Virtual
Pipes is music performed on the Virtual Organ by Robert Kingdom using MIDI sequencing,
MIDI
samplers and other audio equipment.
The computer is the great equalizer, so those of us
with less than virtuoso capabilities can produce music that is
meant to equal or surpass performances created in real time. Since
there are no actual instruments, the terms "Virtual Organ"
and" Virtual Orchestra" are applied here.
The musical note events are either sequenced
manually or scanned using music pattern recognition software. The
sequencing program used provides control over all musical
properties, such as tempo, crescendo, diminuendo,
articulation and sound changes.
Robert
Kingdom studied Organ performance with William Van Ornam and Thomas
Hazleton while receiving a degree in Music from West Valley College in 1972.
In the classical organ field, he is especially well known for his
improvisations and arrangements. Two of the selections in the "Fanfares
and Noels" CD are arranged by him.
He also installed and
maintained both classical and theater pipe organs in the San Francisco bay
area, thereby developing a keen ear and sense of good tonal balance under
the guidance of Edward Millington Stout III.
Robert
continues to maintain an active
interest in organs and performing organ music and is the president of the
Portland, Oregon chapter of the ATOS.
About
the Music
Sound Production in
Virtual Pipes CD's
The
music selected for the Virtual Pipes CD's is
chosen to showcase the great organ and orchestral composers of the 17th
century through the 20th century.
The first two CD's feature the works of J. S.
Bach. The individual pieces have been selected to take advantage of the
musical potential where the player is no longer limited to what can be done with
ten fingers and two feet. The individual voices can have their own sound
assigned, so the clarity of Bach's counterpoint is enhanced.
Many of the CD's feature works where both organ
and orchestral sounds are combined. This approach is especially suited to the
passionate Romantic era works of the French composers, featured in the Fabulous French
series and in the dazzling Louis Vierne collection.
For the Christmas season, "Fanfares
and Noels" contains favorites for the most joyous of times.
Sounds heard in the "Virtual pipes"
series are from MIDI samplers (Gigastudio) and custom Sound Fonts™. Sound Fonts
are files processed by the
computers' sound card. They have been
laboriously and meticulously refined to produce lifelike and
accurate pipe organs sounds and ensembles. The audio outputs
of the samplers and sound cards are converted to digital signals for
recording.
The virtual acoustic environment is produced by
a digital reverberator, which provides infinite control of
the rooms or spaces that the instruments play into. Any
acoustical space can be achieved, from a small wood paneled
drawing room to a vast gothic cathedral.
The combined audio is
recorded directly onto a master and copied digitally, so there is no degradation
of the recorded sound. Click here for the equipment
list used in the Virtual Pipes CD's.
