Woodwinds II

Expanding Your Woodwinds Range

Woodwinds II adds everything you need for the realization of large orchestral instrumentations, such as a piccolo, a second concert flute, an alto flute, a bass clarinet and a contrabassoon. To complete your woodwinds collection you will also find the small clarinet in Eb and two English horns – all living up to the high standards professional composers have come to expect from our sampled instruments.

The piccolo (or octave flute) is the highest-pitched woodwind instrument in the orchestra and sounds one octave higher than the concert flute. It can be very intense and piercing, especially in the upper register. The tube of the alto flute is considerably thicker and longer than the concert flute, resulting in dark, mysterious and „breathy“ tone colors – useful for exotic musical settings and moody film scores.

The English horn (“cor anglais”) is a double-reed instrument about a third bigger than the oboe, representing the alto register within the oboe family. Its pear-shaped bell gives it a more plaintive timbre than the oboe, closer in tonal quality to the oboe d'amore (included in the Special Woodwinds Collection). Its melancholy sound makes it the first choice for lyrical cantilenas and pastoral scenes. As opposed to the „French“ construction, the Viennese Oboe and “Viennese” English Horn are mainly played in Vienna, for example by the Vienna Philharmonic. These instruments’ form and timbre are closer to the Baroque instruments with a softer tone in the low register and a fuller, richer tone in the upper register. The “Viennese school” is also characterized by a different playing style with a more precise but less „cantabile“ phrasing, as well as less vibrato.

The small clarinet in Eb (“E-flat clarinet”) is the sopranino instrument of the clarinet family with a bright, shrill sound very similar to the piccolo. It has been regularly used in college ensembles, concert bands and military bands since the late 19th century and is also at home in the symphonic orchestra thanks to Berlioz, Ravel, Shostakovich and Stravinsky. Expanding the low end is the bass clarinet, which adds an intriguing, rich and earthy tone to the modern orchestra. Its sound is similar to the Bb clarinet in the upper range while the low register has a haunting and compelling presence. The contrabassoon (or double bassoon) is considerably larger than the bassoon and powers the sub-bass register of the orchestra. This instrument’s impressive low range even extends beyond that of the contrabass tuba!

Woodwinds II - Instruments: Piccolo, Flute 2, Alto flute, Viennese oboe, English horn 1, English horn 2, Small clarinet in Eb, Bass clarinet & Contrabassoon

ARTICULATIONS

Performances:

• Interval Performances: legato, marcato; fast & slow
• Repetition Performances: legato, portato, staccato; crescendo & diminuendo
• Viennese oboe – Performance Repetition upbeats
• Performance Trills
• Grace Note Performances: major 2nd to octave, up & down
• Runs: major, minor, chromatic, whole tone; up & down
• Piccolo, flutes – arpeggios: major, minor, diminshed triads; legato & staccato; medium & fast
• Piccolo, Viennese oboe – mordents: legato & staccato, 12 variations

Single notes:

• Short notes: staccato, short portato, long portato
• Long notes: sustains with various attacks and vibratos
• Dynamics: crescendo & diminuendo in various note lengths; fp, sfz, sffz, pfp
• Trills: half tone, whole tone; crescendo & diminuendo
• Flutter tonguing
• Contrabassoon – FX techniques

Library Content

• Standard Library: Samples 32.206 | Download Files Size 24,4 GB | Installed File Size | 44,9 GB

• Full Library: Samples 108.447 | Download Files Size 24,4 GB | Installed File Size | 44,9 GB

 

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After five and a half years hard labour with no time off for good behaviour, the Vienna Symphonic Library samplists have finally released their definitive Symphonic Cube orchestral masterwork in the form of 10 Vienna Instruments. Solo Strings, Chamber Strings, Orchestral Strings I & II and Woodwinds I were reviewed in SOS July 2006, and these are now joined by Woodwinds II, Brass I & II, Harps and Percussion.

Woodwinds II adds piccolo, second flute, alto flute, Viennese oboe, two English horns, small 'E' flat clarinet, bass clarinet, and contrabassoon to the basic set in Woodwinds I. Most of these instruments made their debut in the 2004 Pro Edition, though the small clarinet and second English horn were previewed later in the VSL Horizon title French Oboe. All have been expanded with numerous extra performance styles and variations, resulting in a 63.4GB collection.

Nothing on the market beats the Vienna Instrument Player's Performance Legato facility, which produces beautifully joined-up melody lines by automatically selecting real-life intervals as you play - this style sounds particularly sweet on the beautiful second English horn. New Fast Interval and Performance Trills legato deliveries make it easy to program liquid-sounding fast runs and life-like, 100-percent-controllable trills. Played with no vibrato, the Viennese oboe boasts a comprehensive set of perky mordents (double grace notes) and its upbeat repetitions (fast double pickup notes) would be handy if you were attempting a cover of Roxy Music's 'Virginia Plain' (please, no Bryan Ferry karaoke impressions).

The new four-note arpeggios played by piccolo, flute, and oboe sound very lively, and the contrabassoon has had a powerful new overblown special effects version added to its 16 crescendo and diminuendo options. I also enjoyed the alto flute's grace notes, which give the instrument a mournful shakuhachi-like quality in the low register. A couple of minor complaints: this flute's so-called legato arpeggios are over-articulated, and the advertised English-horn arpeggios and mordents, alto-flute arpeggios, and bass-clarinet grace notes are missing.

While Woodwinds I is fine for basic woodwind arrangements, certain instruments on Woodwinds II are indispensable for serious orchestral work. The combined cost of the two collections is hefty, but quality usually comes at a price; if you need a comprehensive woodwind section capable of every musical nuance under the sun, the pair offer an immaculate solution.

The 78.5GB Brass I provides solo trumpet, French horn, tenor trombone, and tuba, as well as trumpet, trombone, and horn ensembles, all of which first appeared in VSL's First Edition. The collection's new content focuses on performance samples, but a more significant innovation is the inclusion of muted samples for the trumpets and trombones and hand-stopped horn-ensemble performances.

Despite their attenuated, slightly cutting 1930s dance-band tone, the muted-trumpet ensemble samples have enormous warmth, presence, and charm. I wish the old comedy mute 'wah' effect had been included, but I guess that falls outside VSL's remit. The muted trombones match the trumpets' vintage radio sound, but the hand-stopped four-horn ensemble samples are altogether more stately and formal; their crescendos swell inexorably from a wiry hum to a piercing and dramatic metallic blast.

Brass I's new four-note arpeggios (played staccato at two speeds, upwards and downwards in all keys in major, minor, and diminished scales by the solo trumpet and trombone and by all the ensembles) are faultlessly and confidently executed - the same goes for the upbeat repetitions, a huge menu of single, double, and triple upbeats. Played at eight or nine different tempos, these are a great rhythmic resource.

Although nicely played, the three trumpets' big-band-style falls lack the uninhibited raucous delivery of jazz players - the same goes for their 'rips', an almost apologetic semitone bend up to a sustained note. 'Out of tune' sustains (which eventually drift into pitch) introduce a Portsmouth Sinfonia flavour, but if I wanted out-of-tune samples, I'd hire real players! (Sorry - couldn't resist that one...) Continuing the dissonant theme, the three trombones' atonal clusters evoke the downbeat, introspective atmosphere of a 1950s black-and-white art film.

Brass II (53.5GB) offers piccolo and bass trumpets, bass and contrabass trombones, contrabass tuba, Wagner tuba, and cimbasso from the Pro Edition, an impressive eight-player French-horn section and a new 'triple horn'. This has an extended range, and produces a more intimate and powerful tone than Brass I's slightly distant-sounding French horn. The triple horn player deserves triple pay, delivering tightly synchronised glissando samples which, when played as a chord, all arrive simultaneously at their target pitches. If you want more control of the glissandos, the Performance Glissandi patch inserts a real played glide between two notes. It's a shame there are no really fast horn glissandos - I miss that exciting 'whoop' effect.

The piccolo and bass trumpets both gain useful new styles: the little one's set of mordents and bright, martial marcato Performance Legato samples are excellent, while the bass instrument contributes ballsy falls and a (literally) pulsating set of 'duophonic' glissando noises. When applied to brass instruments, the new trademark Performance Trills style can produce a rapid, free-jazz burbling - not necessarily desirable, but it's amazing to get this effect using samples! Speaking of obscure arty noises, every single instrument and section on both brass collections has flutter-tongue samples. It beats me why manufacturers feel obliged to include this style - can we please have a flutter-tongue truce?

Formerly released as the Horizon title Epic Horns, Brass II's mighty eight-piece French-horn section is one of VSL's big sellers, offering a Hollywood sound at a Cricklewood price. The Epic Horns content has been transferred wholesale to Brass II with no additions.

5 STARS Review: VSL Woodwinds II, Brass I & Brass II - Vienna Instruments  Sound on Sound, November 2006After five and a half years hard labour with no time off for good behaviour, the Vienna Symphonic Library samplists have finally released their definitive Symphonic Cube orchestral masterwork in the form of 10 Vienna Instruments. Solo Strings, Chamber Strings, Orchestral Strings I & II and Woodwinds I were reviewed in SOS July 2006, and these are now joined by Woodwinds II, Brass I & II, Harps and Percussion.

Woodwinds II adds piccolo, second flute, alto flute, Viennese oboe, two English horns, small 'E' flat clarinet, bass clarinet, and contrabassoon to the basic set in Woodwinds I. Most of these instruments made their debut in the 2004 Pro Edition, though the small clarinet and second English horn were previewed later in the VSL Horizon title French Oboe. All have been expanded with numerous extra performance styles and variations, resulting in a 63.4GB collection.

Nothing on the market beats the Vienna Instrument Player's Performance Legato facility, which produces beautifully joined-up melody lines by automatically selecting real-life intervals as you play - this style sounds particularly sweet on the beautiful second English horn. New Fast Interval and Performance Trills legato deliveries make it easy to program liquid-sounding fast runs and life-like, 100-percent-controllable trills. Played with no vibrato, the Viennese oboe boasts a comprehensive set of perky mordents (double grace notes) and its upbeat repetitions (fast double pickup notes) would be handy if you were attempting a cover of Roxy Music's 'Virginia Plain' (please, no Bryan Ferry karaoke impressions).

The new four-note arpeggios played by piccolo, flute, and oboe sound very lively, and the contrabassoon has had a powerful new overblown special effects version added to its 16 crescendo and diminuendo options. I also enjoyed the alto flute's grace notes, which give the instrument a mournful shakuhachi-like quality in the low register. A couple of minor complaints: this flute's so-called legato arpeggios are over-articulated, and the advertised English-horn arpeggios and mordents, alto-flute arpeggios, and bass-clarinet grace notes are missing.

While Woodwinds I is fine for basic woodwind arrangements, certain instruments on Woodwinds II are indispensable for serious orchestral work. The combined cost of the two collections is hefty, but quality usually comes at a price; if you need a comprehensive woodwind section capable of every musical nuance under the sun, the pair offer an immaculate solution.

The 78.5GB Brass I provides solo trumpet, French horn, tenor trombone, and tuba, as well as trumpet, trombone, and horn ensembles, all of which first appeared in VSL's First Edition. The collection's new content focuses on performance samples, but a more significant innovation is the inclusion of muted samples for the trumpets and trombones and hand-stopped horn-ensemble performances.

Despite their attenuated, slightly cutting 1930s dance-band tone, the muted-trumpet ensemble samples have enormous warmth, presence, and charm. I wish the old comedy mute 'wah' effect had been included, but I guess that falls outside VSL's remit. The muted trombones match the trumpets' vintage radio sound, but the hand-stopped four-horn ensemble samples are altogether more stately and formal; their crescendos swell inexorably from a wiry hum to a piercing and dramatic metallic blast.

Brass I's new four-note arpeggios (played staccato at two speeds, upwards and downwards in all keys in major, minor, and diminished scales by the solo trumpet and trombone and by all the ensembles) are faultlessly and confidently executed - the same goes for the upbeat repetitions, a huge menu of single, double, and triple upbeats. Played at eight or nine different tempos, these are a great rhythmic resource.

Although nicely played, the three trumpets' big-band-style falls lack the uninhibited raucous delivery of jazz players - the same goes for their 'rips', an almost apologetic semitone bend up to a sustained note. 'Out of tune' sustains (which eventually drift into pitch) introduce a Portsmouth Sinfonia flavour, but if I wanted out-of-tune samples, I'd hire real players! (Sorry - couldn't resist that one...) Continuing the dissonant theme, the three trombones' atonal clusters evoke the downbeat, introspective atmosphere of a 1950s black-and-white art film.

Brass II (53.5GB) offers piccolo and bass trumpets, bass and contrabass trombones, contrabass tuba, Wagner tuba, and cimbasso from the Pro Edition, an impressive eight-player French-horn section and a new 'triple horn'. This has an extended range, and produces a more intimate and powerful tone than Brass I's slightly distant-sounding French horn. The triple horn player deserves triple pay, delivering tightly synchronised glissando samples which, when played as a chord, all arrive simultaneously at their target pitches. If you want more control of the glissandos, the Performance Glissandi patch inserts a real played glide between two notes. It's a shame there are no really fast horn glissandos - I miss that exciting 'whoop' effect.

The piccolo and bass trumpets both gain useful new styles: the little one's set of mordents and bright, martial marcato Performance Legato samples are excellent, while the bass instrument contributes ballsy falls and a (literally) pulsating set of 'duophonic' glissando noises. When applied to brass instruments, the new trademark Performance Trills style can produce a rapid, free-jazz burbling - not necessarily desirable, but it's amazing to get this effect using samples! Speaking of obscure arty noises, every single instrument and section on both brass collections has flutter-tongue samples. It beats me why manufacturers feel obliged to include this style - can we please have a flutter-tongue truce?

Formerly released as the Horizon title Epic Horns, Brass II's mighty eight-piece French-horn section is one of VSL's big sellers, offering a Hollywood sound at a Cricklewood price. The Epic Horns content has been transferred wholesale to Brass II with no additions.

5 STARS