Hauptwerk is a

computer program A computer program is a sequence or set of instructions in a programming language for a computer to execute. Computer programs are one component of software, which also includes documentation and other intangible components. A computer program ...

, brought by Milan Digital Audio, designed to allow the playback or live performance of

pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ''ranks ...

music using

MIDI MIDI (; Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a technical standard that describes a communications protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, computers, and re ...

and recorded sound samples. In other words, Hauptwerk is a software that allows its user to play a variety of sample sets using a keyboard known as the MIDI keyboard. These sample sets are the different organs which are available for the user to play in Hauptwerk.

Name

The name ‘Hauptwerk’ is a German term that stands for the " great manual" of an organ, from ''Haupt-'' (meaning ‘main’) and ''Werk'' (literally meaning ‘work’, but in this instance meaning a complete organ pipe cabinet and all its included ranks). The German pronunciation of the word ‘Hauptwerk’ is .

History

Hauptwerk was originally developed and launched in 2002 by Martin Dyde who, starting 2006, continued to develop it trading as Crumhorn Labs Ltd. In September 2008 Crumhorn Labs and Hauptwerk were acquired by Brett Milan of Milan Digital Audio LLC.

Product history

Version 1

Released 2002 * Available for Windows only * Stops operated by MIDI Note messages * Simple Swell simulation (volume only) * Organ of St Annes, Moseley included

Version 2

Released 2006 * Available as VSTi plugin * More flexibility in MIDI configuration * Phase alignment of release samples * Harmonic Swell simulation

Version 3

Released November 2007 * Support for Mac OS X * Support for Multiple Touch-Screens * Voicing Control for individual pipes

Version 4

Released April 2011 * Redesigned User Interface * Automatic facility to configure MIDI to support most manufacturers * Inbuilt MIDI recorder/player * User defined Combinations/Crescendos * Master Couplers available with all organs

Version 5

Released December 2019 * Redesigned Audio Output Routing * 3D Sound output * Impulse Response reverb capabilities *Removed Free Edition

Version 6

Released November 2020 * Menu changes * Combination system changes *

changes * Audio engine changes * Small changes + bug fixes

Methodology

Hauptwerk produces an audio signal in response to input received via the manual MIDI keyboard. This input may originate from an external MIDI keyboard or from a MIDI sequencing program. An organ is constructed using a set of recorded sample files in conjunction with an

XML Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a markup language and file format for storing, transmitting, and reconstructing arbitrary data. It defines a set of rules for encoding documents in a format that is both human-readable and machine-readable. T ...

configuration file that defines organ parameters such as ranks, stops, manuals, coupling and organ images for display in Hauptwerk's user interface. The audio output is based on recorded samples which are then modified by several different technologies.

Sample playback

The recorded samples of the original pipes are divided into 3 main sections - start(attack), middle(sustain) and end(release or echo). When a note is played the attack sample is played followed by a loop of the sustain section. Start, end and release loop points are stored in the recorded sample file. When the note is released, the release or echo section of the sample is used, or specific release sample files can be defined for a note, or range of notes. This latter feature is useful in making the organ more realistic, for example the echo of a pipe after a short period will be different from that of a pipe that has been sounding for longer. Hauptwerk can select from multiple release samples based on the duration of the note. Tremulant effects are possible using LFO sample files to dynamically modify the sound, avoiding the need to create individual tremulant note sample files.

Harmonic filtering

When an organist moves an

Expression pedal An expression pedal is an important control found on many musical instruments including organs, electronic keyboards, and pedal steel guitar. The musician uses the pedal to control different aspects of the sound, commonly volume. Separate expres ...

it affects both the volume and frequency envelope of the affected pipes. Hauptwerk adjusts both of these parameters using information provided within the sample-set. This can be based on measurements taken from the original instrument.

Physical modeling

The wind-pressure applied to an organ pipe affects its volume, pitch and character. Hauptwerk uses

Fluid dynamics In physics and engineering, fluid dynamics is a subdiscipline of fluid mechanics that describes the flow of fluids— liquids and gases. It has several subdisciplines, including ''aerodynamics'' (the study of air and other gases in motion) an ...

to model the movement of air through the various parts of a pipe-organ. This information is then used to modify the sampled sound.

Randomization

Randomization Randomization is the process of making something random. Randomization is not haphazard; instead, a random process is a sequence of random variables describing a process whose outcomes do not follow a deterministic pattern, but follow an evolution d ...

is used to modify certain aspects of the audio output. The pitch of individual pipes can be randomly modified when a sample is loaded into memory. If multiple loop points are provided, in the sustain section of a sample, these are selected randomly. Additionally, Hauptwerk simulates some other effects, such as Wind Turbulence, using Randomization during playback.

Organ sample-sets

Since the launch of Hauptwerk, a number of independent companies have recorded organs and made these available for use with Hauptwerk. By March 2009 more than 50 organs had been recorded. These include some notable organs in many different countries including: * Bavokerk,

Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English) is a city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland. Haarlem is situated at the northern edge of the Randstad, one of the most populated metropoli ...

, Netherlands * Bovenkerk, Kampen, Netherlands * Eglise de Saint Etienne,

Caen Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,Laurenskerk,

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

, Netherlands *

Palace of Arts (Budapest) A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...

, Hungary *

Salisbury Cathedral Salisbury Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an Anglican cathedral in Salisbury, England. The cathedral is the mother church of the Diocese of Salisbury and is the seat of the Bishop of Salisbury. The buildi ...

, UK * Stadtkirche,

Waltershausen Waltershausen is a town in the south-western part of the district of Gotha in the state of Thuringia, Germany. Geography Geographic location Located on the verge of the Thuringian Basin just before the Thuringian Forest, Waltershausen is so ...

, Germany * Martinikerk,

Groningen Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of t ...

, Netherlands *

Melbourne Town Hall Melbourne Town Hall is the central city town hall of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, and is a historic building in the state of Victoria since 1867. Located in the central business district on the northeast corner of the intersection between ...

, Australia

Salisbury Cathedral

In March 2009, Milan Digital Audio announced that permission had been granted to record the

Father Willis Henry Willis (27 April 1821 – 11 February 1901), also known as "Father" Willis, was an English organ player and builder, who is regarded as the foremost organ builder of the Victorian era. His company Henry Willis & Sons remains in busin ...

organ at

, UK. Starting on 23 February 2010 the Salisbury Cathedral pipe organ was temporarily unavailable, due to maintenance work scheduled to last one month. During this time a console based on Hauptwerk was used to provide organ music for cathedral services. According to an article on the Salisbury Cathedral website: "Over the past few weeks we have used the organs from Metz Cathedral, France, St Georgenkirche, Roetha, Germany, and Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Chicago, IL., USA". The article continues: "Volume I of our very own Father Willis Organ was released by Milan Digital Audio just days before my organ was installed into the cathedral which has allowed me to use 28 of the 65 stops of the Father Willis organ in its natural acoustic. It is believed to be the first time a sampled instrument has been used in its own building for services!"

Composite Sample Sets

The custom organ design module allows Hauptwerk users to create custom organs by mixing two or more existing sample sets to create a custom organ. One can select certain ranks from one organ and from another and combine them to create a personal and unique organ, while also adding enhanced features and voicing which the original sample sets do not offer. Examples include: * Aristide no. 1 (Hauptwerk-organ.com) * Grand Symphonic Composite * Composite of Saint Sulpitius (Organa Reginae Caeli) * Composite of Our Lady of Paris (Organa Reginae Caeli) OuenOrgues

Copy protection older versions and iLok

Hauptwerk was copy protected using the HASP

USB Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard that establishes specifications for cables, connectors and protocols for connection, communication and power supply (interfacing) between computers, peripherals and other computers. A broad ...

token (dongle) from

Aladdin Knowledge Systems Aladdin Knowledge Systems (formerly and ) was a company that produced software for digital rights management and Internet security. The company was acquired by Safenet Inc, in 2009. Its corporate headquarters are located in Belcamp, MD. Histor ...

. The USB token was used to control the functionality of the single Hauptwerk program which was licensed in 3 editions: *Free edition – Free download and use without USB token but limited to 1.5GB sample memory and 256

polyphony Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice, monophony, or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords, h ...

, stereo output. *Basic edition – Purchased license with USB token. Up to 3GB sample memory and 1024 polyphony *Advanced edition – Purchased license with USB token. No imposed memory or polyphony limit, multiple audio channels and MIDI output. The USB token was also used by some companies to enforce license conditions of individual sample sets. This may apply to the release of historic recordings with restrictions on the customization and re-use of the sounds. Since the release of Hauptwerk version 5, Hauptwerk is using the licensing platform iLok by Pace Anti Piracy. Now there are only 2 editions: * Lite - Subscription license, limited to 1024 polyphony * Advanced - Subscription or Perpetual license.

References

External links

Hauptwerk

PCorgan - Site with comprehensive information about Hauptwerk and links to many related sites (available in Dutch and English)

contrebombarde - Site with over 25,000 audio recordings made using Hauptwerk

Music Site - a site with illustrations for building a console and with explanations of how Hauptwerk works

. 244 pages - A detailed guide to Hauptwerk {{DEFAULTSORT:Hauptwerk MacOS multimedia software Windows multimedia software Keyboard software synthesizers MIDI