Soundiron has introduced Ancient Greek Winds, a collection of 9 traditional Greek woodwind instruments, designed to capture the essence of the classical Hellenistic period.
The sound library is based on a collection of restored artifacts, including single and double-reeded aulos flutes from bass to alto, as well as conch shell horns, brass salpinx horn, pan flute and plagiaulos. Each instrument is fully playable, with sustains, staccatos, true legato, dynamic expressions and effects tailored to its specific characteristics.
Here’s what they have to say about it:
“Ancient Greek Winds is the perfect melodic complement to our Ancient Greek Strings and Ancient Greek Percussion libraries. Each instrument was hand-crafted using period-accurate methods, building materials, and tools by the Athens-based historical research group Lyr?vlos, led by Panagiotis Stefos. Fashioned from wood, reeds, conch shells, and bronze, these musical treasures faithfully explore the distant musical past and would be right at home in the hands of bronze age musicians over 2,500 years ago.
Every instrument was recorded in precise detail by producer John Valasis, with round-robin variations and multiple dynamics and voicings. You’ll enjoy our flexible GUI features and a wide selection of chromatic and special effect articulations. The interface provides complete performance controls, including true legato response control, simulated portamento bending, arpeggiator, flexible step-sequencable filter and LFO systems and a modular DSP FX rack to shape your sound however you wish.
We’ve also created 20 unique sound-designed ambiences directly from the raw acoustic source recordings to give you added texture and even more creative potential.”
Audio Demos:
Pricing and Availability:
Ancient Greek Winds is available now, with an intro price of $44 (normally $59).
“And because ancient means outdated, let’s make sure these sounds have as little to do with Antiquity as possible.”
Wondering what version was Kontakt at for the bronze age musicians over 2,500 years ago. Presumably it was on an Atari ST, or more likely I suppose a Commodore 64
When I was a teenager I listened to that Spanish recording of the Music of Ancient Greece. It sounded very different than these sound assemblages. There was a lot more space and the intonation and scales were completely different. Making samples of these ancient instruments should also capture their unique intonation, which is half their sound.
Zamfir, where are you when we need you?
Let’s face it, most virtual instrument developers aren’t *really* interested in the actual authenticity or accuracy of anything, regardless of what their marketing copy says. Their clients are film composers and producers who need sounds that offer “hints” of exotic flavour while the working within a primarily Western compositional and tonal framework.