHz, and then downsampled to 16-bit, 44.1 kHz. "Because the church is far from being a low-noise sound studio," the company writes, "the files were edited and denoised using every notes own noiseprint with extreme care. The impulse responses of the churches were also measured."

To enhance the realism of the organ samples, the collection also includes swellbox, tremolo, and crescendo-pedal controller functionality, as well as release samples. Special effects include the organ engines, bells, register switches, and the organ being powered on and off.

The Full Edition and Custom Edition of NDB are available for GigaStudio 2, but the company is preparing a GigaStudio 3-compatible version of the library, which will include additional stops.

In addition, Shirokuma has announced two contests for pieces played with NDB samples. The International NDB Improvisation and Composition Contest 2004 is a call for original works or improvisations in Standard MIDI Format. The International NDB J.S. Bach Interpretation Contest 2004 is a call for interpretations of pieces by this master composer. (http://www.orgona.org)