Solemn Melody

I've recently upgraded my GrandOrgue set up. Previously, I had been using my MacBook Air i7 third generation with 8GB RAM. Now I have a dedicated refurbished i7 6th gen 32GB Windows 10 PC running GrandOrgue. I'm controlling it through my 10 year old 2m Viscount digital organ, with wireless PC keyboard and number pads to act as simple combination setting controllers.

I carried out this upgrade to be able to supply better quality recordings for virtual church services during lockdown, as well as to provide a better instrument on which to learn new repertoire.

Walford Davies' Solemn Melody (arr. Rawsthorne) was one of the first pieces I recorded for a virtual service on this new set up. Because of the complexity of some of the registration changes and the Heath Robinson nature of my combination control system, I recorded first in MIDI and then added remaining combination changes as I recorded the audio file through GrandOrgue. I made no further changes to the MIDI file, so any wrong notes are left where they fell in the original performance.

I find the Friesach sample set from Piotr Grabowski perfect for romantic repertoire of this kind, as for much else I play. It is a wonderful set, and Piotr is generous in making it freely available. I am greatly enjoying exploring its capabilities, while I am developing my knowledge and use of GrandOrgue.