Beethoven: "Moonlight" sonata, mov. 1 (synthesized)

YouTube Uploaded by ScrollingMusic on May 30, 2011

"Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827): Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor

One of Beethoven's most popular sonatas, the "Moonlight" was completed in 1801 and dedicated to Countess Giulietta Guicciardi, who was Beethoven's pupil. The first movement has become one of the most famous works for solo piano. It is often described as "tragic" or "melancholy," and is played almost entirely pianissimo (the loudest dynamic is mezzo-forte). Composer Hector Berlioz has described the movement as: "one of those poems that human language does not know how to qualify."

This synthesized version was rendered by our Matlab synthesizer, which interprets a MIDI file to generate both the audio and the "piano-roll" visualization. The mournful timbre of this rendition is achieved through a mixing of three separate Matlab synthesizer instruments; each having been modified such that they all share a similar tone quality."

Dupré: Prelude in G minor, Op. 7 No. 3

YouTube Uploaded by ScrollingMusic on Jun 17, 2011

"Marcel Dupré (1886-1971): Prelude in G minor (no. 3) from "Trois préludes et fugues op. 7" (1914)

This piece was written by French organist and composer Marcel Dupré in 1914. It is one of his earliest works for solo organ. Dupré is widely regarded as an organ virtuoso, "a Paganini of the organ," and his works are among the most famous of 20th century organ repertoire. This particular work was pronounced "unplayable" at the time of its composition, and Dupré himself was the only organist capable of performing the work for several years after.

This rendition of the piece was generated by the pipe organ voice of our Matlab synthesizer. To design the pipe organ timbre, we spectrally analyzed a recording of a real organ, and reproduced the sound using additive synthesis. Multiple layers of digital reverb and asymmetrical equalization between the left and right channels transform the raw mono output into an open, spacious sound. Both the audio and the scrolling visualization were created from a MIDI file."