Can you really make a good sample sets by randomly selecting stops from different organs, and then simply, with some adjustments, create a new instrument successfully? Convincingly? My ears, listening to these efforts, say no, with one exception: the Artistide that follows the specification of the C-Coll at St. Ouen de Rouen. It took a team of very meticulous people many hours to make that work quite convincingly. But it remains a compromised approach.

Richard McVeigh a few days before the inauguration concert of his awesome new Hauptwerk console: "It's very special, and Martin Baker was really astonished by the quality of it. At one point during the Widor's Organ Symphony (using Aristide) he had to stop playing because he was so overwhelmed with the sound and the whole experience! It was an awesome moment."

Much time and hard work went into making this composite, and one can audibly hear that when playing this organ, where all the stops blend in perfectly, and the set achieves a fine resemblance to the organ at St. Ouen. There have been other composites created to imitate the sound of St Ouen, but this set remains the most popular, and it deserves so.

As I wrote a week ago in this thread, it is the first time I have the feeling to play in a very large church at home. This set is really a magnificent instrument. Tutti are impressive, details sound clears and the dynamics for the « Récit expressif » is large. The reverberation time is ok for me; the longer reverberation time for the low frequencies participates to the cathedral immersion feeling. Many thanks Chris. You have done a great job. I like this sample set very much.

And your Aristide set is phenomenal !!

Einfach nur genial!
Ich werde Sie in bester Erinnerung behalten.
Wie wird sie erst klingen wenn sie auf 4-Kanal läuft?

What an amazing sample set it is, so faithful although composite !!!

Wow! I should know one can come up with a really good sound by revoicing and making a composite set - I made my own Cavaillé-Clone back in the day... But I’m impressed. What you and your team have come up with is amazing - I enjoy both the Metz and Caen, but this composite actually sounds better than either of them.... and oddly more realistic. That’s a wonderful thing, as I’ve been wanting to have a recording instrument like this for a long time! I’ll be posting some demos to CB as soon as I have some time to get to it.

After playing the Aristide sample set this last week end, I can say that it is outstanding, very close to the original St Ouen organ. What a beautiful sound !It is now by far my favorite one. It sounds very authentic, perhaps the fact that the automatic tuning has been disable is for something, but the effect is there. Does this allow for natural imperfection of the organ to be feel and thus contributes to the « feel so real »? Anyway it is very alive.

I came across your work a couple of months ago and really blown away by the Aristide set. And, so I bought the Caen from Sonus (already had the Metz) and bought your set. Love it! Thanks for all the work put in to the set -- it is much appreciated and enjoyed!

I have visited the St. Ouen many times for concerts, and also have played the instrument. No organ in the world can match this truly beautiful instrument. At home, I have Hauptwerk with the sample sets Metz and Caen. Then, I discovered your composite set. It is really wonderful, and is now definitely my favorite one. The sound is so close to Rouen... So powerful, dynamic and poetric. And the disposition is perfect. I am so happy. Thank you so much for doing such a wonderful job!

This is great! I've only heard St Ouen on CDs, not in person, so I don't know how close it is, but the details come through even with the large acoustic, and the detuning and wind works to give more realistic sounding choruses than most sample sets. I like it better than Caen and Metz. Was surprised that a stereo set sounds better than Caen surround with my sound system -- I really wasn't expecting that. This is on 16 channels and sub, surrounding the console.

As I am an huge fan of French romantic organ music, I am really happy with the Caen and Metz sample sets. However, yesterday I discovered something new: Aristide No. 1 V2. This is a composite sample set intended to imitate the sound of the the great Aristide Cavaillé-Coll organ at Saint-Ouen in Rouen, France. I bought it, installed it, and... it is wonderfull! I was really blowed away: it really sounds like Rouen. Also the console is very nice recreated, looks nice and works very smooth. I am very impressed! Highly recommended.

I quite literally smile when I play this sample set in my living room… it is simply astounding and i’ve never heard such a phenomenal organ sample. I think “fake’ is certainly not the word that I think of, but rather just… Splendid!!!! \ Thank you Chris for your very hard work on this ODF. Believe me, it has certainly paid off… at least to this customer!!!!
Bravo and well done Chris!

Auch wenn das Sampleset der großen Cavaillé-Coll-Orgel der Abteikirche in Rouen nicht vor Ort aufgenommen wurde, zählt es für mich dennoch mit zu einem der schönsten Sets, das für Hauptwerk zur Verfügung steht. Der Klang ist dermaßen überzeugend, dass dieses Set aus meiner Sicht durchaus den Namen "Rouen, Saint-Ouen" verdienen würde. Egal aus welcher Perspektive man die Entstehung dieses Sets betrachtet – im Vordergrund stehen der Spaß und die Freude an diesem Instrument. Vielen Dank für diese ausgezeichnete Arbeit!