German Theorbo Harpsichord - a lost instrument revived
Not a single instrument survived throughout the centuries. When the instruments had vanished, the awareness had gone, too: This type of instrument - rediscovered by musicologists only few decades ago - combines tones similar to lute or harp instruments with the airy, bell-like chime of a harpsichord.
Back in the days of harpsichords and spinets, a theorbo-harpsichord offered warmer tone. Its two 16' stops and different rows of jacks offer variations that resemble lute and harp instruments. The switchable metal-string 4' brings airy richness and fast attack to the table.
All notes bloom with full decay due to undampened strings (in contrast to harpsichords and pianos) - this leads to a vibrating, reverberant yet still transparent sound.
Just like harpsichords and spinets, the instrument is not touch-sensitive. However, not any given note will sound exactly the same due to resonances of body and strings. In order to pay tribute to the instruments' variation, every note was captured with 8 different samples. The key release sounds are also of major importance for the overall experience. Therefore, Realsamples recorded 4 release samples of each note.
The instrument is now available for your sampler, presented in its original Valotti tuning at 412 Hz and at 440Hz.
This Multi Format Library (included format(s) listed in product description) does not include any playback software. A suitable software is required to load and play the sounds included with this product.
For your own protection this library is provided as individual personalized files including a Digital Water Mark - DWM!
