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Spectrasonics Symphony of Voices
Here are the origins of the sampling sessions: First
we have the London Choirs collection, recorded with Musical Director,
Michael Kibblewhite's Hertfordshire Chorus and the London Chorale. Next,
the Washington Master Chorale was recorded for the Vibrato and Staccato
Choirs collection. The Boys Choir collection was taken from recordings
of the Cantate Youth Choir, and the Gregorian Men's collection originated
with the members of the Compline Choir. The Soprano soloists in the collection
are Pauli Pedersen, Melinda Perrin and Jennifer Lind. Recordings for this immense collection originated at these locations: Haileybury Cathedral in London, St. Thomas Cathedral at Bastyr University in Seattle, Washington, Eastside Foursquare Church in Seattle, Red Door Studios in Bothel, Washington, Ultrasonics in Burbank, California, and O'Henry's in Burbank, California. Here is a taste of some of what you'll find on this
epic sample collection. The first disc; 'London Choirs,' is comprised
of impeccably detailed samples of the eighty-voice London Chorale. According
to the liner notes, these are the first sampled choirs ever presented
without heavy vibrato, making them much more playable than your ordinary
choir sample collection and useful for a wide variety of musical contexts.
The variations in the samples recorded on this disc offer multiple dynamics
of multisampled ahs, oos, ohs, ees, humming, intense staccato stabs, natural
crescendo/decrescendo swells, octaves, moving vowels, vibrato versions
and last but not least, samples of choir members whistling. The next disc in the collection 'Classical Soloists
and Choir FAX,' demonstrates the magnitude and scope of Classical Soloists.
This disc Includes a huge variety of license-free operatic tenor and soprano
phrases. Besides the the natural multisamples of each singer, there are
also sung words and melismatic phrases included. Also featured on this
disc are a collection of London Choir FX samples, comprised of major,
minor and suspended chords with high & low chord voicings, thick clusters,
twelve-tone and ligeti FX, as well as a number of whispering, murmuring,
accents, falls, avant garde glides, vertigo FX, swoops, chattering, guttural
groans, shouts, and ethereal phrases. The fifth and last disc in the set, 'Additional Voices', consists of seven segments. There are various choir techniques, which are multisampled, soprano phrases, tenor phrases, full length Gregorian chants, male pop stacks, and background vocal stacks. This disc also contains a demo of a new collection, titled Vocal Planet. This segment has demo songs with information on the various discs in this new collection. This outstanding library is an invaluable tool for the serious composer and producer. The documentation is the best I've ever seen in a sample library, including two fifty-two page booklets, which are packed with beneficial, easy to comprehend information. Each partition of the sample collection is divided into sections and then individual programs, including memory requirements for each one. Another great benefit is that the collection is also very memory-friendly. Even though the formats are Akai and Emu, I actually used the collection with the VST plug-in HALion and my Macintosh version of Cubase. The samples loaded and played flawlessly. Most of the samples are under two MB, and where appropriate, beats per minute are listed in the liner notes. Near the back of each booklet there is a couple of pages of user information that offer some very useful tips on maximizing the effectiveness of the samples in many contexts and applications. Roland's Chief Sound Designer, Eric Persing, is the CEO of Spectrasonics. Persing and his affiliates have developed a great reputation for their sample collections, and after working with this collection for several weeks, I can certainly see why. Many musicians and reviewers I've talked to recently consider this to be one of Spectrasonics' best collections. The five-disc set comes double shrink wrapped with a separate license agreement, which is placed inside the first shrink wrap, immediately visible to the buyer. This is a lot more practical approach to license agreement than the ones you discover after you open the package, which usually includes the infamous line "By opening this CD you agree...". About the only stipulation, other than standard clauses, like not copying or selling the material in the product, is the stipulation that requires specific written credit in any liner notes. The sound quality throughout Symphony of Voices is exceptional, rivaling modern commercial recordings of orchestral choirs and soloists, as well as orchestral film music. The material recorded for the stereo samples has been meticulously performed and edited. The samples retain the natural ambiance of the hall they were recorded in, although they are still just as vital and alive sounding when external reverb is applied. The first and fourth discs were my favorites, but all five are tremendous musical tools .I enjoyed this collection immensely, and so will you. In summary, it is an excellent collection of highly usable first-rate samples, which would be a fine addition to most anyone's sample library.
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When
it comes to sample libraries, Eric and Lorey Persing and the crew at Spectrasonics
are in a class all their own. I've worked with sample libraries from many
other companies, and they all pale in comparison.