Symphonic Organ

To create this definitive organ library, our expert team of engineers and developers collaborated closely with Rugby School organist & Head of Academic Music James Williams and composer, producer and organist Andy Richards, conducting detailed exploration and experimentation to make sure we got the very best out of the instrument.

Richards took up the organ aged 13 while attending Rugby School, and later went on to perform the Rugby School Chapel Organ on the score for Sweeney Todd, a sound which Tim Burton fell in love with on first listen. He has worked with a huge range of iconic artists since the 1980s, including Grace Jones, Rush and Pet Shop Boys, playing keyboards on George Michael’s Careless Whisper and Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s Relax. After setting up Out Of Eden studios in West London, he started programming and mixing blockbuster film scores, from Slumdog Millionaire to 127 Hours.

An organ of this size is in many ways the original analog synth. With a dizzying number of combinations of stops and pedals, it has the ability to create brass, wind and string sounds, comprising more components and tones than a symphony orchestra — which can be overwhelming for anyone unfamiliar with the instrument. Crucially, this library is entirely made up of a comprehensive range of ready-made stop combinations, created by those who know and use the organ best — Rugby School organist & Head of Academic Music James Williams and organist Andy Richards. This expert curation of pedals and manuals will save you a huge amount of work and will help you get the very best out of the instrument. Choose from16 manual combinations, 13 pedal combinationsfor that extra bassy sound, and8 ensembles, which span the whole organ.

Every pitch has been recorded, to give you that natural room sound. Choose our default curated mix, or mix and match six expertly placed microphone positions for extra control — from mics placed inside the organ itself for an amazing full-tilt sound, to ambient mics for a wider, more resonant tone. Presented in dynamic order, from quietest to loudest, you can mix presets by choosing any or all of the stop combinations.

We have also included 50 warped presets presented in our sophisticated eDNA engine, made from the original content, enabling you to create unique pads and textures to enhance your compositions.

A hugely versatile instrument now widely used beyond its original church or horror film setting, the organ is perfect for adding depth, power and beauty to orchestral scores and compositions. As well as in renowned symphonic works such as Saint-Saens’ Organ Symphony, the organ provides the foundations for countless blockbuster film scores of various genres, includingKoyaanisqatsi(Philip Glass),Vertigo(Bernard Herrmann),Interstellar(Hans Zimmer),2001: A Space Odyssey(from Richard Strauss’ 1896 workAlso Sprach Zarathustra) andTron(Wendy Carlos). There is no orchestral instrument that can go lower in pitch, giving you thunderous sub-bass like depth that you feel rather than hear.

As soon as Spitfire founder and composer Paul Thomson heard the Rugby School Chapel Organ, he knew Spitfire had to sample it.

Heard in the opening sequence to Tim Burton’s Sweeney Todd, the contrast of this cathedral-sized organ — four manuals (keyboards), 71 stops (of which 55 are speaking stops) and 3,721 pipes — with its intimate chapel acoustic setting, creates an epic sound, producing a unique intensity and immediacy. Expertly recorded and presented, this definitive organ library has been designed to fit perfectly with Spitfire Symphony Orchestra, enabling you to create rich sounding scores.