Alpha Organ

Alpha Organ features a beautifully sampled pair of pipe organs recorded individually and together at St. Paul's Church in San Francisco, CA. Each organ offers a distinct contrast to the other and when the two are played simultaneously in unison, the sound is glorious. We’ve captured both instruments individually and together in unison, with multiple microphone types and positions to offer you a variety of aesthetic options.

The “lower” organ, built by Kilgen Church Organ Company of Saint Louis, MO, was originally water-powered, but has since been converted to an electric blower-driven system. The console is in the south isle near the side entrance and its pipes are hidden behind the altar with the blower and machinery under the floor of the Apse, allowing the lowest pedal notes to resonate through the floor, seeming to shake the very foundation.

The upper organ, far larger and more elaborate, was built by the Felix F. Shoenstein & Sons Organ company of San Francisco. It is arrayed high above the portcullis and Narthex in a mezzanine between the two bell towers. Where the first organ - our “Alpha” Organ - is sweet and silky in its tone, the second - our “Omega” Organ - is thunderous and mighty in its body and energy, with a more powerful blower, larger console and many more pipes.

We feel that this space has extraordinary acoustic properties bordering on the mystical. Each time we've recorded there, we've experienced waves of strange synchronicities. The entire hall seems to sing as if one great living instrument. To honor the high strangeness that the space seems to evoke, we've enriched this library with a very wide selection of sound designed ambiences, leads, pads, drones and custom effect presets, delving deeply into psychoacoustic and metaphysical aesthetics. The church was built by its own perishoners over a period of two decades, starting in 1897, delayed by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and finally completed in 1911, using stone salvaged from the ruined city itself. It has a lush, pristine quality full of spacious airiness and crystal clarity, without a hint of cloudiness or oversaturation. This reverberant hall is one of our very favorite recording locations, home to our acclaimed Requiem Light Symphonic Choir, the Native Instruments Symphony Series Brass Ensemble and Solo collections and many other classic Soundiron libraries.