The Rieger organ at St. Paul's Church  in Dortmund  

Rieger Organ from Dortmund
                                                                                               History
Dortmund   is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia  The population is 595.000.
St. Paul's Church in Dortmund was built in 1894. The present Rieger organ is - after organs by Walcker and Kemper - the third organ in St. Paul's Church. On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of St. Paul's Church, the building was renovated and the decision to build a new organ was taken at the same time. The new Rieger organ went into operation in 1994. Since then, it has been one of the best organs in Dortmund and was often played by renowned concert organists in its early days. The position of the organ behind the altar has a number of advantages, especially when playing with other instrumentalists and entire orchestras.

The recording for the hauptwerk sample was made by Dr. Michael Lütge in 2024. He prepared the audio files and did the main work. I did the fine-tuning of the files, created simple graphics and edited the ODF file. This hauptwerk sample is the result of the work of the two of us, of which Michael took on the greater part. I really hope that this sample is only the beginning of our joint work, and that it will continue in the future.

The following friends helped me to make and publish the sample set (in alphabetical order): Dominique Dantand, Gerard Lefranc, Nagy Istvan and Jean-Pierre Silvestre. If something's done well, it's thanks to them. Thank you for their work.

Features
Sample quality 
The sample sets are available in wave format 48kHz/24bit, stereo, multiple loops (1-8) and multiple releases (3 levels). a=440 Hz
The sample sets are made in three forms. 

a. A version of far stereo

b. A version of near stereo

c. A Surround version (2 pairs of stereo recording: close (near); at distance (far).

In the surround version you can adjust the perspective by setting the volume of the near and far recordings. 

The sample set reverb is 1.8 s reflecting the original  acoustics of the church. 

Hauptwerk v4.2 or v5-9 supported for the Organ Definition Files.

Keyboards, Pedal 
The original and virtual organ compass of the manuals are 56 keys, the compass of the pedal is 30 keys.

RAM requirements (GB)

stereo

surround

 

16 bit

24 bit

16 bit

24 bit

Dortmund

6

7

12

14
The data is for information only. They depend on the operating system and other apps.
Specifications  

Pedal  (original and virtual 30 keys)

Subbass 16', Principalbass 16', Holzoktav 8', Gedackt 8’, Choralbass 4’

Posaune 16', Trompete 8'

Hauptwerk (original and virtual 56 keys)

Bordun 16’ Prinzipal 8', Gedackt 8', Oktav 4', Flöte 4’, Quinte 2 2/3’,

Cornet 8’ Superoktav 2’, Mixtur 1 1/3’

Trompete 8'

Oberwerk (original and virtual 56 keys)

Hohlflötel 8', Gamba 8', Prinzipal 4', Nazard 2 2/3’, Flöte 2’, Terz 1 3/5’

Mixtur 2’, Fagott 16’, Trompete harmonique 8’, Hautbois 8’

Couplers:

P+I, P+II, I+II

Tremulant: II

Enclosure: II

       

Pictures
St. Paul's Church in Dortmund and the Rieger Organ
Audio demos

Playing Dominique Dantand, Nagy István and Jean-Pierre Silvestre
Free download the full sample set!
and install the sample that can be used with Hauptwerk v4.2 or Hauptverk 5-9.  Install the 01 pack first. After installation, you can use the stereo-far version. Then install pack 02. After installation, you can also use the stereo-near and 4-channel surround versions. The order of installation is important, you can't deviate from it!
After installation, you can use the full sample without any restrictions.  If you like the sample, upload audio demos to contrebombarde.com. 


Surround vs Stereo mode

If you do not have a surround sound system, but there is enough memory (RAM), I suggest you also install the surround version. If you activate the front and rear stops too, then you will get a more compact and fuller sound than the simple stereo.

Guide: simple stereo from surround, how to?