Organ from Abbey of Solignac
History
Solignac (Occitan: Solenhac) is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in west-central France. It has a population of 1,500.
The Benedictine Abbey of Solignac founded in 631. Its current church was built in the 12th and 13th centuries, surrounded by convent buildings from the 17th. Suppressed during the French Revolution and used as a porcelain factory until 1931, the former Abbey church is known as an exceptional example of Romanesque architecture and has been designated a National Historic Monument.
The organ of Abbey comes from the Scholasticate of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate in Liège and was built by an unknown organ builder from the first half of the 17th century. Restored in 1825, it was transferred in 1933 to France, to Brosse-Monceaux, then around 1945 to Solignac. The Oblates then donated it to the municipality of Solignac. More or less abandoned in a side chapel, the organ was saved from ruin by a team of enthusiasts, with the help of the General Council of Haute-Vienne. Listed as a Historic Monument for the piping and the mechanism, the organ was finally very carefully restored in 1984-85 by organ builders Boisseau and Cattiaux, who built a new case and added a Vox-humana. All the pipes are original and have hardly been touched up, as well as the chests. This makes it a precious testimony to these small French-style organs, with a single keyboard, most of which were demolished during the revolution of 1789 or transformed in a romantic way. (Gérard Lefranc).
The recording was made by Sébastian Halas in 2018 and he made the Grandorgue version. I made the sample using the Grandorgue version, with permission from Sébastian.
The following friends helped me to make and publish the sample set (in alphabetical order): Dominique Dantand, Gérard Lefranc, István Nagy, and Jean-Pierre Silvestre. If something's done well, it's thanks to them. Thank you for their work.
Features
Sample quality
The recording and the Grandorgue format sample were made by Sébastian Halas, so the original sample corresponds to HW1 format, contains 1 loop and there is no separate release. The HW sample sets are available in wave format 44.1kHz/24bit, stereo, multiple loops (1-8) and multiple releases (3 levels).
Equal, a=419 Hz and the original temperament file is attached.
The sample sets made in wet stereo form. The reverb 5 s, reflects the original acoustics of the temple.
Hauptwerk v4.2 and v5-9 supported for the Organ Definition Files.
Keyboards, Pedal
The original and virtual organ compass of the manuals are 54 keys, the compass of the pedal is 27 keys.
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RAM requirements (GB) |
stereo |
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16 bit |
24 bit |
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Original |
3 |
4 |
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Extended |
4 |
6 |
The values given are for reference only and depend on the operating system of the computer and the utilities used.
The original version has one manual and 8-stops and permanently on pedal copula. Thus, the works that can be performed are limited. But this organ has two much more possibilities than that, so I made a three manual, expanded version. Thus, the organ became suitable for performing a wide range of French-Baroque organ works.
Specifications
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Original specification |
Extended specification |
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Pedal (27 keys) |
Pedal (27 keys) |
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Fix manual coupler |
Bourdon 8’ |
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Flute 4’ |
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Voix humaine 8’ |
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Great (54 keys) |
Great (54 keys) |
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Bourdon 8’ |
Bourdon 8’ |
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Prestant 4’ |
Prestant 4’ |
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Flute 4’ |
Doublette 2’ |
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Doublette 2’ |
Plein jeu |
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Octava 4’ |
Cornet (from 60-C) |
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Sesquialtera |
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Plein jeu |
Positiv (54 keys) |
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Cornet (from 61-C#) |
Bourdon 8’ |
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Voix humaine 8’ |
Flute 4’ |
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Sedecima 1’ |
Sesquilatera |
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Polish Cymbel I |
Voix humaine 8’ |
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Echo (54 keys) |
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Bourdon 8’ |
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Flute 4’ |
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Cornet (from 60-C) |
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Tremblant |
Tremblant |
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Manual |
All threes manual |
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Couplers |
Couplers |
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Fix manual to pedal |
III/P, II/P, I/P, Pos/GO |
(Expansions are only the organ own sound files)
Pictures
Audio demos
Playing Dominique Dantand, Nagy István and Jean-Pierre Silvestre
Free download the full sample set!
Download and install the sample that can be used with Hauptwerk v4.2 or Hauptverk 5.
After installation, you can use the full sample without any restrictions.
You can use this with equal temperament or with the original Solignac temperament.
If you like the sample, upload audio demos to contrebombarde.com. But it is not forbidden to support Sébastian Halas or my future activities. :)