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 consists of the best string players in Bulgaria - all the leading players in our Sofia Session Orchestra. Our intention was to create a sample library that has articulations each composer needs in his/her daily work.


DESCRIPTION

CORNUCOPIA: STRINGS

lush, intimate and larger than life

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 consists of the best string players in Bulgaria - all the leading players in our Sofia Session Orchestra. Our intention was to create a sample library that has articulations each composer needs in his/her daily work.

One thing that makes Cornucopia stand out to 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 professional composer. The strings were recorded in an actual real seating 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 ambience of the space brought the samples to life without compromising the tonal clarity. We used 3 mic positions (close, decca, outrigger) to allow users full control of the spatial balance, all of them are available for mixing right in the interface.
With a sampled dynamic range from piano to forte, Cornucopia can be used very well in different contexts. Cornucopia consists of two types of patches - “Tutti” and “Basses”. In the “Tutti” patches all violins, violas and celli play in unison (as long it's possible and aesthetic for their natural instrument ranges); the two five-string basses play 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