ILIO to Bring Mega Orchestral Library to US

ILIO Entertainments announced its selection as the exclusive distributor of the forthcoming orchestral sample libraries from Vienna Symphonic Library in the Americas. The complete edition, the largest of its kind, will comprise up to 1.5 million tones and tone sequences, played by world-class musicians (including musicians from Vienna's renowned orchestras) and captured with state-of-the-art recording technology. The products will be unveiled at the 2002 AES Convention in October, in Vienna Symphonic Library's soundproof "symphonic booth."

Tthe complete range of the modern symphony orchestra has been recorded in a specially constructed recording stage designed expressly for the demands of orchestral sampling. All produced by highly-educated composers, played by top musicians from Vienna's world-renown orchestras, and recorded in 96 kHz/24 bit and perfected by a team of over 30 highly specialized editing engineers. It will be released initially for Emagic's EXS24 and Tascam's GigaStudio platforms.

The first release on DVD-ROM will feature over 100,000 samples and will be followed by further editions on hard disk. Once complete, the Vienna Symphonic Library will consist of 1.5 million single-note samples and performance phrases. Until now, many of these instruments have never been recorded for a sample library. For example, the bass trumpet, contrabass trombone, and contrabass tuba bring closure to the sampled brass category, while the world's lowest-pitched gong, the deepest tubular bells, and others from the large and rare percussion collection owned by the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra were captured as well.

However, the biggest innovations of the Vienna Symphonic Library are to be found in areas other than the enormous number and variety of samples. Specifically, flexibility, ease of use, user support and upgrade-potential set this library far apart from its predecessors.

The "Silent Stage," as it is called, was designed specifically to record samples of orchestral instruments, virtually eliminating background noise. The recording technology used (stereo throughout with full mono compatibility) makes it possible to produce everything from epic Hollywood film music to chamber music arrangements or solo pieces. An entirely new component system consisting of so-called performance elements means that playing techniques such as legatos, runs and repetitions, which have had limited implementation in previous orchestral sample libraries, are now completely and intelligently integrated to make possible a realism unobtainable until now.

Special mappings make it easy for the user to adjust the timing and note lengths within the performance elements and even to manipulate these authentic passages in real-time. Because each instrument is mapped the same way across its entire range, the user can find what he's looking for quickly and dependably, despite the vast number of individual instrument and ensemble samples.

On the Vienna Symphonic Library's extensive website (www.vsl.co.at) one finds not only a large available interactive instrument encyclopedia, but also technical hints, tips for arranging and guidelines on how to achieve the perfect mix. Further, there are a large number of excellent demos of individual instruments, small ensembles and full orchestras that can be heard or downloaded on the spot. And last but not least, the purchase of every edition of this library is an investment in the future; registered users can grow their collection as the Vienna Symphonic Library develops, upgrade their software at affordable rates, or cross-grade to other formats, safe in the knowledge that they will not lose any of their investment no matter what software developments occur in the future.

The first release in the series, Orchestra Cube (price TBA), will contain 48 Gigabytes with more than 54,000 samples. An additional performance module will contain nearly 30 Gigabytes of true legato articulations and other features to deliver realism and authenticity. The collection, due out by December 2002, will be Gigasampler native, and is scheduled for release on DVD. Further editions on hard disk drive will follow.

Specifications subject to change without notice at this time.