Introducing Royal Albert Hall Organ, a sample library for Kontakt Player, and a collaboration between the Royal Albert Hall and composer James Everingham. Known as the ‘Voice of Jupiter’, the Grand Organ is the second largest in the UK, and for 150 years has provided the backbone of countless iconic performances. James brings together his regular collaborators to form Enigma Recordings, combining decades of experience in sampling, engineering, composition, and organ mastery to present every nuance of this legendary instrument as a software instrument of exquisite detail.

“Working with the Royal Albert Hall has been a true honor, and it feels appropriate to be bringing the organ to the hands of the modern musician as we celebrate 150 years of the Hall and their unparalleled musical heritage. Royal Albert Hall Organ is a true passion project and is the sample library I wish I’d always had. I hope for it to be a path of discovery and a source of inspiration for composers far and wide, for many years to come.”

James Everingham (Producer, Royal Albert Hall Organ/Enigma Recordings)

 

“The Royal Albert Hall is committed to opening up access to everyone, and this sample library of the Grand Organ opens this unique instrument to the world, enabling everyone to play its 9,999 pipes. From Bruckner and Saint-Saens to Muse, Pink Floyd and Zappa, the Hall’s organ has been at the centre of British cultural life for 150 years and is now available for composers everywhere.”

Lucy Noble (Artistic Director, Royal Albert Hall)

James’ team positioned microphones all over the auditorium to capture the sound of the organ from all perspectives – from the very rear of the gallery to mere inches from the pipes themselves, with microphones hung from the roof. These are offered to the user alongside a stereo mix, for the best of both speed and hands-on control. The library also includes a binaural perspective – captured from the Royal box – which provides both an immersive experience and a clean mix reference point; experience the organ as heard from the most exclusive seat in the Hall.

The team worked closely with Richard Hills, who was named the American Theatre Organ Society’s Organist of the Year in 2010 and is widely regarded as one of the very few musicians to have mastered both the classical and theatre organ worlds. Richard provided a unique insight into the wide range of colors across the organ’s 147 stops, and worked with James to curate 41 registrations, 8 solo stops, and 18 snapshots across a wide dynamic and timbral range.

Also included are the organ’s 3 percussion stops and a variety of additional recordings including the piston noise as heard from the console, and the sound of the organ and its machinery starting up and shutting down.

Royal Albert Hall Organ offers a stereo mix and Royal Binaural, Left/Right, Centre, Gods, and Surround mic positions across a total of 57 .nki files over 40,000 individual samples. The intuitive Keyboard page allows the user to map registrations across a single keyboard for an authentic playing experience – for example, mapping pedals to lower octaves and manuals or solos to upper octaves. The Settings page allows the user to fine-tune the sound and includes round-robin controls, a convolution reverb, a presence macro, stereo width, and more.

The library weighs in at 35GB and runs in the free Kontakt Player from Native Instruments with full NKS compatibility. Downloads and registration are handled via Native Access.
Royal Albert Hall Organ is available for purchase at royalalberthallorgan.com for an introductory price of £99 (MSRP £129).
Prices exclude VAT.