Chorale prelude "Liebster Jesu, wir sind hier"

A short manuals-only chorale prelude played on the charming Pels & van Leeuwen positif organ at Heusden - recently released by Sygsoft Holland (Hauptwerk Netherlands).

This is a wonderful little sample set! The clarity and stereo image are excellent. A wealth of usable combinations can be assembled from its small stoplist. The inclusion of pedals and a 16-foot pedal stop adds to this instrument's versatility.

A stroke of genius in the organ's design is the inclusion of a single-rank divided chorus mutation stop - a "poor man's mixture". In the lowest 2 octaves it is of 1 1/3 pitch, breaking back at Middle C to 2 2/3 pitch. The upper and lower sections are available separately. Adding it to the chorus fills out the harmonics as a mixture would do. The bass gains in brilliance and definition, while the treble is strengthened with the 3rd harmonic of the 8-foot harmonic series, stiffening the chorus to disguise the absence of a Principal 8. Drawing it just in the treble gives rise to a range of solo/accompaniment registration possibilities depending on the choice of other stops.

Here I am combining the 2 2/3 Quint with flutes at 8 and 4, plus or minus the Principal 4.