Cornucopia is the "horn of plenty” (from Latin – cornu copiae) - a symbol of abundance and nourishment. We recorded and sampled a 20-piece string ensemble (6-5-4-3-2) which was made of the best string players in Bulgaria - all the leading players in Sofia Session Orchestra. Our intention was to create a sample library that has articulations that each composer will possibly need.

Also, another special thing that makes Cornucopia different than other string libraries is the 'slavonic' sound – that special Eastern European orchestra 'vibe'. The sound of the library is warm and intimate, yet majestic and big – and this makes "Cornucopia: Strings” the perfect starting tool for young composers, as well as a powerful weapon in the arsenal of the professional composer. The strings were recorded in an actual orchestra position (violins to the left, celli and basses to the right) in Druzhba hall – the same hall where "Storm Choir” was recorded. The subtle natural ambiance of the space brought the samples to life without compromising the tonal clarity. We used 3 mic positions (close, decca, outrigger) to afford users full control of the spatial balance, all of which are included in the interface.

With a sampled dynamic range from piano to forte, Cornucopia can be used very well in different contexts. We have two types of patches - "Tutti” and "Basses”. In the "Tutti” patches all the violins, violas and celli play in unison (as long it's possible and aesthetic for their natural instrument ranges); the two five-string basses played in unison. Everything was chromatically sampled.

TUTTI

Tutti Trills – whole tone / half tone trills

Tutti Tremolo – ordinary tremolo, two dynamics

Tutti Tremolo Sul Ponticello – tremolo, played near the 'bridge' of the instrument

Tutti Sus – ordinary sustained notes, two dynamics

Tutti Sordino Sus – sustained 'con sordino' – warm and gentle tone, two dynamics

Tutti Spicc – short articulation, played in the middle of the bow, without efford

Tutti Stacc – short articulation, sounds bigger than "Spicc”, two dynamics

Tutti Sfz – sforzando, playing with a sudden, strong emphasis; option of stacc. overlay

Tutti Pizz – pizzicato, short articulation, two dynamics

Tutti FX – clusters, atonal textures, avant-garde effects

4 Vln FFF Divisi Marc – a bonus 'special' patch, where we sampled the first chairs of first and second violins (a total of 4 players) and had them play with a very exaggerated vibrato and really, really loud.

Bass Tremolo – ordinary tremolo, two dynamics

Bass Tremolo Sul Ponticello – tremolo, played near the 'bridge' of the instrument, two dynamics

Bass Sus – ordinary sustained notes, two dynamics

Bass Sord Sus – sustained notes, 'con sordino' – warm and gentle tone, two dynamics

Bass Stacc – short articulation, two dynamics

Bass Sfz – sforzando, played with a strong emphasis; option of stacc. overlay

Bass Pizz – pizzacato, short articulation, two dynamics

Bass FX – clusters, atonal textures, avant-garde effects.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS

Native instruments Kontakt 4+

6 GB of free space (compressed NI Kontakt samples)

Internet connection

Download the archives from the link we send you after your purchase, extract the files in a directory of your choosing using the first .zip archive (the one ending at .zip). Afterwards load the patches inside Native Instruments Kontakt. Note that our products are not featured as libraries by Native Instruments, so you should load the patches manually.

If you have to manually search for files with Kontakt, we suggest that you use the "File->Save As" function inside the sampler to speed up loading time.